Critique requested for ACM and Sidewinder video script
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I wasn’t expecting this video to be quite as complex as it turned out to be. And that does mean it’s important that any issues with the text are identified and corrected.
I think I have most things covered. I deliberately didn’t include dogfight mode as I want this to be about ACM primarily.
Thanks in advance for your input.
check that Master Arm is set to ARM
select air-to-air Master Mode
Air Combat Mode, or A C M, is used to cue or point weapons
while the Beyond Visual Range, or B V R, modes can also be used to find targets, in most cases A C M is used to engage targets you can already see
we used Combined Radar Mode, or C R M, for the R W S and Twiz B V R submodes
to select A C M mode press Option Select Button, or O S B, 1, then press O S B 19
A C M has four submodes; Boresight, Vertical Scan, Slewable, and HUD Scan. they are identified as BORE, 60, SLEW and 20, respectively
Boresight uses a tight scan pattern and is therefore very precise
to select Boresight submode, cycle the submodes with O S B 2, or press Target Management Switch, or T M S, Up
[HUD]
in Boresight submode a cross is displayed on the HUD which represents the radar beam, pointing straight out of the nose of the aircraft
a target designator, or T D, box indicates the position of the target
if the target is outside the HUD with the radar locked onto it, a locator line points in the direction of the target
Vertical Scan submode has a 10 degree azimuth sweep and a 60 degree vertical sweep
[HUD]
the vertical sweep starts 10 degrees below the gun cross and extends 50 degrees above it
this mode is useful when tracking a target along your lift vector, which is a vector line extending vertically up out of your cockpit
as you pull the aircrafts nose onto a target you can lock it up before it appears on the HUD, and can therefore fire a missile at a target even if you don’t have sufficient energy to point the aircafts nose at it
a vertical line appears on the HUD to indicate Vertical Scan submode has been selected
Slewable submode is different from the other A C M submodes, as it is the only A C M submode that is normally used when you do not see a target
[HUD]
the pattern extends 20 degrees in azimuth and 60 degrees vertically
a cross appears on the HUD to indicate that Slewable submode is selected, and a circle represents the centre of the scan pattern
the pattern is slewed with the radar cursor keys, which are the shifted arrow keys by default
Slewable submode is most often used to scan airspace you are about to enter to quickly sweep for possible targets
for example when exiting a target area you might slew the scan pattern from level to high, and then from left to right, each time allowing the radar time to complete the sweep
Slewable submode can also be used to detect a target quickly when your Radar Warning Receiver indicates a target is nearby, and within 60 degrees azimuth of the nose of the aircraft
HUD Scan is the least useful of all the A C M submodes
it uses a 30 by 20 degree field of view which corresponds to the area covered by the HUD
unlike the Boresight submode where the radar beam, sweeping straight out, locks onto a target detected within 10 nautical miles, HUD scan instead sweeps its 30 by 20 degree field of view, which takes longer to complete
HUD Scan is the default A C M submode and begins in standby
NO RAD, or no radar, is displayed at the top of the HUD to indicate that the radar is not emitting. therefore neither the T D box or the D L Z will appear on the HUD until it is made active
HUD Scan is made active by pressing T M S Right
[EXTERNAL]
the AIM 9 Sidewinder is a short range air-to-air missile, and uses infrared homing for guidance. it equips most western air forces, and through the K 13 version, many former Soviet aligned forces
the AIM 9 first entered service in 1956
three AIM 9 models are included in Falcon 4 B M S. the rear aspect Papa, the all aspect Mike, and the latest version of the missile, the X-Ray
the AIM 9 missile tracks heat from the targets engine. but while the Papa’s Weapon Engagement Zone, or W E Z, is restricted to within 40 degrees of the rear of the target, the Mike and X-Ray can be used from all aspects, in other words from any angle
the missile will track a target once it has been uncaged. until the late 1970’s AIM 9’s would only uncage after being fired, which meant that a pilot would not know if the missile would track until the missile was off the rail
the Papa, Mike and X-Ray versions can be uncaged before firing
the position of the seeker head is fed into the HUD as a diamond. a small diamond indicates that the seeker head is caged and the aircraft is telling the seeker where to look, while a larger diamond indicates that the seeker head is uncaged and is tracking the target
the missile diamond is the primary cue to indicate the state of missile trackingthe Dynamic Launch Zone, or D L Z, appears to the right of the HUD when there is a radar lock on the target. the D L Z provides kinematic information on the probability of the missile reaching the target, not whether it will guide onto the target. a shot taken between R MAX 1 and R MIN 1 can in theory reach the target. however a shot taken between R MAX 2 and R MIN 2 has a higher probability of hitting a maneouvering target
a radar lock is not required to fire the AIM 9 as range can be estimated, but without a radar lock the aircraft must be pointed towards the target
the missile tracks the heat tone the target generates. the heat tone is an audio signal which is fed into the pilots headset. the tone provides feedback on the quality of the missile track. a constant tone indicates a higher quality track
in this tutorial we will be using the Mike
Spot and Scan options are available at O S B 3. Spot is the default mode, while Scan provides a larger seeker field of view. as this option doesn’t appear to be correctly modelled at this time we will use the default
there are two options available at O S B 19, SLAVe and BOREsight
in SLAVe mode the missiles seeker head is fixed to the centre of the HUD until missile lock
in BOREsight mode the seeker head is either fixed at the centre of the HUD, or it follows the Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, or H M C S
the two options available at O S B 18 are ByPass, or B P, and Target Designator, or T D
when using Bypass the seeker head is manually uncaged, while the T D option will automatically uncage the seeker head when it detects a heat source
for this tutorial we will use the default settings, SLAVe and ByPass
cooling the missile seeker head increases its sensitivity and must be done before use. the Papa and Mike versions use argon gas to cool the seeker head, while the X-Ray is electrically cooled
note that the supply of argon will run out after between 60 and 90 minutes of use
to begin cooling the seeker heads of all the AIM 9 missiles on the aircraft, press O S B 8
note that Ready has now appeared at O S B 6
[AUDIO 1 PANEL]
increase the volume of the Missile knob on the Audio 1 panel as desired. this controls the Sidewinder missile acquisition sound level
we will use the Boresight submode for this example
[HUD]
when Boresight detects a target within 10 miles it automatically designates it using Single Target Track, or S T T, mode
as the missile is still caged there is a small missile diamond inside the T D box
to the right of the HUD is the D L Z range. the D L Z range changes as range to the target decreases, or increases. the closure rate is to the left of the D L Z caret. current estimated missile flight time is shown below the D L Z. the slant range, which is the line-of-sight distance to the target, is shown below that in nautical miles
6 S R M indicates that 6 short range missiles are available
Target Aspect is displayed on the Missile Reticle
target aspect angle is defined as the angle between the targets velocity vector, in other words its flight path, and the line of sight between the shooter and the target. this is particularly important when using a rear aspect missilewhen you have good tone uncage the missile by pressing the Manual Range Uncage switch, which is U by default
note that the missile diamond has expanded
listen for a solid heat tone
when the D L Z caret has reached R MAX 2, and with a good heat tone, press the weapon release button to fire the missile, and be prepared to shoot again if the missile fails to guide
call Fox 2 to indicate a Sidewinder is in the air
note that the estimated flight time of the missile in the air has now appeared below the current estimated flight time
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Id discuss the STT mode that the radar enters from the various ACM submodes as soon as it detects a target. You wont have a TD box at all until it enters STT.
The radars use in cueing weapons is not specific to ACM. Id discuss ACM more in terms of how ot works and how it is different to CRM. You did not as far as I see mention the maximum range it will acquire a target (10 miles). It gets some mention at the end, but should probably be in the section on the radar use itself.
BORE does not use a scan pattern exactly, it just emits 3 degrees below the gun cross and acquires with NCPT STT the first contact it gets, unless it thinks its looking at the ground return.
30×20 is not less useful, can be used to pick out a target without maneuvering to move the bore cross around. Its very handy going into a merge.
You didnt mention in the mode descriptions how to access them, aside from 30×20.
Do note that you should have zero aspect angle when firing a missile ideally, unless it is a high off boresight model like the 9X. Firing a 9P from 50 degrees to go after locking with 10×60 is less than ideal.
In the case of the 9X, you could have mentioned its HOBS capability, as it does not need to be pointed at a target to fire.
Also the uncaged diamond is not necessarily tracking. It is supposed to be, but may not be. An expanded diamond is not automatically following the right heat source.
Note that its probavly worth advising after firing to prepare for switching to guns, similar to the Heat to guns exercise if the student is familiar with it. If not, just be prepared to transition to the correct weapon if the missile is ineffective.
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Which video are you referring to ?
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Proposed, and as yet unrecorded. The script is above.
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Maybe mention HMCS Bore? TMS up and hold and you move the bore cross around with your HMCS. Arguably the most useful ACM mode.
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Not indisputably though.
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I guess it would help if it was selectable up to 40nm in the sim. Still at the very least worth mentioning I’d say.
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Thanks for all your input. I really appreciate it.