F/A-18C

F/A-18C

Guide/Manual

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The F/A-18C Hornet is a twin-engine, multi-role, carrier-capable combat jet airplane. It was designed by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and Northrop in the 1970s, and is the only jet in the US inventory to carry both the fighter and attack designation (the "F/A" part of the name). The Hornet is able to reach supersonic speeds, nearing around Mach 1.8 in optimal flight conditions. The Hornet modeled in DCS represents an "off-the-line" US Navy Lot 20 jet circa 2005, primarily based off the OFP-13C software suite. It is equipped with the F404-GE-402 enhanced performance engines (which is the more powerful engine that replaced the original F404-GE-400's). The F/A-18C/D served as the baseline for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and the EA-18G Growler. The Hornet is capable of carrying a wide array of both precision and dumb bombs, A/G and A/A missiles, rockets, and is supplemented with a 20mm cannon mounted in the nose.

The Hornet entered service in 1978, and first saw combat in 1986 over the skies of Libya with numerous Hornets performing suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) strikes and conventional ground-attack missions. The Hornet again saw action during the Gulf War of 1991, as there were 106 in theater with the Navy, along with a further 84 US Marine Corps (USMC) aircraft that were shore-based. It was during the Gulf War that the Hornet was credited with its first air-to-air kills (both aircraft were MiG-21s, shot-down by AIM-9s and AIM-7s). Notably, the aircraft credited with the kills went on to resume their strike mission and dropped their 4 Mk-84s (2,000lb unguided bombs), living up to their multi-role moniker. The Hornet took its first combat losses in the Gulf War as well; in total 10 Hornets received battle damage, which included 3 losses (2 to ground fire, and one very likely to an Iraqi MiG-25). All told, Hornets flew a total of 4,551 sorties during the Gulf War.

Since the Gulf War, the Hornet has been a vital piece of the Navy/USMC inventory, and has seen action in every conflict or operation since then. While it is still in active service with the USMC (and will remain until the early 2030s), in April 2018 the US Navy retired the F/A-18C from combat roles, although the Blue Angels demonstration team will continue using it until 2021.

Weapons List

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Implemented

Partially or fully implemented weapons of the Hornet:

• Mk-82 series 500lbs unguided bomb
• Mk-83 series 1,000lbs unguided bomb
• Mk-84 series 2,000lbs unguided bomb
• CBU-99 and Mk-20 cluster bombs
• BDU-33 training bomb
• BDU-45 training bomb
• Hydra 70 2.75 inch rockets
• Zuni 5 inch rockets
• 20mm cannon
• AIM-9L/M/X infrared-guided air-to-air missile
• CATM Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air training missile
• AIM-7F/M Sparrow semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile
• AIM-120 B/C AMRAAM active radar homing air-to-air missile
• AGM-65E Maverick laser-guided air-to-ground missile
• AGM-65F Maverick infrared-guided air-to-ground missile
• GBU-10 Paveway II 500lbs laser-guided bomb
• GBU-12 Paveway II 2,000lbs laser-guided bomb
• GBU-16 Paveway II 1,000lbs laser-guided bomb
• AGM-88C HARM anti-radiation missile
• GBU-38 JDAM 500lbs GPS-guided bomb
• GBU-31 JDAM 2,000lbs GPS-guided bomb
• AGM-154A JSOW glide bomb
• AGM-154C JSOW glide bomb

Planned

Weapons not yet implemented into the Hornet:

• AGM-45A/B Shrike anti-radiation missile
• AGM-84D Block 1C Harpoon anti-ship missile
• AGM-84E SLAM air-to-ground missile
• AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER air-to-ground missile
• Walleye I ER/DL glide bomb
• Walleye II ER/DL glide bomb
• GBU-24B/B Paveway III 2,000lbs laser-guided bomb
• GBU-32 JDAM 1,000lbs GPS-guided bomb
• AIM-7P Sparrow semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile
• Mk-40 Destructor Sea Mine
• Mk-63 Quickstrike Sea Mine
• Mk-77 Fire Bomb

HOTAS

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The F/A-18C Hornet has a throttle and control stick system for thrust and flight control control. Both have a suite of controls, termed a "hands on throttle and stick" (HOTAS) setup, to control various functions, especially combat-critical ones, without taking the hands off the throttle or stick. The specific functions of some HOTAS controls will be covered in the relevant sections; some have many functions depending on the system.

Throttle

The Hornet's throttle is located on the left console and consists of two separate levers to control the left and right engines. An aft detent separates engines off and engines idle and a forward detent separates full military power and the afterburners. The off detent has no range, but the afterburning detent has proportional control.

The throttle has the following controls:

• Exterior Lights Switch: 2-position switch. Aft turns off all external lights except the taxi/landing light. Forward allows for the lights to be controlled via the controls on the left console.
• RAID/HARM Sequence/FLIR FOV Button: A multifunction button: it toggles the radar's RAID function, cycles AGM-88C HARM missile emitters in the SP and TOO modes, and cycles the field of view (FOV) of the AGM-65F Maverick missile and the forward-looking infrared (FLIR) aspect of the ATFLIR and Litening II targeting pods.
• ATC Engage/Disengage: Toggles the automatic throttle control (ATC) function.
• Radar Elevation Control: Wheel that controls the radar antenna elevation.
• Throttle Designator Controller (TDC): A multifunction 4-way hat switch with a depress function. It is used for "slewing" on various formats such as a cursor or FLIR camera. It is "assigned" to a given format via the Sensor Control Switch.
• Communications Switch: 4-way switch that selects the radio being transmitted on. Forward and aft select the MIDS A and MIDS B radios, while up and down select the COMM1 and COMM2 radios.
• Cage/Uncage Button: A multifunction button. In NAV master mode, it cages and uncages the HUD velocity vector.
• Speedbrake Switch: 3-way switch controlling the speedbrake. The aft position is momentary and the middle and forward positions are permanent.
• Dispense Switch: 3-position switch controlling countermeasures. Both forward and aft positions are momentary.

Control Stick

The control stick is located in the center of the cockpit, mounted on the floor. Left and right proportionally command left/right roll to the flight control system (FCS). Forward and aft proportionally command down/up pitch to the FCS.

The stick has multiple switches as part of the HOTAS system:

• Trim Switch: 4-way hat switch, with up and down controlling pitch trim and left and right controlling roll trim.
• Sensor Control Switch: 4-way hat switch with a depress function, also known as the "castle switch" due to its shape. It has multiple functions, namely for assigning the TDC to the HUD, left and right DDIs, and AMPCD. The depress is dedicated to manual Identification, Friend or Foe interrogations.
• Weapons Release Button: Button for releasing/firing air-to-ground munitions, except the gun.
• RECCE Event Mark Switch: Toggles blanking of the HMD. Named after reconnaissance (RECCE) equipment, which the DCS Hornet isn't equipped with.
• Trigger: Fires A/A weapons and the A/G gun.
• Weapon Select Switch: 3-way hat switch with a depress, for selection of air-to-air weapons.
• NWS/Undesignate Button: Enables nosewheel steering (NWS) on the ground (and toggles high-gain mode) and has various other functions in the air, depending on the system.
• Paddle Switch: Small lever that disengages the Automatic Flight Control System (the autopilot), overrides the G-force limiter (when held), and disengages nosewheel steering.

Flight Controls & Landing Gear

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Flight Controls

The F/A-18C has multiple flight control surfaces for maneuvering the aircraft. It has a "fly-by-wire" (FBW) system, which, opposed to a traditional mechanical or "direct" control system, the inputs given by the cockpit controls are inputted to a computer which then decides what controls to move in order to accomplish the desired maneuver. This computerized system is called the Flight Control System (FCS). The FCS also moves surfaces as a function of the angle of attack to provide the best control.

The F/A-18's primary flight controls are:

• Stabilators (STAB): Two "stabilators" (stabilizer + elevator) located at the tail move on a single axis independently of one another to control both pitch and roll of the aircraft.
• Ailerons (AIL): Two normal ailerons located on the outer area of the wings to control roll of the aircraft. They also both droop down to add lift.
• Rudders (RUD): Two twin, inward-tilted rudders which move on a normal left/right axis to control yaw and are also be pointed inward as a schedule of AOA ("toe-in").
• Leading Edge Flaps (LEF): Normal slats located on the leading (front) edge of the wings to add lift.
• Trailing Edge Flaps (LEF): Normal flaps located on the trailing (back) edge of the wings to add lift.

The control stick controls the stabilators, ailerons, and rudder and the rudder pedals control the rudder.

The FCS will limit the aircraft to a specific G-force no matter the control input. The G-limit is based on weight and will not exceed 7.5g. The G-limiter can be overridden as long as the paddle switch on the stick is held down, which will change the limit to 133% of the previous G-limit. This is designed as an emergency system and may be bad for the airframe and/or exceed pilot G tolerance.

Flaps System

The aircraft's flap system provides more lift (and as a byproduct, drag). The flaps switch has three positions:

• AUTO: Without weight on wheels, LEFs and TEFs are moved depending on angle of attack. With weight on wheels, LEFs, TEFs, and aileron droop are set to 0°.
• HALF: Above 250kt IAS, flaps act as when in AUTO. Below 250kt, LEFs and TEFs drop as a function of angle of attack. TEFs and aileron droop activate based on airspeed; maximum deflection is 30°. With weight on wheels, the LEFs are set to 12°. TEFs and aileron droop are set to 30°. With weight on wheels, rudders are set to 30°. Aileron droop is set to 0° when wings are unlocked.
• FULL: Above 250kt, flaps act as when in AUTO. Below 250kt IAS, LEFs are scheduled as a function of AOA. TEFs and aileron droop activate based on airspeed; maximum is 45° TEF and 42° aileron droop. With weight on wheels, the LEFs are set to 12° and RUDs to 30°. The TEFs are set to 43° to 45° and aileron droop to 42°. Aileron droop is set to 0° when wings are unlocked.

In the left area of the forward panel there are three flap indicator lights. A green HALF light displays when the flaps move to HALF. A green FULL light displays when the flaps move to FULL. An amber FLAPS light displays when the flaps are not functioning properly in relation to the switch position or the switch is not in AUTO above 250kt.

Speedbrake

The speedbrake is a flap located on the top of the aircraft designed to provide drag to decelerate faster. It is activated via the speedbrake switch on the throttle. The three psotitions are:

• Aft: Speedbrake will extend as long as it is held.
• Center: Speedbrake will stay in place, unless the flaps are FULL, or the aircraft is pulling more than 6.0G or 28° angle of attack. When the speedbrake is closed and the switch is in this position, it may creep up above 400kt IAS.
• Forward: The speedbrake retracts as long as it is in this position and will not creep up when fully retracted.

Located above the left DDI is a "SPD BRK" light. This light comes on whenever the speedbrake is not fully retracted.

Trim

The stabilator and ailerons are capable of being trimmed to make roll and pitch corrections. This is accomplished with the trim switch on the control stick. When the flaps are in AUTO, the stabilator is automatically trimmed so the aircraft pulls 1.0G when the control stick isn't moved, but manual trim will override this and the aircraft will then trim to maintain that G when the stick isn't moved. In HALF or FULL flaps, it will maintain an angle of attack which is changed via trim.

For a field takeoff, the stabilator are trimmed to +12°. The T/O trim button on the left console will trim the stabilators to +12° and place all other trim at 0°.

The rudders can also be trimmed via a knob on the left console that surrounds the T/O trim button.

FCS Format

Section WIP.

Wing Fold

Primarily for carrier operations to conserve space, the F/A-18's wings are capable of folding upward. This is accomplished via the wing fold lever on the right side of the cockpit. It has three positions which can only be alternated by pulling the lever out, which unlocks the wings.

• FOLD: The wings fold.
• HOLD: The wings are held in the present position.
• SPREAD: The wings unfold.

The wings will not fold without weight on wheels.

Landing Gear

The F/A-18 has retractable landing gear with three arms, the nose gear, the left gear, and the right gear. The left and right gear have large suspension and are designed to take heavy impacts, upwards of approximately -600 feet per minute, due to the aggressive touchdowns of carrier recoveries. The gear is moved via the gear lever on the left side of the cockpit. In the up position, the gear will retract. In the down position, the gear will extend. The gear lever cannot be put up with weight on wheels. The gear will not retract with the arresting hook down or launch bar extended.

The gear lever's inability to be raised when there is weight on wheels can be overridden via the DOWN LOCK ORIDE button near the lever. The gear lever can be rotated to perform an emergency gear extension, which will depressurize the hydraulics in the gear and allow it to free fall into place.

Controlled by the toe brakes on the rudder pedals, the left and right landing gear have independent brakes. On the nosegear there is a light generally used for taxiing, takeoff, and landing, termed the TAXI/LDG light. It is turned on and off via the switch on the left side of the cockpit.

Nosewheel Steering

The nose gear features nosewheel steering (NWS) controlled by the rudder pedals. When in NWS LO (low), the default mode, the NWS can turn left/right 16°. When in high-gain NWS, termed NWS HI, the NWS can turn left/right 75°. NWS or NWS HI is indicated appropriately on the HUD. Nothing is indicated when NWS is disengaged.

With weight off wheels, it is disengaged. It automatically engages upon there being weight on wheels. NWS is disengaged manually via the paddle switch on the stick. NWS LO is engaged manually by momentarily pressing the NWS button on the stick. With the wing fold handle in the FOLD or HOLD positions, pressing the NWS button will toggle NWS HI. With the wing fold handle in the SPREAD position, NWS HI is activated as long as the NWS button is held. With the launch bar extended, NWS HI cannot be engaged; NWS LO is automatically disengaged but is engaged as long as the NWS button is held.

Launch Bar

On the front nosegear is a launch bar that attaches the airplane to a catapult from launches from an aircraft carrier. Its deployment is pilot-controllled, but it is connected to the catapult by the ground crew (DCS default binding is U).

It is controlled via the launch bar switch on the left upper console. When the switch in the RETRACT position, the launch bar will retract, but physically cannot do so when connected to the catapult. The switch will move to the RETRACT position automatically when there is weight off wheels. In the EXTEND position, the launch bar will extend if there is weight on wheels.

Above the left DDI is a green "L BAR" indication, which displays whenever the launch bar is down with weight on wheels. Near it is a red "L BAR" indication, which displays whenever the launch bar is down with weight off wheels. The red indication is a sign of a malfunction with the launch bar if it does not extinguish quite soon after the airplane is airborne.

Autopilot and Autothrottle

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The F/A-18 has the ability to automate certain types of flight via its Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) and Automatic Throttle Control (ATC). The AFCS, or simply the autopilot, controls the flight surfaces and the ATC controls the throttles.

AFCS

The Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), or just the "autopilot", controls the aircraft's flight controls to automate maneuvering. It is interfaced on the UFC via the A/P button. The most basic mode of the AFCS is control stick steering, or CSS. CSS will attempt to maintain the pitch and roll of the aircraft without manual stick input. Roll input is dampened and pitch input is severely dampened. Forward or aft stick deflection beyond a certain point will disengage CSS. CSS is engaged manually by pressing the UFC ON/OFF button in the A/P menu and also engages with all other autopilot modes. In the A/P menu, there are five main autopilot modes, toggled by pressing the option select button next to their window.

• Attitude Hold (ATTH): maintains the current pitch attitude plus or minus 45° and the current bank angle plus or minus 70°.
• Heading Select (HSEL): steers to the current heading selected by the heading select switch. The current heading can be viewed on the Horizontal Situation Indicator format.
• Barometric Altitude Hold (BALT): maintains the current barometric altitude between 0 and 70,000ft.
• Radar Altitude Hold (RALT): maintains the current radar altitude between 0 and 5,000ft.
• Coupled Steering (CPL): Not yet implemented.

ATC

The Automatic Throttle Control (ATC), or just "autothrottle", controls the physical throttles and thereby automated thrust control. It cannot control or move the throttles into the afterburner detent. ATC is toggled via ATC engage/disengage button on the throttle. "ATC" will appear on the HUD when it is engaged. It can also be disengaged by manually moving the throttles or if it is unable to maintain the desired speed. When disengaged, "ATC" will flash and then disappear. It has two modes:

• Cruise: When the flaps are in AUTO, activating the ATC will hold the current indicated airspeed.
• Approach: Not yet implemented.

Digital Systems Overview

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The F/A-18C Hornet is equipped with an expansive software suite with various pages, or "formats," showing different pieces of information and allowing for interfacing with its many systems and weapons - from waypoint navigation, to guided bombs, to air-to-air missiles.

The Hornet interacts with these systems via the two tri-color (green, red, and yellow) digital display indicators (DDIs) on the left and right of the cockpit, and the all-color Advanced Multipurpose Color Display (AMPCD) in the center. They all feature 5 multipurpose push buttons on all 4 sides to interact with the software. All formats can be displayed on all displays, except the RDR ATTK format cannot be shown on the AMPCD. A given format can only be on one display at once, with the exception of the HSI format, which can be on the AMPCD and the left or right DDI.

The Hornet's software is split into two menus, always accessed and toggled between via the third button on the bottom row of push buttons. The tactical or "TAC" menu displays weapons-related systems like the stores management system and the radar, while the support or "SUPT" page displays non-combat related items, like information about the flight controls and the engines. These read "[TAC]" and "[SUPT]" when on said menu. When in the air, below them is a timer counting up from the aircraft startup in the format MM:SS; with weight on wheels, it simply says "MENU" below.

On the left DDI, advisories and cautions are always displayed in the bottom left corner. The "ADV-" line displays advisories and cautions display in larger text. If the left DDI is off, they will display on the AMPCD. If the AMPCD is off, then they will be on the right DDI.

TDC Assignment

The throttle designator controller (TDC) switch on the throttle is used to slew on various formats, often in the form of a cursor. To do this, the TDC must be assigned to that display with the Sensor Control Switch. The commands are:

• Up: TDC assigned to HUD (not available in A/A master mode)
• Down: TDC assigned to AMPCD
• Left: TDC assigned to left DDI
• Right: TDC assigned to right DDI

To assign the TDC, the format on the display must allow for a TDC control. On the DDIs or AMPCD, a diamond with a dot in the center will display in the upper-right when the TDC is assigned to that display. When it is assigned to the HUD, a dot is placed in the center of the velocity vector.

Master Modes

The F/A-18 has three primary master modes, entered via the master mode buttons on the left side of the cockpit to the left of the left DDI. A backlight on either button indicates the current master mode. With the gear down, NAV is the only available master mode. The three master modes are:

• Air-to-Air (A/A): Entered when the A/A master mode button is depressed or an A/A weapon is selected via the Weapon Select Switch on the stick. Removes vertical velocity and bank angle indication from the HUD, cages the HUD, brings up the STORES format on the left DDI and the RDR ATTK format on the right DDI, and automatically assigns the TDC to the RDR ATTK format. Allows for the employment of air-to-air weapons.
• Air-to-Ground (A/G): Entered when the A/G master mode button is depressed. Removes vertical velocity indication and bank angle indication from the HUD, uncages the HUD, and brings up the STORES format on the left DDI. Allows for the launch and release of air-to-ground munitions.
• Navigation (NAV): Entered when neither the A/A or A/G master mode is selected.

UFC

The upfront controller (UFC) is the primary interface with the airplane when typing numbers is needed. It also serves as the interface with various other systems.

1. Keypad with numbers 1-9, clear, and enter keys.
2. Multifunction display windows and corresponding pushbuttons.
3. COMM1 radio volume knob.
4. COMM2 radio volume knob.
5. COMM1 radio knob.
6. COMM2 radio knob.
7. Buttons to manipulate various systems on the UFC: autopilot (A/P), Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF), TACAN (TCN), instrument carrier landing system (ILS), datalink (D/L), transponder beacon (BCN; not yet implemented), and a multifunction ON/OFF button (depending on UFC menu selected).
8. Transponder ident button (no use in DCS).
9. Automatic direction finder (ADF) selector to use the COMM1 or COMM2 as the aircraft's ADF source.
10. Scratchpad (shows values entered by keypad).
11. UFC display brightness selector (all the way left turns UFC off).
12. Emission control (EM CON). Disables emission of any and all radio emissions from the aircraft.

Communication Radios

The F/A-18 has two standard communications radios, termed COMM1 and 2. Control of them is integrated with the upfront controller.

The radios are powered via the COMM1 and 2 volume knobs; the radio will be on when its knob is not all the way left. The knobs also control the volume of their respective radios. Audio from both radios is always received when they are on, but the communications switch on the throttle controls which one is transmitted on.

The COMM1 or COMM2 menu is accessed by pulling on the respective radio knob. This will bring up the preset and frequency on the scratchpad. A new frequency can be entered via the keypad. The display window above the knobs displays the current preset, which can be switched to via turning the knobs. Each radio has a separate set of 20 numbered presets, as well as a guard preset set to 243.000, the standard military guard frequency (G), manual frequency (M), maritime frequency (S), and cue frequency for the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (C).

The multifunction windows will display various options:

• GRCV (Guard Receive): Toggles audio monitoring of the guard frequency.
• SQCH (Squelch): Toggles radio squelch (removal of static).
• AM/FM: Toggles between an AM and FM radio frequency. Option is only present when the frequency entered can be either AM or FM.
• Cypher (CPHR): Not yet implemented.

Head-up Display

The head-up display (HUD) is a projected display at the front of the cockpit that serves as the primary flight instrument. It also provides various indications for weapon delivery; this section will cover the HUD's indications in NAV master mode. Master mode/weapon specific indications on the HUD will be covered in the relevant section.

1. Current altitude in feet, displayed above sea level when altitude source switch below the UFC is set to barometric or when it is set to radar and the airplane is unable to read the radar altitude. When the switch is set to radar, it displays radar altimeter altitude above ground and an "R" is indicated after the value. When the switch is set to radar altitude and it is displaying barometric altitude, a "B" will flash after the number. Below the altitude indication, whenever the barometric pressure is changed via the knob on the standby altimeter or the aircraft is below 10,000 feet, at an airspeed less than 300 knots, and was previously above both values, the currently set barometric pressure (in inHg) is flashed for five seconds.
2. Current vertical speed in feet per minute.
3. Heading tape, indicating current magnetic or true heading, based on setting in HSI format. The arrow (magnetic heading) or "T" symbol (true heading) indicates the aircraft's heading. The heading tape is raised +1.2° from its position in NAV when in A/G or A/A.
4. Pitch ladder, with the solid line indicating the horizon. Dashed/numbered lines are degrees below the horizon and solid/numbered lines are degrees above the horizon.
5. Bank angle indication. The triangle indicates current bank angle. The marks indicate in either direction 5°, 15°, 30°, and 45° angles of bank.
6. Peak G-force the aircraft has achieved when the peak is at least 4.0G. Peak G is reset when the reject mode is set to REJ 1/2 and back to NORM.
7. Current aircraft G-force.
8. Current Mach number.
9. Current angle of attack in degrees.
10. Current indicated airspeed in knots.
11. Vertical velocity vector, indicating the vertical velocity of the aircraft.
12. Ghost / true velocity vector, indicating horizontal and vertical velocity of the aircraft.

Not shown is the "watermark" indicating the position of the nose, which is a "W" symbol shown whenever the velocity vector goes off the view of the HUD or the landing gear is down.

Additionally, when the gear is down, an "E" symbol (called the "E-bracket") is displayed as an indication of angle-of-attack when the velocity vector lines up with it. The top part of the E indicates 9.3° AOA; the middle indicates 8.1°, which is optimal for landing; and the bottom indicates 6.9°. When the AOA is between 9.3° and 6.9°, the normal HUD AOA indication disappears. Also, when the gear is down, the Mach, G-force, and peak G-force is removed.

Reject Modes

Via the HUD reject switch below the UFC, information may be 'rejected' (removed) from the HUD.

• NORM: Nothing is rejected.
• REJ 1: Removes outline around airspeed and altitude, Mach number, current G, peak G, and bank angle indication.
• REJ 2: Removes heading tape.

Velocity Vector Caging

The velocity vector can either be "caged" or "uncaged", toggled via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle.

In caged operation, two velocity vectors are shown: the vertical velocity vector, which is "caged" to the HUD center and only indicates the vertical velocity of the airplane, and the ghost velocity vector, which displays both the horizontal and vertical velocity. The ghost velocity vector is displayed as a segmented version of the horizontal one.

In uncaged operation, a single true velocity vector is shown. This indicates the horizontal and vertical velocity of the aircraft (functioning identically to the ghost velocity vector when caged). The true velocity vector appears the same as the vertical velocity vector does in caged operation.

HUD Format

The HUD may be mirrored on any of the displays via the HUD format on the TAC menu.

Helmet Mounted Display

The F/A-18C Hornet is equipped with the Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing System (JHMCS) as its helmet mounted display (HMD). It allows for HUD indications to be shown no matter where the head is looking and to perform some special functions, like pointing the AIM-9 missile off-boresight. It features the same symbology as the HUD, minus the velocity vector, pitch ladder, and bank angle indications. Additionally, replacing the heading arrow is a number indicating the heading of the aircraft, when the HMD is not pointed at the HUD. The heading tape itself shows the heading the HMD is looking at. A number above the heading tape shows the elevation in degrees above the horizon where the HMD is looking. Reject modes for the HUD do not mirror on the HMD.

The HMD is turned on by rotating the HMD knob to the right of the right DDI rightward. This knob also controls its brightness. The HMD can be blanked/unblanked by pressing the RECCE Event Marker button on the stick.

HMD Format

When the HMD is on, on the SUPT menu the HMD format can be accessed. This allows for control of some HMD settings.

1. Sets HMD brightness, cycling between AUTO, DAY, and NIGHT. In AUTO, brightness will automatically be set for best visibility. In DAY, full brightness as selected by the HMD brightness knob is allowed. In NIGHT, half the brightness that would be set for DAY is set with the HMD brightness knob.
2. Automatic blanking option. When this option is boxed, the HMD will automatically blank everything except the aiming cross when looking inside the cockpit or at the HUD.
3. HMD reject display options; cycles between NORM, REJ 1, and REJ 2.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. Not yet implemented.
7. Invokes the REJECT SETUP sublevel, allowing the selection of what information is to be displayed on what reject level (NORM, REJ 1, and REJ 2).

Navigation

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The F/A-18C has an inertial navigation system (INS), assisted by the Global Positioning System (GPS), capable of storing arbitrary digital, GPS-coordinate based series of waypoints, navigating to both ground- and air-based tactical air navigation (TACAN) stations and non-directional beacons (NDB), using the instrument carrier landing system (ICLS), and the automatic carrier landing system (ACLS) (not yet implemented). Navigation is primarily done with the horizontal situation indicator (HSI) format and the HUD.

HSI Format

The Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) format is the primary interface with the airplane's navigation systems. The HSI can be accessed from the SUPT menu. The basic function of the HSI is a moving map of the world with the airplane's position, with a looking-from-above perspective.

1. Line indicating current aircraft heading.
2. Diamond indicating current aircraft ground track.
3. Compass with headings in tens of degrees (24=240°) and dots indicating tens of degrees in between said numbers. Along the compass is a triangle indicating the bearing to the selected waypoint/tuned TACAN: the waypoint triangle has a circle inside and the TACAN triangle has a "T" inside. A line (waypoint) and oval (TACAN) indicates the reciprocal bearings.
4. The aircraft itself.
5. Current true airspeed.
6. Current ground speed.
7. Display scale in nautical miles. This is the radius of the display, except in DCTR mode, when it is the distance from the bottom to the top of the display. The scar options are 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160nm; in DCTR mode, these values are doubled.
8. Not yet implemented.
9. Invokes the DATA sublevel.
10. Waypoint / TACAN data block. This displays in the upper right corner for the selected waypoint and in the upper left for the third TACAN. From top to bottom, it displays:
    1. bearing to and distance in nautical miles from the waypoint or TACAN. For a waypoint, this is horizontal range; for a TACAN, slant range (horizontal and vertical)
    2. present ETA to said waypoint going in a straight line in the format HH:MM:SS
    3. name of the waypoint/TACAN identifier
    4. when steered to, the calculated fuel remaining when arriving at the waypoint/TACAN
    5. distance in nautical miles left to begin a descent to the waypoint/TACAN, based on a 4° glideslope
11. "Steers to" the selected waypoint, displaying navigational cues for the selected waypoint on the HUD. Cannot be selected simultaneously with the TACAN steering option.
12. Currently selected waypoint with an arrow above and below to cycle through the waypoint.
13. Designates the currently selected waypoint as the air-to-ground target (TGT) (see A/G TGT). It can be undesignated by pressing the "TGT" button on the HSI or the Undesignate button on the stick.
14. Cycles the aircraft's three sequences of waypoints and toggles drawing a line in between them.
15. Currently selected course in degrees via the course select switch. A courseline will then be drawn through the current waypoint or TACAN the airplane is steering to (TCN/WYPT boxed); when this is done, a distance in nautical miles and "C" is displayed as a direct distance from the courseline. On the opposite side is the currently selected heading via the heading select switch, for use with the autopilot; the selected heading is displayed along the compass via two boxes. Holding either switch will allow the course/heading value to be entered into the UFC.
16. Toggles the auto waypoint function: this changes the current waypoint as the previous is physically passed to the next one and activates the waypoint steering option.
17. Brings up options on the UFC for time indications to display on the HUD and HSI. Selecting an option on the UFC will toggle its display. The last selection will display on the HUD, while on the HSI both ET or CD and ZTOD will display.
    1. SET: Allows for the IFEI date to be set via the UFC keypad.
    2. ET: Begins a count-up in MM:SS up to 59:59. Paused/unpaused via the ENT button on the UFC keypad.
    3. CD: Begins a countdown in MM:SS starting at 06:00 by default. Paused/unpaused via the ENT button on the UFC keypad. The default starting value of the countdown can be changed by selecting the CD option and then entering it via the keypad. The value cannot exceed 59:59.
    4. ZTOD: Displays the current zulu time (Universal Coordinated Time).
    5. LTOD: Sets the IFEI local time. Select "LTOD" and then enter the desired local time in 24 hour time in the format HH:MM:SS. This will change the minute and seconds for the zulu time as well. The LTOD cannot be displayed on the HUD and HSI like the ZTOD can.
18. Not yet implemented.
19. Not yet implemented.
20. Not yet implemented.
21. Brings up options for HSI map options:
    1. MAP: toggles the chart overlay. This is only visible on the AMPCD.
    2. T UP: track up. The HSI will be oriented so that the aircraft's track (horizontal velocity across the ground) is always pointed up. However, technically the aircraft heading is always pointed directly up.
    3. N UP: north up. The HSI swill be oriented so that north is always up. However, the aircraft heading is always directly up.
    4. DCTR: decenter. Places aircraft at the bottom of the HSI instead of the center and places the track up.
    5. SLEW: not yet implemented).
22. Displays indications for the instrument carrier landing system on the HUD.
23. "Steers to" the tuned TACAN, displaying navigational cues for the tuned TACAN on the HUD. Cannot be selected simultaneously with the waypoint steering option.
24. Selects aircraft position reference: inertial navigation system (INS), relative to the selected TACAN (TCN), the air data computer (ADC), or Global Positioning System (GPS).
25. Not yet implemented.

DATA Sublevel

The DATA sublevel of the HSI provides numerous navigation-related options. It is split into multiple tabs, selectable at the top. Selecting "HSI" will return to the main format.

A/C

The A/C tab on the DATA sublevel displays information regarding the aircraft itself and the inertial navigation system.

1. Toggles the terrain awareness system (TAWS).
2. Selects radar and barometric warning or "soft" altitudes. Selecting either will allow for a value to be entered on the UFC. When either altitude is reached in a descent, "altitude, altitude" will sound.
3. Not yet implemented.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. Not yet implemented.
7. Not yet implemented.
8. Not yet implemented.
9. Selects between magnetic north and true north as the heading source for the aircraft.
10. Changes latitude/longitude coordinate presentation throughout the HSI format: DCML will display it as degrees/minutes and SEC will display it as degrees/minutes/seconds.
11. Aircraft position source.
12. Aircraft latitude, longitude, wind speed, and wind direction, and magnetic variation where the aircraft is.
13. GPS horizontal and vertical error and the Zulu time according to the GPS.

WYPT

The WYPT tab allows for detailed information about waypoints to be viewed and edited.

1. Not yet implemented.
2. Not yet implemented.
3. Not yet implemented.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Toggles precise coordinate mode. When PRECISE is boxed, coordinates in the HSI format will show as 8 digits; otherwise, they will show as 6.
6. Not yet implemented.
7. Brings up UFC options for the currently selected sequence.
   1. GSPD: enter the desired groundspeed in knots to be en route to the designated target waypoint (not to be confused with the waypoint designate/TGT function). This is used in conjunction with TOT. For waypoints in the sequence before it, the required ground speed will allow for the plane to be at this groundspeed en route to the target waypoint.
   2. TGT: Designate a waypoint number to be the target waypoint for the TOT function.
   3. TOT: Designate a desired time on target in zulu time in the format HH:MM:SS. The HSI will then display a required groundspeed to reach the target at that time.
   4. INS: Insert waypoints to the currently selected sequence. To add one in between two current ones, enter the preceding waypoint and then the inbetween waypoint.
   5. DEL: Select a waypoint to delete from the sequence.
8. Designates the currently selected waypoint as the air-to-air waypoint or "bullseye". This is for communicating target locations and is used in other formats.
9. Not yet implemented.
10. Not yet implemented.
11. Brings up UFC options for the currently selected waypoint.
    1. POSN: Enter desired waypoint location, first the latitude and then the longitude. This is entered in degrees/minutes/seconds or degrees/minutes, depending on the display setting in the A/C tab. Without precise coordinate mode, they are entered with all six digits at once. In the precise coordinate mode, the first four are entered, "ENTER" is pressed, and then the next four are entered.
    2. ELEV: Enter waypoint elevation. Option is given to enter in feet or meters.
    3. GRID: Not yet implemented.
    4. O/S: Not yet implemented.
12. North/east coordinates of the waypoint and military grid system (MGRS) coordinates of the waypoint (not yet implemented), and its elevation.
13. Not yet implemented.
14. Entered TOT.
15. Entered GSPD.
16. Waypoints in the sequence, in order. One will be boxed if it is designated as the target for the TOT feature.

TCN

The TCN tab allows for information to be viewed about TACAN stations in the aircraft database.

1. Not yet implemented.
2. Cycles TACANs in the database.
3. Frequency of the TACAN being viewed.
4. Latitude and longitude coordinates of the TACAN, elevation, and magnetic variation at it.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. Allows for the coordinates/elevation/magvar to be manually edited on the UFC.

MDATA

Not yet implemented.

HUD Steering Indications

When TCN or WYPT is boxed on the HSI, the range in nautical miles to and waypoint name/TACAN identifier will be displayed on the HUD. For a waypoint, horizontal range is displayed, while slant (horizontal and vertical) range is displayed for a TACAN. For the Additionally, if no course is designated, a green bar is displayed on the heading tape, indicating the direct bearing to the waypoint or TACAN. When a course is designated, a visualization on the HUD of the course relative to the airplane is displayed, with an arrow indicating the present bearing from the course and two dots on either side of the velocity vector: the inner dot indicates 4° and the outer dot indicates 8°. The airplane is on course when the arrow is aligned with the center of the velocity vector.

Waypoints

The F/A-18C can store up to 59 arbitrarily defined, INS-based waypoints in up to 3 "sequences", which are essentially sets of waypoints that allow the waypoints to actually be seen. Waypoints are defined by a set of GPS coordinates and an elevation above (or below) sea level.

Waypoints are indicated by a circle with a dot in the middle.

Waypoints can be given their own 5-character name pre-flight (in the DCS mission editor), but cannot named in the aircraft. They are numbered sequentially from 0–59.

TACAN

Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) is a military radio navigation system. A TACAN beacon allows for an aircraft to determine its bearing and range from it, and using this information can navigate. TACANs may be ground-based or be broadcasted by an airplane. TACAN channels have two bands, X and Y, and range from 1-126. It should be noted the frequencies 68X/Y and 69X/Y interfere with the Link-16 data network the Hornet uses.

The F/A-18C has a TACAN transmitter and receiver. The TACAN antenna itself is powered on the UFC via the TCN option. The ON/OFF button will toggle the TACAN power and an "ON" will be indicated in the scratchpad. In the scratchpad is the current TACAN frequency tuned to, which can be inputted via the keypad.

The UFC also provides the following options:

• T/R: Transmit and receive. Gets bearing and range from the TACAN.
• RCV: Receive. Gets bearing from the TACAN.
• A/A: Air-to-air TACAN mode.
• X: Tunes the selected frequency on the X band.
• Y: Tunes the selected frequency on the Y band.

On the HSI, the TACAN station appears as a triangle, with a dot in the middle when it is being steered to.

ADF

Non-directional beacons (NDBs) offer simple bearing information from the aircraft to said station. Very high omnidirectional range (VOR) stations also provide this basic NDB information, which can be used by the Hornet even though it cannot take advantage fully of the VOR. The Hornet is equipped with an automatic direction finder (ADF) to indicate this.

In the F/A-18, they can be tuned on the COMM1 or COMM2 radios. To do so, the frequency of the NDB/VOR is simply tuned to that radio and then the ADF switch on the UFC is set from OFF to COMM1/2. This will then display a circle on the HSI format's compass, indicating bearing to the NDB.

ICLS

For night and low visibility operations, aircraft carriers have an instrument carrier landing system (ICLS) to allow for instrument approaches to the carrier. ICLS provides horizontal and vertical guidance. The F/A-18 is equipped with ICLS.

To activate the airplane's ICLS antenna, the ILS button is selected on the UFC and then ON/OFF is used to toggle power to the system. "ON" is displayed on the scratchpad when it is on. Also on the scratchpad is the current ICLS frequency, which can be inputted via the keypad.

When ILS is selected on the HSI, two bars, one horizontal and one vertical, appear near the velocity vector on the HUD. These indicate vertical and horizontal deviation from the optimal glideslope (3°) and course to the deck. When they are both aligned with the velocity vector (making a "+"), the aircraft is on course.

ACLS

Not yet implemented.

FPAS Format

The F/A-18C has the capability to calculate flight performance to advise the pilot of optimal speeds, altitudes, and other information. This information is accessed by the FPAS format on the SUPT menu.

1. Optimum climb mode: above the HUD on the airspeed indication will display the optimal speed in indicated knots to climb at.
2. Home waypoint selector. A waypoint can be selected as the "home" waypoint. When the FPAS calculates there will be 2,000lbs of fuel left when reaching the home waypoint if the plane were to turn toward it then, then the "HOME FUEL" advisory will display.
3. Optimum range and endurance information. This is the optimum barometric altitude and Mach number at said altitude to fly to travel as far as possible (range) or as long as possible (endurance). "TO 2,000LBS" displays the range in nautical miles left (range) and the time in HH:MM (endurance) until the aircraft will reach 2,000lbs of fuel. When below 2,500lbs, it will become "TO 0LBS".
4. Current range and endurance information. The upper "TO 2,000LBS", at the current flight parameters, displays the range in nautical miles (range) and time in HH:MM (endurance) until the fuel reaches 2,000lbs. Below 2,500lbs, this becomes "TO 0LBS". Below is the "BEST MACH" and lower "TO 2,000LBS/0LBS" indications. This shows the best Mach number to fly at the current altitude to obtain the best range or endurance. The lower "TO 2,000/0LBS" indication displays the range/endurance information if the airplane flew at the "BEST MACH" speeds.
5. When a waypoint or TACAN is being steered to, information regarding that point is displayed. "NAV TO" displays the TACAN station/waypoint being steered to. "TIME" is the time remaining to reach the waypoint when heading straight at it, in the format HH:MM:SS. "FUEL REMAIN" is the calculated fuel that will remain when reaching that waypoint. "LB/NM" is the current amount of pounds of fuel being burned per nautical mile (this is always showed).

Defensive Systems

The F/A-18C is equipped with various defensive systems: the ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS), for the release of chaff, flares, and decoys (the latter not yet implemented), the AN/ALQ-165 Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), for jamming enemy radar (not yet implemented), and the AN/ALR-67 Radar Warning Reciever (RWR), for detection of enemy radar emitters and missile launches.

AN/ALR-67 RWR

The AN/ALR-67 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) provides the Hornet the ability to detect radars via the radio/microwave radiation they emit.

Cockpit Systems

Behind the control stick is a row of five pushbuttons to control the RWR. From right to left, the options are:

1. Toggles power to the RWR.
2. Limits the display to the 6 highest priority emitters.
3. Not yet implemented.
4. Offsets RWR emitters so the bearing is no longer accurate but they are spaced out so they can be read easier.
5. Runs the RWR's built in test (BIT). In the event of a failure, it will display a red "FAIL".

There are also three knobs around these buttons. "AUDIO" is intentionally not functional. "DMR" controls the brightness of the pushbutton backlights. DIS TYPE sets the display priority for certain emitter types: airborne intercept (I), anti aircraft artillery (A), unknown (U), and friendly (F).

EW Format

The electronic warfare (EW) format is the primary way of seeing the output of the RWR.

1. AN/ALR-67 status indicator. "OFF" indicates no power and "RCV" means it is on and receiving.
2. RWR display. It is a top-down display with ticks around it in half-hour clock directions (the top tick is always 12 o'clock). A representation of the aircraft is placed in the center. Emitters are displayed as NATO standard alphabetical and/or numerical identifiers for various emitter types. There are three 'bands' of the display:
   1. Along the outermost ring is the "non-lethal" band, which is emitters determined not to be lethal or critical.
   2. Along the outside of the next ring is the "lethal" band, which is emitters determined to be likely lethal threats.
   3. Along the inside of the next ring is the "critical" band, which is emitters determined to be likely critical threats.
3. Displays the DIS TYPE knob setting and pushbutton display settings.
4. Toggles HUD emitter indications.

Additionally, emitters will have special symbology indicating their type:

• Half-circle below: emitter is tracking
• Triangle above: hostile aircraft
• Half-circle above: friendly aircraft
• Staple above: unknown aircraft
• Triangle and rectangle without a bottom: surface to air missile (SAM)
• Line above with two small lines pointing up: anti aircraft artillery (AAA)
• Line below: sea-based

If an emitter is guiding a missile at the aircraft, they will flash. If they are also in the critical band, a line will stem out of them to their bearing.

HUD EW Indications

When selected on the EW format, a maximum of 6 emitters (the most prioritized) and their bearing will be displayed on the HUD in the same top-down format.

• Non-lethal: Solid line
• Lethal: Dashed line
• Critical: Solid line

The lethal line is longer than the non-critical line and the critical line is longer than the lethal line. The HUD does not show emitter classification symbology except the half-circle underneath to indicates tracking and the line underneath to indicate a sea-based emitter.

The maximum number of emitters is reduced further when a certain A/A weapon is selected and the radar is in Single Target Track:

• AIM-7: 2 emitters
• AIM-9: 1 emitter
• Gun: 3 emitters (when in GACQ or STT)

When in HUD REJ 1, an additional 2 emitters will be added (but still to a maximum of 6). In REJ 2, 6 emitters will always be shown.

Standby RWR Indicator

A standby RWR indicator in the standby instrument cluster under the right DDI is an analog RWR display. It displays the same as the EW format, except additional indications will show as a single letter for the DIS KNOB and pushbutton display settings. A "B" is displayed in the case of a failure and a "T" is displayed in the case of a thermal overheat of the RWR or countermeasures computer. Emitter category symbols are also not shown on this display.

RWR Annunciator Panel

Above the right DDI is a set of lights indicating what type of emitters is in the lethal or critical band: surface to air missile (SAM), anti aircraft artillery (AAA), airborne intercept (AI), and continuous wave radar (CW).

Audio Tones

Accompanying the RWR are various audio feedback tones:

• Single Beep: A new ground- or sea-based emitter has been detected.
• Double Beep: A new airborne emitter has been detected.
• Repeating Beep: An emitter is tracking.
• Faster Repeating Beep: An emitter is guiding a missile or is a missile.

On the left console audio panel, the RWR knob will control the volume of the RWR tones.

ALE-47 CMDS

The ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispense System (CMDS) controls the release of the F/A-18's chaff, flares, and decoys. It is configured via the Electronic Warfare (EW) format. For the ALE-47 to release any countermeasures, the master arm must be set to ARM.

Cockpit Controls

Located below the AMPCD is the dispenser switch, which controls power to the ALE-47. It has three positions:

• OFF: The ALE-47 is off.
• ON: The ALE-47 is powered on. It runs a built in test (BIT) before going to standby mode.
• BYPASS: The ALE-47 is powered on and put into bypass mode, allowing for direct countermeasure control. In bypass mode, the dispense switch on the throttle will release a single chaff when pushed forward and a single flare when pushed aft.

Additionally there is the "ECM JETT" button, which will dispense all flares as quickly as possible in an emergency. This is not intended for actual use as a countermeasure dispense option, but to reduce the risk of fire when the aircraft is damaged.

On the left wall there is a red "DISP" button, which will release all countermeasures over time. It is slower than the ECM JETT button and can be effective as a countermeasure option.

ALE-47 EW Format Options

The ALE-47 is primarily manipulated via the Electronic Warfare (EW) format. These options are only displayed when the ALE-47 option is boxed, except the mode option.

1. ALE-47 option. Allows for modes and countermeasure profiles to be changed. When the ALE-47 is off, it will be crossed out and display "OFF" below. When it is running its BIT, it will display "SF TEST" and then "PBIT GO" or "NO GO" depending on the result. When it is on and not running its BIT, it will display its mode: STBY, MAN and the current profile, S/A, or AUTO. When the ALE-47 is in bypass mode, a single line will run through the ALE-47 option.
2. Current chaff and flare count. Only displayed when the dispense switch is ON.
3. Current decoy count in the O1 and O2 slots. Only displayed when the dispense switch is ON.
4. Displays the ARM sublevel, allowing for the customization of the five countermeasure profiles. Allows for flare, chaff, O1, and O2 count, and number of times to repeat and interval in seconds to do so. Pressing the "SAVE" option is required.
5. Cycles the manual profiles.
6. Cycles the ALE-47 mode.

Modes

The ALE-47 has multiple modes.

• STBY: Standby mode. The system is powered on but will dispense no countermeasures.
• MAN: Manual profile mode. Dispenser switch on the throttle aft will activate the selected profile. Forward will activate profile 5.
• S/A: Not yet implemented.
• AUTO: Not yet implemented.

Saving ALE-47 Profiles

Countermeasure profiles can be configured and then saved so that they are default whenever starting the DCS F/A-18.

Editing Default Profiles

Please note that you can also edit your countermeasures outside of the game; normally if you close the game down you lose the editing to your countermeasure profiles that you have done in game. If you find you have a particular setup that you would like to keep (forever), rather than the default setup that comes in the F18, you can edit the .lua file and change the defaults to suit your preference. For example, we can tone down the amount of countermeasures used, so that we have more time we can use the countermeasure profile before you run out of flares / chaff (but it could make the profile overall less useful).

To edit a .lua file we are first going to need an adequate text editor; although you may be familiar with using notepad, I would instead recommend installing and using notepad++. The reason for using notepad++ is that the normal notepad does not respect the original file structure (so basically, newlines / enters as well as spacing) in some cases, and as such the file may become unusable if you try to edit and save the file this way. Notepad++ instead keeps the original file structure intact.

The file we wish to edit is the CMDS_ALE47.lua file; but before you start editing it please make a backup of it first. This file can be found in the path

(\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta ) \Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Cockpit\Scripts\TEWS\device

Once you have made a backup file of the original .lua file, we can start editing it as we see fit. Please note that we do not want to edit anything besides the numbers, as editing anything else the file unusable. Technically, you should be able to rename the comments (ie the text following the double hyphens -- Default manual presets), but I would simply refrain from doing so and only edit the actual profile.

The profiles we are interested in (potentially) editing are manual profiles 1 through 6 (you could edit the auto presets as well, but I find it less useful). Please note that the following profiles can be accessed directly in the cockpit correspond to the following:

(manual) Program 1 is CMS aft (Countermeasures aft).
(manual) Program 5 is CMS forward (Countermeasures forward).
(manual) Program 6 is DISP button (Big Friendly Dispenser button on the left side of the cockpit).

Now onto the actual formatting of a countermeasure profile; note that they all function the same, but they all work for different profile. Let's take manual profile 1 as an example:

-- MAN 1
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1] = {}
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["chaff"] = 1
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["flare"] = 1
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["intv"]  = 1.0
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["cycle"] = 10

The ProgramNames.MAN_1 refers to the fact this is the first manual profile (ProgramNames.MAN_2 being the second manual profile, and ProgramNames.AUTO_1 being the first auto profile; though again we probably do not want to edit those).

The chaff and flare values refer to how much flare and chaff is dispensed, but this is the amount dispensed per cycle and not the total amount dispensed. For our example (manual profile 1) we have 1 flare and 1 chaff dispensed per cycle, but we have a total of 10 cycles (cycle = 10). This means that the profile runs for 10 cycles total, during each cycle dispensing 1 chaff and 1 flare (thus expending a grand total of 10 chaff and 10 flares). The interval (intv) value is the time delay in seconds between each cycle; as in our example profile it is set to 1 (1.0), we have a profile that runs for 10 seconds, each second expending a chaff and a flare.

Overall that seems rather wasteful to me, so lets come up with a more sensible and conservative profile (but perhaps less effective) so that we can enjoy our countermeasures a bit longer:

-- MAN 1
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1] = {}
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["chaff"] = 0
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["flare"] = 1
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["intv"]  = 0.8
programs[ProgramNames.MAN_1]["cycle"] = 5

As you may have noticed nearly all manual profiles expend both chaff and flare at the same time, which I absolutely hate: you are almost never in the situation where you are being engaged by both radar-guided missiles and infrared seeking missiles, so I prefer to split my countermeasure profiles accordingly. In my revised profile I run the profile for 4 seconds total: each cycle lasts 0.8 seconds, and during a cycle I only dispense a singular flare.

Saving Edited Profiles

Now, our last thing we have to realise is that although this profile is saved from deletion if we open and close our game (or hop into a brand new F-18), it will be deleted once DCS updates. However, we can save it from being deleted, by making it into a mod (modification)! To do this we will need yet another tool, called OVGME: this is a tool that many people who wish to mod their game use to, well, mod their game.

The installation of OVGME is largely self-guiding (but there will be tutorials for it), but the gist is that we end up with a profile folder and a mod folder for DCS. The profile tells OVGME which game we wish to mod, where to find this game and where the folder is that we are going to store our mods in. The mod folder is where we store our mods that we wish to use.

So if we wish to save our edited countermeasures profile, all we have to do is make a new mod for it! In the OVGME DCS mods folder you have made, we wish to recreate the folder structure pointing to our CMDS_ALE47.lua file. This has to be done with the DCS World (Openbeta) folder as our begin folder (or root); all these folders will be empty, except for the last folder, as in there we will place our edited CMDS_ALE47.lua file.

The first folder we will make in the DCS mod folder is the mod folder itself, so I recommend naming it something like "Nanne118's totally awesome countermeasure mod for the F18" or something equally easy to remember. Now all we do is replicate the folder structure until we get to the CMDS_ALE47.lua file location: we do not have to copy in every file, as OVGME is smart enough to only replace the actual files in the mod. Equally you do not want to just copy over the existing folder structure from the DCS World install location, as you will be copying over all the files as well. You could delete all the files, but that would be a whole lot more work.

The folder structure we want to make, with all empty folders, is:

\Mods\aircraft\FA-18C\Cockpit\Scripts\TEWS\device

In the device folder we then paste our modified CMDS_ALE47.lua folder, so that we can get OVGME to overwrite it. The only thing we then have to change is that we have to enable our mod within OVGME itself, so start up the OVMGE.EXE, click the mod, and enable the selected mod.

AN/ALQ-165 ASPJ

Not yet implemented.

Targeting Pod

---

Not yet implemented.

Surface Radar

---

Not yet implemented.

Air-to-Air Radar

---

The F/A-18C Hornet is equipped with the AN/APG-73 Doppler radar. This section will cover its air-to-air capabilities. The Hornet's air-to-air radar can be interfaced via the Attack Radar (RDR ATTK) format and the Azimuth/Elevation (AZ/EL) format (the latter is not implemented at this time). Trackfiles can also be shown on the Situational Awareness (SA) format.

The radar itself is controlled by a knob on the right console. It has 4 positions:

• OFF: The radar is powered off.
• STBY: The radar is powered on but not scanning.
• OPR: The radar is powered on and scanning, and will power off in the event of a failsafe being triggered.
• PULL EMERG: The radar is powered on and scanning, and will not power off for any reason except physical failure.

When there is weight on wheels (WoW), the radar will not scan, regardless of knob position.

The AN/APG-73 is physically mounted in the nose of the aircraft. It is on an all-direction gimbal, meaning it can rotate left, right, up, and down. Whenever in a normal search mode, the radar stabilizes itself in pitch relative to the horizon; however, this is augmented based on the antenna elevation setting.

Trackfiles

Trackfiles, or just "tracks", are single aircraft with information assigned by the computer (such as speed, position, velocity, aircraft identification, and threat ranking). Trackfiles are most often presented as HAFU symbols.

Trackfiles can be contributed to by the ownship radar, but can instead or in addition take information from datalink donor radars, either fighter-fighter (F/F) or surveillance (SURV). A system called Precise Participant Location and Identification, or PPLI, sends other aircraft on datalink the position of the PPLI donor themself, and so a track can also be from PPLI.

L&S/DT2 Designation

Trackfiles can be designated by the pilot to essentially define them as priority. There are two designations: the Launch & Steering target, or L&S, and the Secondary Designated Target, or DT2. These are essentially the "primary" and "secondary" targets, as assigned by the pilot (there cannot be a DT2 without an L&S). The L&S is also pertinent to air-to-air weapons delivery; launch information is displayed and, depending on the radar mode and weapon, weapons may be guided onto the L&S.

The L&S and DT2 have target designators (TDs) superimposed on the HUD so that their position can be better visualized. A star (L&S) and diamond (DT2) is placed in the center of the trackfile's HAFU symbol.

Trackfiles can be designated on the Attack Radar (RDR ATTK) format whenever the radar is operating in Range While Search with Latent Track While Scan enabled or Track While Scan, as these modes generate trackfiles. Single Target Track also designates its trackfile automatically as the L&S if it isn't already.

For a Launch & Steering or Secondary Designated Target trackfile to be designated, the desired one is placed under the TDC cursor:

• when there is no L&S, TDC depress will designate a track as the L&S
• when there is an L&S but no DT2, TDC depress over a track other than the L&S will designate it as the DT2
• when there is an L&S and a DT2, TDC depress over the DT2 will replace the L&S
• when there is an L&S and a DT2, TDC depress over a track other than the L&S or DT2 will replace the DT2

Note that TDC depress on the L&S will initiate Single Target Track.

Whenever the L&S trackfile is lost, the DT2 becomes the L&S.

The RESET option on the RDR ATTK format will remove the L&S and DT2 designations (except not the L&S in STT).

HAFU

Hostile, Ambiguous, Friendly or Unknown (HAFU) is a symbology system used by the F/A-18 to represent trackfiles; specifically, to show its status as a friendly or hostile. It is usually what trackfiles are displayed as across the software.

There are four HAFU symbols:

• Triangle: Hostile (red when colored)
• Thick Staple: Ambiguous (yellow when colored)
• Half-Circle: Friendly (green when colored)
• Thin Staple: Unknown (yellow when colored)

All types except ambiguous can be manually assigned via the Situational Awareness format. Tracks will also be automatically identified as explained below.

A hostile HAFU will be assigned whenever:

• A negative IFF response is returned, and
  • An NCTR print returns with an aircraft type that is on the hostile coalition; or
  • A SURV (surveillance, like an AWACS) source over datalink also marks it hostile; or
  • A F/F (fighter-fighter, like another F/A-18) source over datalink also marks it hostile.

An ambiguous HAFU will be assigned when the aircraft and a donor have conflicting identifications (friendly and hostile).

A friendly HAFU will be assigned whenever an IFF interrogation returns as friendly or the track itself is contributed to by the Precise Participant Location and Identification (PPLI) system.

An unknown HAFU will be assigned by default until it is updated by meeting one of the requirements above.

Other symbols may also appear, normally in the center of HAFU symbols. In order of priority, these are:

• A star, indicating that the track is the current Launch & Steering (L&S) target.
• A diamond, indicating that the track is the current Secondary Designated Target (DT2) target.
• A number, designating the threat rank of the track, with 1 being the most threatening. This is only shown for onboard, non-friendly tracks.
• A large dot, indicating a surveillance (SURV) donor; note that this dot is technically part of the PPLI contribution rather than SURV.
• A small dot, which indicates the ownship radar or fighter-fighter (F/F) donor's radar sees the target.
• A large dot on the left side, indicating the track is contributed to by the Precise Participant Location and Identification (PPLI) system.

HAFU symbols have two halves: the top, which regards the onboard identification/contribution, and the bottom, which regards the offboard (datalink) identification/contribution. The top of the HAFU will be as illustrated while the bottom portion will be upside-down; the symbols may differ, but the color will be based on the top portion except if it is an offboard-only track.

• A track will have the top half occupied if contributed to by the onboard radar.
• A track will have the bottom half occupied if contributed to only or in part by an F/F source or if in part by SURV.
• A track will have both the top and bottom half occupied and be smaller in size if contributed to only by PPLI or SURV.

The F/F-only symbology will be prioritized over the SURV-only symbology.

RDR ATTK Format

The Attack Radar (RDR ATTK) format is the primary way of manipulating the A/A radar. It can be accessed from the TAC menu, but not on the AMPCD. It is also brought up automatically on the right DDI whenever the A/A master mode is engaged.

The format provides a top-down view of the radar scope, termed the "tactical region" and indicated by the green outline around the page. The airplane itself is at the very bottom center. While the scan azimuth may be less, the tactical region itself displays 70° left and right of the aircraft. A separated part at the top displays contacts/tracks for which the aircraft has no range information, termed "dugout" zone. Depending on the mode and setting, the Attack Radar will display either raw contacts and/or trackfiles.

By using the TDC as a mouse cursor, various options on the RDR ATTK format may be manipulated using the TDC and the TDC depress button in place of pressing the physical DDI key.

The radar has three main search modes: Range While Search (RWS), Track While Scan (TWS), and Velocity Search (VS). Only RWS is implemented at this time. The following are the top-level page's common features:

1. Current radar mode (RWS, TWS, VS).
2. The current radar status relative to the physical radar knob (top) and current radar frequency (bottom).
3. Elevation bar setting. The radar is capable of scanning in multiple elevations automatically below the manually designated elevation; this moves radar elevation automatically in "bars". The first number indicates how many bars it is set to and the number after indicates the bar it is currently on. The first bar is always where the elevation has been manually set. The available settings are 1, 2, 4, and 6.
4. Silent option. Selecting this option stops the radar from searching and invokes the "SIL" sublevel.
5. Current aircraft true heading.
6. Currently selected air-to-air weapon and total quantity (A/A master mode only).
7. Current range scale in nautical miles displayed and (below) buttons to decrease/increase it. This is only what is displayed; the radar will always scan as far as it can. The available range options are 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160nm. When an L&S is designated, the scale will automatically increase if the L&S becomes too far away to see at the currently selected setting; this can be overridden by manual range scale adjustment.
8. Sets the bar, azimuth, PRF, range, and aging setting for the currently selected air-to-air weapon, to be defaulted to whenever that weapon is selected.
9. Removes L&S and DT2 designations (except in STT).
10. When selected, performs a non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR) scan when a target is put in Single Target Track. NCTR detects the way the fanblades of the aircraft warp the radar waves, and from this "print" can determine its aircraft type. NCTR requires an angle of about 30° nose-on-nose or nose-on-tail. The NCTR result is displayed on the Situational Awareness format.
11. Current aircraft altitude.
12. Invokes the "DATA" sublevel.
13. Not yet implemented.
14. Azimuth scan setting, in degrees total left and right (20° is 10° to the left and right). The options are 20°, 40°, 60°, 80°, and 140°.
15. Radar mode selection (RWS, TWS, VS).
16. Current aircraft airspeed in knots (top) and Mach number (bottom).
17. Current gain of the radar.
18. Pulse repetition frequency (PRF) setting; the number of pulses within a certain amount of time. Cycles between medium (MED), high (HI), and interleaved (INTL). MED has less range but can see targets at all aspects better. HI provides higher detection range. INTL cycles between MED and HI each scan. When the range scale is set to 5nm, only MED is available.
19. Not yet implemented.
20. Caret visualizing the current radar antenna elevation, allowing the radar to scan higher or lower in altitude. This is manipulated via the radar elevation control wheel on the throttle. Manual control is disabled in ACM modes and STT.
21. Vertical bar indicating where the radar is currently scanning.
22. Horizon line and velocity vector of aircraft.
23. Throttle designator controller (TDC) cursor, used for numerous functions. Above and below the cursor is displayed the maximum (above) and minimum (below) altitude, in thousands of feet, at which the radar can currently see (adding all elevation bars) at the location in space the TDC is placed; this is only shown when the cursor is within the tactical region.
24. The lowest range the radar is currently displaying.

Not shown is the surface (SURF) radar selection, shown in the NAV or A/G master modes, which switches to the surface radar mode.

Not shown are the A/A waypoint (bullseye) indications. When an A/A waypoint is designated (see HSI), it will appear as a diamond on the radar when selected on the HSI/SA format and a circle otherwise. A line coming out of it points to true north. In the upper left of the format, the true north bearing and range from the A/A waypoint to the TDC cursor will be displayed, and at the bottom center, the true north bearing and range from the bullseye to the aircraft.

Not shown is the velocity (V_c) and differential altitude indications. On the right side of the tactical region, the closing rate in knots with the L&S is displayed with an accompanying caret to visualize it. When in STT, the differential altitude with the L&S is also displayed in thousands of feet on the left side of the tactical region and the antenna elevation caret is re-purposed to serve as a visualization of the altitude difference.

DATA Sublevel

1. Toggles the Latent Track While Scan (LTWS) mode for Range While Search (RWS).
2. Multi-sensor Integration (MSI) toggle. With MSI enabled, offboard trackfile information can be displayed, depending on the mode. Otherwise, only onboard track information is displayed. In addition, the four most prioritized RWR bearings within 140° in front of the aircraft are displayed along the top of the format in form of yellow triangles.
3. Toggles colored elements of the RDR ATTK format.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Radar raw contact and trackfile aging, in seconds. If the contact/track has not been scanned by the radar after this amount of time has passed, it will disappear/the radar will drop its contribution to the trackfile.
6. Declutter options.
   1. DCLTR1 removes the horizon line and velocity vector.
   2. DCLTR2 removes DCLTR1 symbology as well as the L&S closing rate and, in Single Target Track, differential altitude and ground track.
7. Toggles a bearing and range (BRA) indication (XXX°/YYY) from the aircraft to the TDC cursor. Bearing is in true degrees, due to the fact AWACS give target information relative to true north. The BRA is not displayed in STT.
8. Not yet implemented.
9. Not yet implemented.
10. Not yet implemented.

SIL Sublevel

1. The active button commands the radar to complete a single scan and then stop again.
2. Not yet implemented.
3. SIL is boxed when silent mode is activated. This will exit silent mode.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Cross indicating that the radar is not active. This cross will also display when there is weight on wheels or the radar is turned off via the knob, but the SIL sublevel is not invoked.

Search Modes

Range While Search (RWS)

1. Raw radar contacts, shown as green, rectangular bricks. Trackfiles are shown as HAFU symbols. These symbols fade in color as they age.
2. The erase button clears all current contacts/tracks off the scope.

The Range While Search (RWS) radar mode allows for detection of contacts in a large volume. RWS normally displays raw contacts in the form of rectangular "bricks", but it also generates trackfiles which can be displayed as Hostile, Ambiguous, Friendly, or Unknown (HAFU) symbols via the Latent Track While Scan) option; however, as RWS is designed to normally scan large areas, trackfile information is usually not sufficient for guiding air-to-air weapons and so weapons guidance (beyond Launch Acceptable Region cues on the RDR ATTK format) is not available in RWS.

The tactical region in RWS is presented as azimuth along the horizontal/X axis and range along the vertical/Y axis.

Latent Track While Scan (LTWS)

Latent Track While Scan (LTWS) is an RWS option allowing for raw contacts to be displayed as trackfiles with HAFU symbology and other information; with the Multi-sensor Integration (MSI) function, offboard trackfile information can also be shown in LTWS. It also allows for the designation of a Launch & Steering (L&S) and Secondary Designated Target (DT2) trackfile.

An onboard-only track is not displayed unless the TDC cursor is over the associated raw contact bricks (aka "target under cursor" or "TUC") or it is designated as the L&S or DT2. In these cases, the brick(s) will be replaced by a HAFU symbol representing the track. Note that since multiple raw radar contacts may be correlated to be a single aircraft and therefor one trackfile, a HAFU may replace multiple bricks.

Offboard-only tracks and tracks that are both onboard and offboard are always displayed as HAFUs and never show their corresponding raw contacts. Note that MSI must be enabled to display offboard trackfile information.

HAFU symbols in LTWS, whenever under the cursor or designated as the L&S or DT2, feature the track's Mach number on the left side and its altitude in thousands of feet on the right. A line also stems out to indicate a trackfile's horizontal velocity (this applies for all).

An IFF interrogation is automatically sent when a TUC is performed.

Tracks in LTWS also have Launch Acceptable Region information displayed. Note that weapons cannot, however, be launched and guided from RWS.

Track While Scan (TWS)

Not yet implemented.

Velocity Search (VS)

Not yet implemented.

Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) Modes

The radar's Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) modes are search modes designed to place a target in Single Target Track at close range by acquiring it visually.

ACM mode is entered by pressing the Sensor Control Switch up when the A/A master mode is engaged or by selecting the air-to-air gun via Weapon Select Switch aft; this places the Sensor Control Switch in "ACM condition." A boxed "ACM" indication and an option to return to search (RTS) is then displayed on the RDR ATTK page. The TDC is automatically assigned to the RDR ATTK page. For the HACQ, LHAQ, and WACQ modes, said mode is indicated on the HUD.

ACM mode can be exited via pressing the Undesignate button on the stick or via the RTS option on the RDR ATTK format; the radar returns to the last-entered search mode. If the radar is in STT, entering ACM will exit STT and exiting STT will exit STT and ACM mode; ACM mode remains engaged even when an STT is obtained.

Once in ACM mode (defaulting to BST/HACQ/LHAQ or GACQ), the following modes are available. All ACM modes place the first target detected in Single Target Track, but the ACM condition remains active.

• Boresight Acquisition (BST): Sensor Control Switch up with HMD off. BST is a very small, circular scan on the aircraft nose which can be used whenever the nose can be brought onto a target. It scans in medium PRR, ±1.7° above and below the waterline, and 3.3° in azimuth, slaved to both pitch and roll. A small dashed circle on the HUD coincidental with the aircraft boresight indicates the Boresight Acquisition scan. It has a range of 10nm.
• Helmet Acquisition (HACQ): Sensor Control Switch up with HMD on. Helmet Acquisition allows for the radar to be pointed wherever the head is looking, within its azimuth and elevation limits. When the HMD is looking at the HUD, it scans identically to Boresight Acquisition except the range is 5nm. When the HMD is pointed elsewhere, it maintains the scan shape but is slaved to the HMD center. When the radar scan limits are reached, the dashed circle will not move past the limits and will flash if the HMD moves farther than it can. HACQ has a range of 5nm.
• Long Helmet Acquisition (LHAQ): Sensor Control Switch up for more than 0.8 seconds with HMD on. LHAQ functions identically to HACQ, except it has a range of 10nm.
• Wide Acquisition (WACQ): Sensor Control Switch left. WACQ provides a wide, rectangular scan at 10nm range. It has two modes, toggled via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle.
  • Caged: Caged WACQ commands a 60° azimuth scan, +6° and -9° relative to the waterline, with medium PRF. Caged Wide Acquisition is slaved to the aircraft in pitch but is horizon-stabilized in roll. A representation of the rectangular-shaped scan is placed in the bottom-right corner of the HUD, which provides a visualization of the roll stabilization.
  • Uncaged: Not yet implemented.
• Vertical Acquisition (VACQ): Sensor Control Switch down and, when HMD is on, only from WACQ. VACQ is a very narrow and tall scan pattern, ideal for acquiring targets in a turn. Vertical Acquisition commands a scan of approximately 6° azimuth, -13° and +46° in elevation, and medium PRF from the aircraft waterline, slaved to both pitch and roll. A dashed rectangle on the HUD indicates the scan area. VACQ has a range of 5nm.
• Gun Acquisition (GACQ): GACQ is a special ACM mode entered whenever the A/A gun is selected and no other ACM mode or STT is commanded. Gun Acquisition is intended to acquire a target roughly within the HUD field of view while using the gun. GACQ commands a +6° and -14° scan from the aircraft waterline with medium PRF and 20° azimuth, slaved to pitch and roll. A dashed circle represents the scan shape on the HUD. GACQ has a range of 5nm.

Naturally, the Sensor Control Switch cannot be used for any other functions while in ACM condition.

Automatic Acquisition (AACQ)

Automatic Acquisition (AACQ) serves as a fast way of acquiring a track/contact into Single Target Track. It is entered by pressing the Sensor Control Switch right when the TDC is assigned to the RDR ATTK format, the A/A master mode is engaged, and the radar is not in an ACM mode. "AACQ" will be indicated on the RDR ATTK page and the HUD.

If the TDC cursor is not over a contact/track, AACQ will place the closest presently detected contact/track in an STT. If the TDC cursor is over a contact/track, it will place it in STT.

Single Target Track (STT)

Single Target Track (STT) mode is a traditional radar "lock" where the radar continuously scans a single target, resulting in a very high update rate; this makes it the primary method of providing guidance to air-to-air weapons.

STT maintains a trackfile for its target and automatically designates it as the L&S if it is not already. The radar is slaved to this trackfile; as such, manual antenna elevation control is inhibited and the B-sweep follows the trackfile. Only the trackfile that is placed in STT is visible and all onboard trackfiles are droppped. In STT, the RDR ATTK format is presented in azimuth along the horizontal axis and range along the vertical axis.

Single Target Track is obtained by:

• depressing the TDC while the cursor is over the Launch & Steering trackfile or while over any raw contact when in a mode where trackfiles are not displayed (e.g. RWS without LTWS)
• using Automatic Acquisition
• using an Air Combat Maneuvering mode

STT is exited by pressing the Undesignate button. The radar is returned to the last-entered search mode.

1. Launch Acceptable Region (LAR).
2. Target's HAFU, with its Mach number on the left and altitude in thousands of feet on the right.
3. Allowable Steering Error (ASE) circle.
4. The difference in altitude, in thousands of feet, between the aircraft and the target.
5. Closing rate (V_c) with the target (this is displayed for the L&S even outside STT).
6. Target's ground track (velocity).

Range scale is disabled in Single Target Track. The range will automatically change to keep the target centered.

MEM Function

The memory (MEM) function of the radar is used to re-acquire the trackfile in STT if it is lost unintentionally. If this happens, the radar initiates the MEM function where it uses the known information about the target to attempt to extrapolate its current position and re-acquire it in STT. The MEM function ceases when the radar cannot re-acquire the target.

When the MEM function is active, a "MEM" indication is displayed on the Attack Radar format and the L&S TD box becomes hashed.

AZ/EL Format

Not yet implemented in DCS.

L&S/DT2 HUD Indications

Whenever a Launch & Steering (L&S) target is designated, a target designator (TD) box will be superimposed over its position in space on the HUD/HMD in the form of a square for a friendly, unknown, or ambiguous designation or a diamond for a hostile designation (see HAFU). The L&S track's offboard datalink identification of hostile or friendly, if any, is indicated by the appropriate HAFU symbol (half circle or triangle) above the L&S TD box. When the L&S TD box is not within the field of view of the HUD or HMD, it will flash and an arrow will point to it with a number indicating how many degrees off it is from the HUD or HMD center.

Whenever a Secondary Designated Target (DT2) is designated, a TD "X" is superimposed over it. When the DT2 TD X is outside the field of view of the HUD or HMD, it will flash.

The shapes are always stabilized to the physical HUD glass itself and the physical HMD, independent of the aircraft bank angle.

SA Format

The Situational Awareness (SA) format provides a top-down view of the area around the airplane. It displays trackfiles from all sources for the best possible situational awareness of airborne threats and allies. All trackfiles on the SA format are displayed as Hostile, Ambiguous, Friendly, or Unknown (HAFU) symbols.

The SA format additionally allows for offboard trackfile sources to be selectively filtered for all formats displaying tracks and provides the ability to manually classify the HAFU identification of trackfiles.

The page also shows some symbology and provides access to some functions identical to those found on the HSI format; this excludes non-waypoint steering options and cues, the north up display option, and the aircraft heading line.

1. TDC cursor. The number to the left and right displays the current Mach number (left) and altitude in thousands of feet (right) for the track currently under the cursor.
2. Information about the track currently under the cursor. From top to bottom:
   1. the aircraft type, which is be based off of an NCTR print or PPLI information
   2. for PPLI donors, the first and last letter and number of their callsign and current fuel state in thousands of pounds; for non-PPLI donors, their ground speed in knots and ground track (velocity) in degrees is instead displayed.
   3. bearing and range (BRA) from the aircraft to the trackfile.
   4. if an A/A waypoint is designated, this is the bearing and range from the A/A waypoint or "bullseye" (BE) to the trackfile.
3. The waypoint currently selected. If an A/A waypoint is designated, it will always be displayed regardless of the currently selected waypoint. The A/A waypoint will have an arrow pointing out of it toward north.
4. Declutter options:
   1. REJ1: Removes compass rose, ground track diamond, and SAM range rings.
   2. REJ2: Removes REJ1 items and the waypoint/TGT data block.
   3. MREJ1: Hides all SAM indications.
   4. MREJ2: Not yet implemented.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. The "STEP" function replaces the TDC cursor with a rectangular box, always centered around a trackfile. Around the trackfile selected is its Mach number to the left and altitude in thousands of feet. The option "steps" the STEP box through all non-friendly trackfiles based on rank. If the TDC cursor is over a trackfile, the STEP box will first step to that track; if not, it will select the highest ranked trackfile. Moving the TDC will bring back the cursor, which will appear where the STEP box was last.
7. Not yet implemented.
8. Current chaff, flare, decoy 1, and decoy 2 count. The number represents the physical count of each while the bar is a visual representation of the percentage left, with 100% defined as the amount loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, unless said amount is none. This will show regardless of the dispenser switch position, unlike on the EW format which requires the ALE-47 to be ON and not BYPASS.
9. The Pilot Identification (PLID) option displays whenever the TDC cursor is over a trackfile or the STEP box exists. This allows for manual hostile, friendly, or unknown status designation of a trackfile which is not PPLI.
10. Invokes the "SENSR" sublevel.

Not shown are SAM indications. In the aircraft's database, the location of SAMs, their type, and approximate effective range can be entered (this is not based on any aircraft sensor or live source); in DCS, this is based on SAMs that are not marked hidden in the Mission Editor. The SAM will be indicated by their emitter identifier with a dashed green circle indicating their general range.

SENSR Sublevel

The sensor (SENSR) sublevel controls what sensors contribute to the displays throughout the aircraft. Selecting "SA" returns to the main format.

1. Not yet implemented.
2. Not yet implemented.
3. Toggles trackfile information being displayed from fighter-fighter (F/F) donors.
4. Toggles trackfile information being displayed from Precise Participant Location and Identification (PPLI) donors.
5. Toggles trackfile information being displayed from surveillance (SURV) donors.
6. Toggles display of unknown HAFU trackfiles.
7. Toggles display of friendly air-to-air RWR bearings for the SA and RDR ATTK format. "OFF" shows none. "NO ID" shows friendly RWR bearings but without the emitter type in the triangle. "RWR ID" shows friendly RWR bearings with both the triangle and emitter type. Note that only the priority four emitters are displayed, so friendly emitters will not always be displayed even with the option enabled.
8. Toggles display of the four most priority air-to-air RWR bearings, shown in yellow as a triangle with the emitter identifier. This effects the SA format itself and also the RDR ATTK with MSI enabled. This always displays hostiles and unknowns, but will also display friendly bearings based on the FRIEND setting. Unboxed will show no RWR bearings, "ALL" will will show all, "CRIT LETH" will show only critical and lethal bearings, and "CRIT" will only show critical bearings.
9. Not yet implemented.
10. Not yet implemented.
11. Not yet implemented.
12. Not yet implemented.

Identification, Friend or Foe

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Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) is a technology equipped on most military aircraft, including the F/A-18C Hornet, allowing for one aircraft to 'interrogate' the other, and for the other to reply with a positive response; no response is termed a negative response. Attempting an interrogation with the plane's own IFF not operational is not considered a negative response. Transmitting (interrogating) and receiving is done via an IFF-capable transponder with what is called Mode 4 transponder operation. "Identification, Friend or Foe" is technically a misnomer, as IFF does not actually identify foes: a negative response does not mean inherently hostile, but simply not affirmatively friendly.

The F/A-18's IFF system, to both send interrogations and respond to them, is powered on and off by pressing the IFF button on the UFC and then pressing the ON/OFF button. An "ON" indication is displayed on the scratchpad when IFF is on.

In the F/A-18, IFF interrogations may be made on three formats: Situational Awareness, Azimuth/Elevation, and Attack Radar. The target must be in the field of view of the IFF antenna; the limits are approximately 70° left or right, 60° up, and 30° down. On any format, a manual IFF interrogation is performed by depressing the Sensor Control Switch on the stick while the TDC cursor is over the desired track or raw contact (which will still have a track generated) or while the radar is in Single Target Track. The trackfile information, and thus its HAFU symbol will be updated according to the identification rules.

Datalink and MIDS

---

The F/A-18 has a "datalink" system for sharing and transmitting information with/from other aircraft on the network. This includes serving as a sensor for generating aircraft trackfiles. Datalink is transmitted over its Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS) radios. It is equipped with a MIDS information radio and two MIDS voice radios.

The Hornet primarily uses Link-16, a modern network for transmitting data between aircraft. However, it can also connect to the less advanced Link-4 network to share some information with aircraft using Link-4. There are three main "channels" of Link-16, all transmitted through the MIDS radio system: surveillance (SURV), aka airborne intercept control (AIC), which is trackfile information transmitted from airborne warning and control systems (AWACS); fighter-fighter (F/F), which is information transmitted from combat aircraft to combat aircraft such as trackfiles on radar or a ground target designation; and the Precise Participant Location Identification (PPLI) system, which transmits information about aircraft themselves, such their location and fuel state.

Datalink UFC Options

The datalink system is controlled via the UFC under the "D/L" menu. The ON/OFF button toggled power to the datalink system. It also provides multiple information fields (not yet implemented).

MIDS Format

Not yet implemented.

Air-to-Air Weapons

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This section will cover the employment of air-to-air weaponry in the Hornet.

Air-to-air weapons are selected via the Weapon Select Switch on the stick. They cannot be fired without the master arm switch in the ARM position. The commands of the switch are:

• Forward: AIM-7
• Aft: Gun
• Down: AIM-9
• Right: AIM-120

Air-to-air weapons are fired via the trigger on the stick. With missiles, a single will fire with the trigger depressed. With the gun, it will fire while the trigger is depressed.

Air-to-Air Gun

The F/A-18C is equipped with the M61A2 6-barrel machine gun, mounted in its nose. This section will cover air-to-air employment of the gun.

Whenever the A/A gun is selected, the radar automatically enters Air Combat Maneuvering mode and commands Gun Acquisition (GACQ), except if the radar is in Single Target Track. As such, selecting the A/A gun will interrupt a normal search mode.

Air-to-Air Gun STORES Format

When the A/A gun is selected, the STORES format will display a special format for it.

1. Current wingspan setting in feet for the unguided gun funnel. XXX means it has not been changed and defaults to 40ft.
2. Current bullet count.
3. Round type selection; the gun is only loaded with one type, MK-50 or PGU-28, so this selection is simply informing the computer what type is loaded.
4. Gun rate of fire selection. Low (LO) is 4,000 rounds per minute and high (HI) is 6,000.
5. This button brings up the wingspan selection option on the UFC. This allows for the wingspan of the unguided funnel to be set, in feet, between 10 and 150.

Unguided Mode

The unguided HUD display for the A/A gun displays whenever the radar is not in Single Target Track.

1. Gun funnel, set to specified wingsan on the STORES format, and range indicators for firing. The top dot is calibrated to 1,000ft and the bottom is calibrated to 2,000ft. These are the points the gun rounds are calculated to land at those set distances when the gun is fired at that moment.
2. The boresight of the physical gun.
3. "GUN" indicates the A/A gun is selected. It is crossed out when the master arm is set to safe or there is weight on wheels. Below is the current gun rounds loaded.

Not displayed is the firing evaluation display set (FEDS). These are dots on the HUD in SIM mode that represent the calculated position of real bullets fired.

Radar Guided Mode

The radar can assist in aiming the A/A gun when the target is in Single Target Track (STT).

1. Gun reticle. A circle with a line pointing outward visualizes distance from the target, with the outward line indicating the effective maximum range (Rmax) of the gun. The line pointing inward visualizes the current range from the target. A pipper is placed inside the reticle, which is calibrated via the radar so that when it is over the target the bullets will hit, assuming the gun is in range and the target does not change its flight path.
2. Fluid Omni-Range/Rate Sight (FORESIGHT). The FORESIGHT provides an indication of the target's potential to maneuver (relative to the pipper). The plus symbol in between the two lines represents maneuvering capability at 1G while maintaining the current roll attitude. The offset plus symbol is the same but at 9G. The lines indicate the maximum predicted maneuver capability of the target to roll 90° left or right and pull 9G.
3. Closing rate (V_c) in knots to the target (above) and range to the target (below); when the gun is selected, the range is displayed in feet instead of nautical miles when below 1.0nm.

Furthermore, a "SHOOT" cue will be displayed by the reticle when the target box is within 20ft of an imaginary line between the 1G and 9G offset symbols.

Whenever the trigger is depressed, a bullet at target range (BATR) cue is displayed. This is a circle indicating where the bullets are calculated to end up at the current range to the target. In other words, if the BATR cue is over the physical target, they will likely hit.

Air-to-Air Missiles

The F/A-18C can carry multiple types of air-to-air missiles: the AIM-9 Sidewinder with infrared guidance, the AIM-7 Sparrow with semi-active radar guidance, and the AIM-120 AMRAAM with active radar guidance.

Launch Acceptable Region

All air-to-air missiles have four range variables relative to their effectiveness; these are known as the Launch Acceptable Region (LAR) cues.

• Raero: The maximum aerodynamic range is the maximum range the missile can be launched where it will have the aerodynamic ability to reach the target.
• Rmax: The maximum range is the farthest range the missile can be launched where it will have enough energy to reach the target.
• Rne: The no escape range is the range at which the missile will have enough energy to reach the target if it were to make a 180° turn.
• Rmin: The minimum range is the closest range at which the missile would likely be able to hit the target.

Whenever an air-to-air missile is selected, LARs are indicated on the HUD for the Launch & Steering (L&S) trackfile when the radar is operating in either Single Target Track (STT) or Track While Scan (TWS) and always on the RDR ATTK format for the L&S and the Secondary Designated Target (DT2).

SHOOT Cue

The "SHOOT cue" is an indication to the pilot that acceptable launch parameters have been met for the selected air-to-air missile. It is displayed above the L&S TD box and in the bottom center of the Attack Radar format.

The cue is displayed for the AIM-9 and AIM-120 in STT and TWS. For the AIM-7, it is only displayed in STT.

The SHOOT cue is displayed when:

• The master arm is set to ARM
• The steering dot is within the Allowable Steering Error (ASE) circle
• Range is Rmax or less

The SHOOT cue will flash when above parameters are met and the range is Rne or less.

HUD LAR Indications

1. Raero. When range is less than Raero, this is no longer displayed.
2. Rmax.
3. Rne.
4. Allowable Steering Error (ASE) circle / Normalized In-Range Display (NIRD). Placing the steering dot within this circle is what the plane considers to be an optimal launch (the ASE element). Around the circle is a thicker line with a small inward pointing line that winds counterclockwise as range decreases and clockwise as it increases; this visualizes the range from the target (the NIRD element). Only the NIRD element is displayed on the HMD. It is a "normalized" circle because the Rmax is always at the 6:00 o'clock position and Rmin at the 2:30 position; the rate of change and Rne change accordingly.
5. Rmin. When below Rmin, an large X is displayed on the HUD.
6. Steering dot (see #4). The dot will flash when within 15° of the radar azimuth limit and when within 5° of the radar elevation limit.
7. Target heading indication.
8. Target closure rate (V_c) in knots.
9. Distance to the target in nautical miles.

RDR ATTK LAR Indications

On the Attack Radar format when there is no L&S designated and the cursor is over a trackfile, a vertical line coming through it serves as a LAR indication. When an L&S is designated, the LAR will show for the L&S and DT2 and no longer for any track under the cursor. Along the line are horizontal bars, indicating from top/farthest to bottom/closest Raero, Rmax, Rne, and Rmin. Sometimes not all may be present simultaneously. A fixed ASE circle is displayed for the L&S with a moving steering dot; see HUD LAR.

AIM-9 Sidewinder

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is short-medium range, infrared-guided air-to-air missile used by the F/A-18. It comes in three variants, the L ("Lima"), the M ("Mike"), and the latest X ("X-Ray"). The AIM-9L and M are quite similar, with the M having some upgrades like reduced smoke trail and better resistance against countermeasures.

The L and M variants can lock a target up to 67° off boresight. The X variant features 90° off boresight launch capability (termed "high off boresight" or "HOBS") and improved maneuverability. The X also features different and more descriptive audio tones.

All AIM-9 variants can be loaded single onto the wingtip stations (9 and 1) and single or double on the outboard wing stations (8 and 2). Thus, the Hornet may carry a maximum of 6 AIM-9s.

AIM-9 STORES Format

The STORES format displays information about the AIM-9 when it is selected as the current A/A weapon.

1. 1 A "SEL" over the individual AIM-9 indicates it is the one in sequence and will be the one to fire when the weapon is fired. Pressing down on the Weapon Select Switch will cycle through all AIM-9 stations. When selecting a station with dual AIM-9s, "SEL L" and "SEL R" will be displayed to indicate the left or right missile.
2. Aircraft wingform. AIM-9s may be loaded onto the wingtip stations or outboard wing stations.
3. "9" indicates an AIM-9 and the letter after indicates the variant. The missile symbol below/above the text indicates what station the AIM-9 is loaded onto.

Standalone Employment

1. The "9" indicates the AIM-9 is selected. The proceeding letter indicates the type selected (L, M, X). This is crossed out when the master arm is set to safe or there is weight on wheels.
2. The amount of AIM-9s currently onboard. If multiple types are loaded, it is the total number for all types.
3. AIM-9 seeker indication, showing where the seeker is currently pointing. On the HMD, the circle is shown significantly larger except when uncaged.

The AIM-9 can be employed by itself when there is no Launch & Steering trackfile designated. When the HMD is looking at the HUD (or is off), the AIM-9 seeker is slaved to the aircraft boresight. When the HMD is looking elsewhere, it is slaved to the center of the HMD.

Audio tones are provided to give information on what the seeker sees; see audio tones. When the seeker sees a target and can track it, it will track and engage that target when fired.

The seeker can also be commanded to "lock" onto a target, which will make the seeker always follow the target instead of the HUD/HMD. This is termed "uncaging" the seeker and is toggled via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle. Note uncaging is only for ease of use and not required for the seeker to be fired on and track a target. The seeker can only be uncaged when it currently sees a target.

Radar Slaved Employment

When the radar has a Launch & Steering (L&S) track designated, the AIM-9 seeker will be slaved to and uncage onto the line of sight to the L&S track; however, if there is no longer an L&S, the seeker will re-cage. Launch Acceptable Region indications will be shown like all air-to-air missiles (see LAR), even though the AIM-9 is not actually radar-guided in its tracking.

Audio Tones

AIM-9L/M

• Low Growl: Seeker is searching.
• Loud Growl: Seeker sees an infrared contrasting target.
• Steady Tone: Seeker is uncaged.

AIM-9X

• Static: Seeker is searching.
• Double Beep: Seeker has been moved past 27.5° off boresight while searching.
• Repeating Beep: Seeker sees infrared contrast, but not enough to reliably track (i.e. the seeker is too far from the source).
• Steady Tone: Seeker sees an infrared contrasting target.
• Steady High Pitch Tone: Seeker is uncaged.
• Steady Higher Pitch Tone: Seeker is uncaged and is more than 27.5° off boresight.

Seeker Cooling

For the AIM-9's infrared seeker to correctly function, it must be physically cooled in temperature. This is done by a coolant fluid in the missile, which lasts for 3 hours.

When the master arm is set to ARM, weight is off wheels, and the AIM-9 is selected, the coolant will automatically be released onto the seeker head. The coolant can be manually released by setting the IR coolant switch to the right of the right DDI to the normal (NORM) position, which will release it whenever there is not weight on wheels. The ORIDE position will manually release it even on the ground.

AIM-7 Sparrow

The AIM-7 Sparrow is a medium-long range semi active homing radar-guided air-to-air missile employed by the F/A-18C Hornet. 'Semi active' means that it requires the airplane's radar to lock on and reflect radar waves off the target using pulse-Doppler illumination (PDI), as it does not have its own independent radar, but rather a seekerhead that detects the PDI.

The AIM-7 has two variants, the L, the M, and the MH. The M is simply an upgraded version of the L with improvements like better electronic countermeasure resistance and low altitude performance. The MH has further improvements.

The AIM-7 may be loaded single on the body stations (6 and 4), the inboard wing stations (7 and 3), and the outboard wing stations (8 and 2). Thus, the Hornet can carry up to 6 AIM-7s.

AIM-7 STORES Format

A special display on the STORES format is shown when the AIM-7 is selected.

1. The "7" indicates an AIM-7 and the letter after indicates the variant. The missile symbol below shows which station the missile is loaded on. "SEL" indicates that station is selected and will fire next. Stations can be cycled by pressing forward on the Weapon Select Switch.
2. Allows for the selection of the size of the target (small, medium, large) for the best detonation of the missile.
3. Allows for selection of the launch mode. NORM is normal flight to target. LOFT will loft the missile. HELO optimizes the missile to hit a very slow-moving target like a helicopter. NORM and LOFT can be toggled with the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle.
4. AIM-7 test activation. Activates a test on the AIM-7 and crosses out the AIM-7 station indications. When the cross is removed, the AIM-7 has been successfully tested and is usable.

FLOOD Employment

The AIM-7 requires the target to be painted by the radar with pulse Doppler illumination (PDI) in order to guide. The PDI is generally directed very accurately at the target via Single Target Track. However, as a backup, it can guide to a target not in STT via the FLOOD mode. This mode "floods" PDI in a 12° come in front of the aircraft and the Sparrow will attempt to engage whatever is illuminated. The radar does not search during FLOOD mode. Note that there is no indication as to whether or not the missile is tracking an illuminated target in FLOOD.

FLOOD mode is activated when:

• the STT is lost after launch
• the AIM-7 is launched without an L&S or the radar cannot put the non-STT L&S in STT automatically upon launch
• the FLOOD option on the RDR ATTK format is activated while in STT with the AIM-7 selected and launched

FLOOD mode can be exited by pressing the Undesignate button.

A "FLOOD" indication will be displayed on the RDR ATTK format and on the HUD for 5 seconds, and then the straight line (SL) countdown will display on the HUD.

1. Circle indicating the view the radar will have when it enters FLOOD mode. Note this will also show on the HMD as an indication of FLOOD mode when looking away from the HUD, but the AIM-7 seeker is always pointed to boresight and a FLOOD launch cannot be made off boresight.
2. The "7" indicates the AIM-7 is selected and the letter after is the variant selected. This is crossed out when there is weight on wheels or the master arm is SAFE.
3. The amount of AIM-7s aboard.
4. The current launch mode of the AIM-7 (NORM, LOFT, HELO). No text will display when in NORM.

Guided Employment

The normal guided employment of the AIM-7 uses the radar to reflect pulse Doppler illumination (PDI) off of a target, which requires it to be in Single Target Track (STT) mode. When operating in STT with the AIM-7 selected, the radar will initiate PDI mode which is indicated in place of the PRF setting. When fired, the missile will guide onto the illuminated target, assuming it is launched within the maximum range of the seeker.

When a Launch & Steering (L&S) trackfile exists but the radar is not in STT, the radar will attempt to acquire the L&S in STT when an AIM-7 is fired. Should this fail, FLOOD mode is initiated.

Three timers are are related to the AIM-7:

• time of flight (TOF): TOF is shown before the missile is launched and is the estimated time the missile will take to hit the target if it is launched then.
• time to go (TTG): the predicted time to impact after launch or the time to reaching its Raero, whichever is sooner.
• straight line (SL): the predicted time for the missile to reach its Rmax.

AIM-7 Guided HUD Indications

When a target is locked, a time of flight (TOF)/time to go (TTG) is shown on the HUD in seconds.

When an L&S exists with the AIM-7 selected but is not in STT, "GO STT" is displayed below the L&S TD box as a prompt to initiate STT before launch.

AIM-7 Guided RDR ATTK Format

When the AIM-7 is selected and a target is in an STT, the following unique information is shown on the RDR ATTK format.

1. Visualization of the missile after launch, termed the "fly-out symbol." This is calculated by the aircraft mission computer and is not based on information from the missile itself and so may be inaccurate. The fly-out symbol is always positioned horizontally in line with the target; it only indicates distance, not its exact place in space. Below is its TTG or "LOST" if the STT is lost.
2. TOF for the next missile that can be launched.
3. Value between 1 and 18 indicating probability of the last launched missile successfully impacting the target.
4. Small circle indicating maximum range of the missile's seeker. Only displays in LOFT mode or when the missile seeker's range is less than the range to the target and the target is between Rmax and Rmin. If fired outside of the seeker range, the missile may fail to lock onto the illuminated target once in range.

AIM-120 AMRAAM

The AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is an active radar homing air-to-air missile that the F/A-18C employs. 'Active radar homing' refers to the fact it has its own radar in the nose of the missile, meaning it can guide itself to a target without guidance from the airplane. However, the AIM-120 requires guidance post-launch from the airplane's own radar until a certain point in its travel to the target; the AMRAAM's own radar is limited in range to about 10nm and so cannot guide itself at long ranges.

The AIM-120 comes in two variants: the B and the C. The C has upgraded range and tracking capability, and also has slightly smaller aerodynamic surfaces. It can be loaded single or dual on the outboard wing stations (8 and 2) and the inboard wing stations (7 and 3) and single on the body stations (6 and 4). In total, up to 10 AIM-120s can be loaded on the F/A-18.

AIM-120 STORES Format

A special STORES format is displayed when the AIM-120 is selected.

1. The "A" indicates an AIM-120 AMRAAM and the letter after indicates the variant (B or C). The missile icon shows what station it is loaded on. "SEL" displayed when that station is selected; with dual mounted AMRAAMs, "L SEL" or "R SEL" is displayed instead to distinguish between the left or right missile. Stations can be cycled manually via Weapon Select Switch right.
2. Radar cross section (RCS) of the target. Selection of small, medium, and large for optimal missile homing.
3. Size selection of the target for optimal missile detonation.
4. Not yet implemented.

VISUAL Employment

When the radar has no designated Launch & Steering (L&S) trackfile in Single Target Track (STT) or Track While Scan (TWS), the AIM-120 is in "VISUAL" mode. When an STT/TWS L&S does exist, VISUAL mode can be manually toggled via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle.

In VISUAL mode, the AIM-120 relies entirely on its own radar. Upon launch, the missile will immediately begin searching and engage the first target it detects. Note that the AIM-120's radar has a maximum range of about 10nm.

1. "A" indicates that the AIM-120 is selected. The letter after indicates the type selected. If the master arm is set to safe or there is weight on wheels, this is crossed out.
2. Total number of AIM-120s on board.
3. Indicates the AIM-120 is in VISUAL mode.
4. Field of view of the AIM-120 seeker for VISUAL mode launch. Note this will also show on the HMD, but the missile cannot be launched off-boresight in VISUAL mode; this is just to indicate the missile is in VISUAL mode and the actual seeker FOV is only indicated on the HUD.

After firing, the straight line (SL) countdown will display.

Guided Employment

When fired and not in VISUAL mode and with a Launch & Steering target designated and the operating in either STT or TWS mode, the AIM-120 will be guided to the target via datalink with the aircraft itself, using the aircraft's radar, until a certain optimal point or if the L&S is lost. Once it has gone "active", the AMRAAM will guide with its own radar to the target. Note that the missile's own radar has a maximum range of about 10nm and so if the L&S is lost, the missile may not be able to acquire the target when going active.

Three countdowns are associated with the AIM-120:

• time to active (ACT): the time from launch to the time it will go active. It displays before and during launch until the missile goes active.
• time to go (TTG): the predicted time to impact after the missile has activated.
• straight line (SL): the predicted time until the missile reaches Raero. This is displayed during a VISUAL launch or if the STT is lost after launch before the missile goes active.

AIM-120 Guided HUD Indications

When the aircraft has an L&S in STT/TWS, the ACT/TTG/SL countdowns are shown on the HUD in seconds. If the L&S is lost, a "LOST" indication will show for 5 seconds and then the SL countdown will show.

AIM-120 Guided RDR ATTK Format

1. Visualization of the missile after launch, termed the "fly-out symbol." This is calculated by the aircraft mission computer and is not based on information from the missile itself and so may be inaccurate. The fly-out symbol is always positioned horizontally in line with the target; it only indicates distance, not its exact place in space. Below the symbol is the ACT is seconds before activation, an "A" after activation, or "LOST" if the L&S is lost.
2. ACT for the next missile not launched.
3. Value from 1 to 18 indicating probability of missile impact.

Air-to-Ground Weapons

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This section will cover the employment of air-to-ground weaponry in the Hornet.

Air-to-ground weapons are employed from the A/G master mode and selected via the A/G STORES format. They cannot be released without the master arm set to ARM and the master mode being A/G; however, selection and programming is still available from the NAV master mode, although HUD indications are not shown.

The A/G gun is fired via the trigger on the stick. All other air-to-ground munitions are fired/released via the air-to-ground weapon release button on the stick.

A/G STORES Format

The STORES format, when accessed in the NAV or A/G master modes, allows for the selection of air-to-ground munitions via the airplane's Stores Management System (SMS), the element of its computer systems regarding weapons release and programming. The STORES format can be accessed via the TAC menu; it is also brought up automatically on the left DDI when the A/G master mode is entered.

1. Aircraft wingform displaying what stores are loaded. This wingform displays both air-to-ground and air-to-air munitions in all master modes. Stations are numbered 1–9, from left to right. A diamond indicates a dual rack launcher. A number above the weapon type indicates the quantity. An "X" shape indicates an air-to-air missile.
2. Current bullet count remaining for the gun.
3. Indicates whether the master arm is set to SAFE, SAFE with SIM mode, or to ARM.
4. Simulation (SIM) option, only available when master arm is set to SAFE. Weapon release remains inhibited, but it will have symbology display as if the master arm is set to ARM.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. Option to transmit a tone over the COMM1 or COMM 2 when the weapons release button depressed. When the option reads "TONE", it is disabled. "TONE 1" or "TONE 2" will enable it for the COMM1 or COMM2 radio. This option is only available when the master arm is set to ARM.
7. Gun selection. This can be selected simultaneously with any other munition.
8. A/G weapon selection (besides the gun). Only one can be selected at a time. This will bring up options for said weapon and, in the A/G master mode, allow for it to be employed. The specific station selected will be boxed; if the selected station is not in a state to be fired, other than due to the master arm being set to SAFE, it will be crossed out. An indication of the weapon status (STBY, RDY, etc) is also indicated below as applicable, in A/G master mode with the master arm set to ARM (or SIM mode engaged). A given A/G weapon remains selected until manually un-selected except if an A/A weapon is selected by entering the A/A master mode.

A/G TGT

For usage with various air-to-ground munitions, a single place in 3D space can be designated; this is called the TGT (target). It can be seen on the HMD (not yet implemented) and HUD as a diamond, with a circle in the center if the TDC is assigned to the HUD.

On the HUD, "TGT" and a horizontal distance in nautical miles from the target is always displayed when a TGT is designated. A diamond on the heading tape indicates bearing to the TGT. If it is off the field of view of the HUD, an arrow points to the TGT with a number indicating the degrees off it is, except if it is farther than 90°.

The TGT can be designated by various sensors such as the targeting pod or surface radar, or be coincided with a waypoint via the HSI/SA formats; said sensors' own sections will cover their ability to designate a TGT.

The TGT, regardless of the sensor that designated it, can be undesignated via the Undesignate button on the stick.

Note that while it can exist, the TGT HUD indications cannot be seen in the A/A master mode.

Air-to-Ground Gun

The F/A-18C's M61A2 gun can be used as an air-to-ground weapon. It can be employed simultaneously with any other A/G munition, but when another A/G munition is selected, symbology will be more limited. When used alone, the gun operates in two modes: continuously computed impact point (CCIP) and manual (MAN).

Gun STORES Format

When the gun is selected (and not along with another A/G munition), these options will display on the STORES format.

1. Gun mode selection.
2. Currently selected MAN reticle depression in milliradians (shown when MAN mode is selected).
3. Brings up the UFC option to enter the MAN reticle depression in milliradians (shown when MAN mode is selected).
4. Round type selection; the gun is only loaded with one type, MK-50 or PGU-28, so this selection is simply informing the computer what type is loaded.
5. Gun rate of fire selection. Low (LO) is 4,000 rounds per minute and high (HI) is 6,000.

CCIP Mode

Continuously computed impact point (CCIP) mode calculates where the gun rounds will impact on the ground.

1. CCIP reticle. When the IN RNG cue is displayed, the center dot indicates where the gun rounds will impact the ground. An inward-pointing line unwinds around the reticle when the reticle is pointing at maximum 23,000ft away from a point on the ground. From 23,000ft to 0ft, the line will unwind nearly twice as each tick mark indicates 1,000ft (and there are 12 marks); when less than 12,000ft range, the circle itself will begin unwinding with the line. An outward-pointing thick tick mark will indicate the maximum range for the "IN RNG" cue.
2. "IN RNG" indicates the gun is in range for effective employment and the center dot in the reticle accurately represents where the bullets will impact when fired at that moment.
3. Pull up cue. When this cue is above the velocity vector, an "X" will flash on the HUD. When the cue is above the velocity vector, this indicates weapon release is likely unsafe (not being able to pull away from the ground, shrapnel, or bullet ricochet).
4. Indicates CCIP mode.
5. Indicates the gun is selected and the current rounds remaining.

MAN Mode

Manual (MAN) mode provides a constant reticle for aiming. By default, it is centered on the aircraft boresight, but may be depressed below in single milliradians ("mils").

1. MAN gun reticle.
2. Pull up cue. When this cue is above the velocity vector, an "X" will flash on the HUD. When the cue is above the velocity vector, this indicates weapon release is likely unsafe (not being able to pull away from the ground, shrapnel, or bullet ricochet).
3. Current aircraft true airspeed.
4. Indicates MAN mode and the depression setting in mils.
5. Indicates the gun is selected and rounds remaining.

Simultaneous Employment

When selected after another A/G munition is selected first, a "+" sign on the HUD is displayed to indicate the gun boresight and it can be fired, but no other gun-related symbology is shown. An exception applies to the AGM-65 Maverick, which will allow for full symbology of the last selected gun mode (MAN or CCIP) to be displayed with both the Maverick and gun selected.

Rockets

The F/A-18 can carry air-to-ground rockets, which are small, unguided, momentarily-self propelled projectile explosive munitions launched from a pod of multiple. It can use the 5-inch Zuni Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket (FFAR) Mk. 71 and the 2.75-inch Hydra 70 Mk. 151 rockets. Both can be single or dual mounted on stations 8, 7, 3, and 2. The Zuni is launched from the LAU-10 pod with 4 per and the Hydra 70 is launched from the LAU-68 with 7 per or the LAU-61 with 19 per. The Zuni FFAR has a 10lbs warhead and is specialized in penetration. The Hydra 70 has an 8lbs warhead with fragmentation.

The rockets can also be set by the ground crew (via the DCS Mission Editor) to single or ripple. In single mode, a single rocket is released from the pod per shot. In ripple, all rockets are released from the pod per shot, except the Zuni rockets will release half.

SMS Designations
Type	SMS Designation
Hydra 70 on LAU-61 in Single	61S
Hydra 70 on LAU-61 in Ripple	61R
Hydra 70 on LAU-68 in Single	68S
Hydra 70 on LAU-68 in Ripple	68R
Zuni FFAR on LAU-10 in Single	10S
Zuni FFAR on LAU-10 in Ripple	10R

Rockets STORES Format

1. Mode selection between CCIP and MAN.
2. Firing mode selection between single (SGL) and salvo (SAL). SGL fires one rocket from the currently selected pod. SAL fires one rocket from every pod of that pod type.
3. Rocket motor selection. The rockets in DCS only use the Mk. 66 motor.
4. When in SGL mode, steps through the stations/pods (including individual pods on dual mounted pods).
5. Brings up UFC option to enter the MAN reticle depression in mils (only shown in MAN mode).
6. MAN reticle depression setting in mils (only shown in MAN mode).

CCIP Mode

Continuously computed impact point (CCIP) mode calculates where the rockets will impact on the ground.

1. CCIP reticle. When the IN RNG cue is displayed, the center dot indicates where the rockets will impact the ground. An inward-pointing line unwinds around the reticle when the reticle is pointing at maximum 23,000ft away from a point on the ground. From 23,000ft to 0ft, the line will unwind nearly twice as each tick mark indicates 1,000ft (and there are 12 marks); when less than 12,000ft range, the circle itself will begin unwinding with the line. An outward-pointing thick tick mark will indicate the maximum range for the "IN RNG" cue.
2. "IN RNG" indicates the rockets are in range for effective employment and the center dot in the reticle accurately represents where they will impact when fired at that moment.
3. Indicates CCIP mode.
4. Indicates a rocket is selected and the current total quantity of all rocket types on board.

MAN Mode

Manual (MAN) mode provides a constant reticle for aiming. By default, it is centered 2.5° below the aircraft boresight, but may be depressed below that in single milliradians ("mils").

1. MAN reticle.
2. Indicates MAN mode and the depression setting in mils.
3. Indicates a rocket is selected and total rockets of all types on board remaining.
4. Current aircraft true airspeed.
5. Pull up cue. When this cue is above the velocity vector, an "X" will flash on the HUD. When the cue is above the velocity vector, this indicates weapon release is likely unsafe (not being able to pull away from the ground, shrapnel, or bullet ricochet).
6. Current aircraft true airspeed.

Conventional and Laser-Guided Bombs

The F/A-18 is capable of carrying the Mark 80 series of general purpose bombs as well as the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs (LGBs), which are modified Mark 80 bombs fitted with laser-tracking seekers and flight controls. Additionally, it can use the CBU-99 Cluster Bomb.

The Mk-82 and -83, the CBU-99, and the GBU-12 can be mounted single or dual on stations 8, 7, 3, and 2, and the GBU-10 and -16 can be mounted single on those. The Mk-82 and CBU-99 can be mounted single or dual on station 5 the Mk-83 and -84 can be mounted single on station 5.

Conventional bombs, being unguided, rely entirely on the initial trajectory at release and have no way to guide themselves onto the target; as such, their accuracy is dependent on this. Laser-guided bombs benefit from an accurate initial trajectory but still guide to the target themselves; their margin of error is rated to be 3.6ft (1.1m).

The Hornet carries the following Mark 80 series unguided bombs:

• Mk-82 (500lbs)
• Mk-82 Snake Eye (500lbs w/ drag petals)
• Mk-82 Retarded (500lbs w/ ballute)
• Mk-83 (1,000lbs)
• Mk-84 (2,000lbs)
• Mk-20 Rockeye II (cluster bomb)
• CBU-99 (cluster bomb)

The Mk-82, -83, and -84 standard variants are free-fall, unguided bomb units. The Mk-82 Snake Eye and Retarded are a high-drag versions for low-altitude employment, equipped with extendable drag flaps and a drag ballute respectively. The Mk-20 Rockeye and CBU-99 Cluster Bomb are cluster bombs, which release many small "bomblets" instead of acting as a single large bomb; both use the same anti-tank bomblets and simply use different dispensers inside (the CBU-199's is thermally protected).

The Hornet carries the following Paveway series guided bomb units (GBUs), which are laser-guided variants of the Mk-82, -83, and -84:

• GBU-12 Paveway II (500lbs)
• GBU-16 Paveway II (1,000lbs)
• GBU-10 Paveway II (2,000lbs)
• GBU-24 Paveway III (2,000lbs)

Laser-guided bombs use a laser-tracking seeker to lock onto a laser with a specific frequency. The laser may be fired from the airplane's own targeting pod, another aircraft, or a ground unit.

SMS Designations
Type	SMS Designation
Mk-82	82B
Mk-82 Snake Eye	82XT
Mk-82 Retarded	82YT
Mk-83	83B
Mk-84	84
Mk-20 Rockeye II	RE
CBU-99 Cluster Bomb	RET
GBU-12 Paveway II	82LG
GBU-16 Paveway II	83LG
GBU-10 Paveway II	84LG

Fuzing and Drag

There are various configurable fuze options for conventional and laser-guided bombs. A fuze is what instructs the bomb to actually explode. The mechanical fuze is the physical fuze on the bomb, of which there are generally two - one on the nose and one on the tail. Mark 80 series bombs employed by the Hornet only use nose fusing, and so a tail or nose and tail (N/T) fusing option will be a dud; LGBs do not use the mechanical fuzing option. The electronic fuze is the programmed fuzing of the bomb which activates as an effect of the mechanical fuze. Mark 80 series/LGBs can only use instantaneous (INST) or delay 1 (DLY1) electronic fuzing.

The CBU-99 Cluster Bomb and Mk-20 Rockeye II instead have variable timing (VT) and proximity (PRI) for mechanical fuzing. Variable timing releases the bomb at a specific height above the ground, while proximity fusing will release it when in close proximity to the ground. Neither use an electronic fuze.

Mk-82 Retarded and Mk-82 Snake Eye high-drag bombs, designed to be able to be launched from low altitude and travel slowly so the aircraft can get out of the fragmentation pattern that would prove dangerous in a normal bomb, have drag settings: RET (retarded) will deploy the ballute or drag petals upon release. Free fall (FF) disables this.

When the fuzing setting is invalid or it is calculated that the bomb will not have time to explode at the current parameters, a "DUD" cue is displayed on the HUD.

Bomb STORES Format

1. Bombing mode (MAN, CCIP, FD, AUTO) selection.
2. Mechanical fuze (MFUZ), electronic fuze (EFUZ), and drag (if applicable) setting (see fuzing/drag. When variable timing is selected, then a height (HT) option is prompted as well which will allow for different altitudes above the ground to be selected for cluster bomb release.
3. Bomb program settings.
4. Bomb program selector: the bombs store 5 programs for mode, mechanical/electronic fuzing, drag, release height, quantity, multiples, and interval.
5. Brings up UFC options.
   1. Multiple is the amount of bombs to be released simultaneously.
   2. Quantity is the amount of bombs to release total (e.g. if a multiple of 2 and a quantity of 4 is selected, then 2 bombs will release simultaneously and then another 2 in accordance with the selected interval).
   3. Interval is the spacing on the ground in feet between bomb salvos when in CCIP/AUTO/FD mode or the interval between releases in milliseconds when in MAN mode. The weapons release button must be held until all bombs are released.
   4. Reticle is only shown in MAN mode and is the depression in milliradians the reticle is from the default position.
6. Steps through the bomb stations of that type, including individual bombs dual-mounted.

Not shown is the laser-guided bomb code indication and option. When an LGB is selected, a CODE option is displayed to input the laser code, and below all LGBs of that type when selected, the code is displayed. Pressing the option once allows for code input to all bombs, and pressing it again will cycle through single bomb stations.

CCIP Mode

Continuously computed impact point (CCIP) mode dynamically calculates the point where a bomb will impact when released. It is generally used with a dive bombing technique. The weapon release button will drop the bomb(s) at any point when pressed in CCIP mode.

1. Bomb impact cross; when a bomb is released, it is calculated to impact at the point the cross is over at the moment of release. A line connects the cross to the velocity vector, which flashes each time an individual bomb is released. When the cross is outside the field of view of the HUD, a longer horizontal line is instead shown; the distance between this line and the bottom of the HUD's FOV is the distance between the bottom of the HUD's FOV and where the impact cross is in space.
2. Pull up cue. When this cue is above the velocity vector, an "X" will flash on the HUD. When the cue is above the velocity vector, this indicates weapon release is likely unsafe (not being able to pull away from the ground or shrapnel).

AUTO Mode

Automatic (AUTO) bombing mode calculates the optimal moment to release a bomb to land on a target. The A/G TGT is the AUTO mode's target. AUTO mode, in addition to when programmed, is entered from CCIP when there is an A/G TGT designated.

AUTO mode does not allow for release at any point; the weapon release button will release the bombs only when the time to release (REL) timer is 0 and the aircraft heading is within 20° of the azimuth steering line. Optimal accuracy requires the bombs to be released at the same moment the REL timer reaches 0. As such, the normal AUTO bombing technique is to begin holding the weapon release button down at some point before 0 REL; this will automatically release the bombs at 0 REL.

1. Azimuth steering line (ASL): this is a virtual line for optimal alignment with the target. The velocity vector, when centered with this line, means the aircraft is in the optimal release condition.
2. Release cue. This horizontal line falls down from the top of the ASL starting at 9 seconds to release. The release cue will meet the velocity vector when the release timer is 0; in other words, the release cue is a visualization of the final seconds of the release countdown.
3. Release (REL) and time to impact (TTI) indication, in seconds. REL is the time at the current parameters until release. TTI is the calculated time until the last bomb released impacts the ground.

Undesignated Symbology

When an A/G TGT is not designated, AUTO mode displays special symbology that can be used to designate an A/G TGT via the HUD. The TGT, instead of a diamond, is a segmented diamond. This AUTO designated TGT can be used for any other weapon as a normal TGT, but cannot be undesignated except with the TDC assigned to the HUD.

In undesignated AUTO mode with the TDC assigned to the HUD, a pipper displays on the HUD with a dashed line connecting it to the velocity vector - this is called the "ball and chain." The pull up cue is still displayed. The pipper is placed 7.5° below the horizon, except if the velocity vector is more than 7.5° below the horizon it will be on the velocity vector. When the weapon release button or TDC depress is pressed, an A/G TGT will be designated at the location of the pipper at that moment. The TGT can then be slewed with the TDC when TDC is assigned to the HUD. Holding TDC depress will stabilize the TGT diamond to the physical HUD glass rather than the ground itself.

If a normal designated TGT exists in AUTO, TDC depress will make it segmented and allow for slewing.

FD Mode

Not yet implemented.

MAN Mode

Manual (MAN) mode simply provides a fixed pipper. It is designed as a backup mode; a precise delivery in MAN requires manual calculation.

1. Static MAN bombing reticle. By default, it is placed 2.5° below the aircraft boresight; however, via the UFC option on the STORES format, it can be depressed further below in milliradians.
2. Current aircraft true airspeed.
3. Indicates MAN mode and the selected depression setting.

GPS-Guided Bombs

The F/A-18C is able to employ the Global Positioning System (GPS)-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs and the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs. JDAMs are modified general purpose bombs, equipped with a GPS and inertial navigation system (INS) for guidance as well as flight controls. The JSOW has the same guidance and is a bomb with wings to provide lift and maneuvering flight controls. As such, it has a significantly longer range than JDAMs.

The JDAMs/JSOWs have (at optimal INS alignment) a margin of error of approximately 16ft (5m). Independent programming of each individual bomb allows for simultaneous multi-target attacks.

They consist of the GBU-38, -32, and -31 JDAMs, whose base are the Mk-82, -83, and -84 respectively, as well as the GBU-31(V), which is a JDAM variant of the BLU-109 2,000lbs penetrating bomb. The JSOW consists of the AGM-154A and AGM-154C: the A variant is a cluster bomb while the C has a penetration warhead.

All JDAM and JSOW variants except the GBU-31 and -31(V) can be mounted single or dual on stations 2, 3, 7, and 8. The GBU-31/-31(V) can be mounted single on the same stations.

SMS Designations
Type	SMS Designation
GBU-38	J-82
GBU-32	J-83
GBU-31	J-84
GBU-31(V)	J-109
AGM-154A	JSA
AGM-154C	JSC

JDAM/JSOW STORES Format

When a variant of the JDAM/JSOW is selected on the STORES format, some options are provided for the bomb. Additionally, all bombs loaded of that variant will begin Inertial Navigation System (INS) alignment. This takes approximately 3 minutes to reach best alignment; the longer it aligns prior to release, the more accurate the bomb will be. Whenever the bomb is deselected in the STORES format, power is taken away and the alignment is reset.

1. Mode toggle between Pre-Planned (PP) and Target of Opportunity (TOO).
2. Electronic fuze setting. INST will explode instantaneously upon impact while variable timing (VTI) will detonate based on proximity. The EFUZ setting is displayed to the bottom right. The fuze is set for all weapons of the specific type selected.
3. The erase function wipes all PP mission data. Selecting the option allows for the erase to be accepted or cancelled. Selecting accept will box the ERASE JDAM/JSOW momentarily and then irreversibly erase the PP data.
4. Not yet implemented.
5. Invokes the JDAM DSPLY or JSOW DSPLY.
6. Steps between weapons of the selected weapon type. This option is not available when a single weapon is selected via the QTY option in the JDAM/JSOW DSPLY format. When weapons are selected via the QTY option, this will only step between the selected weapons.
7. Time to maximum range (TMR) timer in seconds (up to 99 seconds). When the IRLAR is reached, it displays IN RNG. When within the IZLAR, it displays IN ZONE. See HSI indications.
8. A 10 minute countdown timer which stops when the selected weapon type reaches full alignment (generally this is at approximately 7:00).
9. Alignment status: 10 is the least accurate and 01 is the most accurate. The practical accuracy is also provided which correlates with the number: UNST (unstable), MARG (marginal), and GOOD.

JDAM/JSOW DSPLY Format

The JDAM and JSOW display (JDAM/JSOW DSPLY) formats are where most JDAM/JSOW options are presented for the selected weapon type. The JDAM DSPLY and JSOW DSPLY can be accessed from an option on the STORES format when the JDAM/JSOW is selected and is also available on any display from the TAC menu whenever the JDAM/JSOW is selected in the STORES format.

The JDAM/JSOW DSPLY format shares some options and indications of the STORES format when a JDAM/JSOW type is selected. It also provides many additional options.

1. From top to bottom:
   1. Selected station
   2. Selected PP or TOO mission for the station
   3. Station weapon type.
2. A count-up timer from 0, starting when the weapon is selected.
3. Release mode and number of bombs selected via the QTY option.
4. Invokes the MSN sublevel.
5. Release type selection: MAN, AUTO LF, and FD.
6. Not yet implemented.
7. Quantity (QTY) selection. This allows for multiple stations to be selected for release, but will still all have their separate PP/TOO missions applied. The weapons release button is held down until all selected bombs are released. This allows for multi-target attacks with a single release of all bombs.
8. Not yet implemented.

PP MSN Sublevel

Section WIP.

TOO MSN Sublevel

Target of Opportunity (TOO) mode bases the target off of the A/G TGT, allowing for another sensor to designate the JDAM/JSOW's target (e.g. the targeting pod or a waypoint). Only one TGT can exist at once, but separate profiles exist per weapon for TOO where an offset from the TGT scan be set, meaning a unique target per weapon can essentially exist in TOO. The TOO profiles also store separate employment options. These are edited from the TOO mission sublevel.

1. Target of Opportunity (TOO) missions, labeled TOO1 and TOO2, for the selected bomb. These have independent parameter settings. The boxed profile is the one that will be executed by the bomb on release; the boxing of TOO1 or TOO2 will be saved when stepping to another bomb. When no A/G TGT is designated, both TOO profiles are crossed out; a valid TGT designation is the only requirement for a TOO release.
2. Not yet implemented.
3. Not yet implemented.
4. Invokes UFC options for the terminal flight options for the selected TOO mission:
   1. HDG: True heading of the bomb before impact.
   2. ANG/HT: For JDAMs and the JSOW C-variant, the angle in degrees at which the bomb will impact. For the JSOW A-variant, this is the height (in feet or meters) of bomblet release.
   3. VEL: Velocity of the bomb in feet per minute before impact.
5. Not yet implemented.
6. Position of the offset release point (ORP), which is the designated A/G TGT. This is the target point for the TOO mission except if offset parameters are defined.
7. Offset (O/S) settings, if any, which will be based on the ORP, for the selected TOO mission.
8. Entered terminal parameters for the TOO mission.
9. Returns to the main JDAM/JSOW DSPLY format.

Release Types

The JDAMs/JSOWs have multiple release types which concern the method of releasing the munitions onto the target and are independent of the Pre-Planned/Target of Opportunity programming modes. A single depression of the weapons release button will release the currently stepped-to bomb; if the quantity option is used, all selected bombs will release as long as the button is held down.

Regardless of the release type, the following cues on the right side of the HUD are always displayed (when in A/G master mode):

• Time to maximum range (TMR) timer in minutes and seconds (MM:SS); this is the time to IRLAR (see HSI indications). When within maximum range, it will display IN RNG. When in the IZLAR, it will display IN ZONE. IN RNG/ZONE will flash when the aircraft is about to leave the IZ/IRLAR.
• Release mode.
• Weapon type followed by TOO/PP.

When a Pre-Planned mission is programmed with a target, the same indications are displayed as when an A/G TGT is (range, diamond superimposed on the physical target, bearing arrow, and diamond on heading tape).

Below the velocity vector, two horizontal lines form the "pull-up cue". When the velocity vector is under the pull-up cue, the bomb is likely not to have sufficient time to arm itself if released.

MAN

Manual (MAN) mode allows for the bomb(s) to be released at any time. No specific HUD indications are provided for MAN mode.

AUTO LF

Not yet implemented.

FD

Not yet implemented.

HSI JDAM/JSOW Indications

Section WIP.

AGM-65 Maverick

The Hornet is capable of firing the short-range AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile. It uses two variants - the AGM-65E, which uses laser guidance, and the AGM-65F, which uses infrared guidance. Both have a range of approximately 12nm and have a 300lbs penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead.

The Maverick's seeker may lock onto a target that is farther away than the missile may physically reach. The calculated time until it can be launched is called the time to maximum range (TTMR). TTMR does not display more than 99 seconds. When the TTMR is up, the same indicating place will display "IN RNG". The TTMR/IN RNG indication requires the Maverick to be slaved to a designated TGT, as it cannot determine range alone.

The AGM-65 can be mounted single on stations 8, 7, 3, and 2.

SMS Designations
Type	SMS Designation
AGM-65E Maverick	MAV
AGM-65F Maverick	MAVF

AGM-65E

The AGM-65E uses a laser-tracking seeker to lock onto a laser of a specific frequency ("code"). It can be fired whenever it has successfully acquired a laser, either from its own airplane, another plane, or someone on the ground.

AGM-65E STORES Format

When selected on the STORES format, a "STEP" option is given to cycle the weapon stations the missiles are loaded onto and a "UFC" option, which brings up a UFC option to set the laser code - the first press will input it for all missiles, and further presses will cycle individual missiles to set separate codes if desired.

When first selected, the AGM-65E is given a 30-second test window and cannot be fired during this time. This timer can be viewed on the MAV format until it reaches 0.

MAV DSPLY Format

The laser Maverick display (MAV DSPLY) format is the primary means of operating the AGM-65E Maverick. It provides an indication of where the seeker is looking relative to the missile boresight. The MAV DSPLY format can be accessed by, when in the A/G master mode, selecting the AGM-65E in the STORES format again once it is already selected. Alternatively, whenever the AGM-65E is selected in the STORES format, it can be accessed on any display in the TAC menu. At the top of the MAV format is the currently loaded A/G munitions, just like the STORES page; MAV can be selected to go the STORES page.

When the missile is kept on boresight, it is "caged". When it is not, it is "uncaged". The seeker can be manually uncaged via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle and then will automatically search from side to side for a laser. If it acquires a laser, it will lock it. It can also be uncaged and then manually slewed by depressing the TDC while slewing it with the TDC. While TDC depress is held, the seeker is ground-stabilized to wherever it is. When TDC depress is released, it will attempt to lock onto a laser underneath it. If it cannot find one, it will resume automatic search. When an A/G TGT is designated, when uncaged it will slave to that TGT and attempt to lock onto a laser on said TGT and cannot be slewed as long as the TGT is designated.

1. "X" indicating where the laser seeker is looking. This becomes a square if it is locked onto a laser. The dotted cross/circle indicates the boresight of the missile.
2. Horizontal line indicating 20deg below gimbal. The Maverick seeker generally cannot lock beyond this and may not be able to maintain a lock if fired at this angle.
3. Indicates the current station the missile is loaded on.
4. Step and UFC option, as in the STORES format.
5. Station (left) and laser code for said station (right).
6. Cage/uncage indication. Above this is a TTMR/IN RNG indication when applicable.
7. Fuzing options. Instantaneous (INST) detonates the warhead immediately upon impact. Delay (DLY) 1 and 2 will detonate a set time after impact (with DLY2 longer than DLY1).

HUD Indications

On the HUD, an upside down triangle indicates where the laser seeker is looking. A crossed out "MAV" indication means the AGM-65E is selected but cannot be fired. "MAV LKD" indicates the missile is locked onto a laser (but may not be able to be fired, e.g. if the master arm is SAFE). If the Maverick is slaved to an A/G TGT, above this is a TTMR/IN RNG indication.

AGM-65F

The AGM-65F Maverick is fitted with an infrared seeker for acquiring a target with enough heat contrast to the background. It can be fired whenever locked onto a contrasting target.

AGM-65F STORES Format

The infrared Maverick, when selected on the STORES format, will provide a "STEP" option to cycle which specific Maverick will fire.

The AGM-65F requires its seeker to be cooled by releasing a fluant stored inside onto it for it to be able to see properly and cannot be operated until it is cooled. Upon first selection of it on the STORES format, cooling will be initiated. A timer counting down to operating status can be seen on the IMAV DSPLY format, which takes approximately 3 minutes.

IMAV DSPLY Format

The infrared Maverick display (IMAV DSPLY) format can be accessed by, when in the A/G master mode, selecting the AGM-65F in the STORES format again once it is already selected. Alternatively, whenever the AGM-65F is selected in the STORES format, it can be accessed on any display in the TAC menu. At the top of the IMAV format is the currently loaded A/G munitions, just like the STORES page; MAVF can be selected to go the STORES page.

The IMAV DSPLY format is the primary way of employing the infrared Maverick missile. It provides a video feed of the missile seeker. The Maverick seeker is slewed by (with the TDC assigned to the IMAV DSPLY format) depressing the TDC while slewing it in any direction. When not slewed or locked but TDC depress is held down, the seeker will ground-stabilize to wherever the seeker is looking. TDC depress or the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle will "uncage" the seeker. When the seeker is caged, it will always point forward at its boresight. When uncaged, it will attempt to lock onto a contrasting target within the seeker center. If an A/G TGT is designated, the Maverick will be in slave mode, and when uncaged will be slaved to the A/G TGT and cannot be slewed as long as the A/G TGT exists. The Maverick cannot be uncaged when the master arm is set to SAFE.

1. Seeker center. There is a line pointing outward at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions when the Maverick is not locked but is spaced stabilized. The empty space in the center is the where the seeker will attempt to lock a target. The lines are not shown if the seeker is uncaged, not stabilized, and cannot find a target.
2. Triangle in all 4 corners, indicating the seeker is in wide FOV mode.
3. Indicates whether the seeker is caged or uncaged. Above is displayed, when applicable, TTMR/IN RNG.
4. The station which the selected Maverick is on. Above is a "RDY" indication whenever the Maverick is ready to fire.
5. Weapon step function, as in the STORES format.
6. Field of view toggle; the seeker may be in "wide" FOV or "narrow" FOV. This can also be toggled via the FLIR FOV button on the throttle. FOV cannot be toggled when the Maverick is locked.
7. Track mode. In white track (WHT) mode, the lines will be green and the seeker will attempt to lock onto a hot target. In black track (BLK), the lines will be black and the seeker will attempt to lock onto a cold target.
8. Ship mode. This slightly enlarges the seeker center and optimizes it for locking onto and hitting a target on water.
9. Fuzing options. Instantaneous (INST) detonates the warhead immediately upon impact. Delay (DLY) 1 and 2 will detonate a set time after impact (with DLY2 longer than DLY1).
10. Seeker indication relative to the boresight. In this indication, the "X" is the seeker and the seeker center is the airplane's nose. Only shown when uncaged and the lines are visible.

Not shown is the slaved indication. This is a large "S" indication shown whenever the seeker is in A/G TGT slave mode.

HUD Indications

Whenever the AGM-65F is selected, the HUD will show "MAVF" and cross it out, except if it is in a condition to be fired. Above is a TTMR/IN RNG indication when applicable. An upside-down triangle indicates where the Maverick seeker is looking.

AGM-88C HARM

The AGM-88C High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) is an anti-radiation air-to-ground missile. Anti-radiation guidance homes in on radiowave emissions from a radar, allowing it to attack surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. This mission type is often called suppression or destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD). Naturally, the HARM will not be able to guide accurately to impact if the radar source ceases emitting.

The AGM-88 can be mounted single on stations 8, 7, 2, and 3.

SMS Designations
Type	SMS Designation
AGM-88C HARM	HARM

HARM DSPLY Format

The HARM display (HARM DSPLY) is the primary method of interfacing with the HARM. It can be accessed from the STORES format by selecting the HARM or in any master mode on the TAC menu whenever a HARM is loaded. The HARM is automatically selected as the current A/G weapon when the HARM DSPLY is selected from NAV or A/G master mode.

The HARM DSPLY format features the loaded A/G stores on the top, as with the STORES format; selecting "HARM" will deselect the missile and invoke the STORES format. A "STEP" option is also provided to step through each individual HARM loaded; the selected station is displayed on the format. On the left side, the desired HARM mode can be selected.

SP Mode

Self-Protect (SP) mode uses the radar warning receiver (RWR; see AN/ALR-67) to view and select emitters for the HARM to search for and then engage. This allows for 360° engagement; however, more kinetic energy is sacrificed to turn as the angle increases. Self-Protect is named as such because it is primarily designed for quick reaction to a threat.

SP HARM DSPLY Format

The HARM DSPLY format in Self-Protect mode provides a RESET option, which will select the highest-priority emitter.

SP RWR Indications

Self-Protect mode is primarily employed via the electronic warfare (EW) format, the standby RWR, and/or the HUD, which can all display the RWR output (see RWR).

On these three RWR displays, whenever the HARM and SP mode is selected, a square is placed around the selected emitter; the highest priority emitter is selected automatically. The HARM Sequence button on the throttle is used to cycle them. Note that a maximum of 6 emitters are displayed on the HUD, but the HARM will always cycle all emitters.

Once an emitter is selected, the missile can be released via the weapons release button. It will either have already acquired the selected emitter or, if it is outside the HARM seeker field of view, it will acquire it post-launch.

TOO Mode

Target of Opportunity (TOO) uses the HARM seeker itself to view and engage emitters. Up to 15 emitters can be displayed.

In TOO mode, the HARM DSPLY format provides a boresight view of the HARM seeker. Emitters are displayed with their standard NATO codes, except no emitter category symbols are displayed like on the radar warning receiver, except the line under to denote a sea-based emitter. Friendly emitters have their code prefixed with an "F".

The selected emitter is denoted by a box on the HARM DSPLY and a square target designator (TD) box is displayed on the HUD. The HARM automatically selects the highest priority emitter. Emitters are cycled via the HARM Sequence button on the throttle.

The desired emitter to attack is "handed off" to the selected HARM missile via the Cage/Uncage button on the throttle (this toggles hand-off). "H-OFF" is indicated above the emitter on the HARM DSPLY and the HUD TD box and all other emitters are blanked from the display. Once handed off, the HARM may be fired via the weapons release button. As the hand-off is for a specific missile, it must be done again to fire sequential missiles at a single emitter.

The master arm must be set to ARM for emitters to be selected. The TDC must be assigned to the HARM DSPLY format to hand-off an emitter.

TOO HARM DSPLY Format

1. "T" symbols on the four corners indicate the display limits of the format.
2. The "+" symbol indicates the center of the seeker.
3. An arrow on any of the four sides of the format indicates a seeker is detected in that direction but is presently outside the format display limits.
4. Limits display to the 5 highest priority emitters.
5. Displays the emitter categories presently detected. A circle indicates an emitter of that category is in view. An up/left/right/down arrow indicates an emitter of that category is detected in said direction. Emitter category filters are also selectable. See the "class" filter option.
6. Selects the highest priority emitter.
7. Allows for only a specific class/category of emitters to be displayed.

HARM Emitter Classes
Class	Description
ALL	All classes
FRD	Friendly emitters
HOS	Hostile emitters
FN	Friendly naval (sea-based) emitters
HM	Hostile naval (sea-based) emitters
F1	Old friendly radar systems
F2	Modern friendly radar systems
H1	Old hostile radar systems
H2	Modern hostile radar systems
FAA	Friendly anti-aircraft artillery
HAA	Hostile anti-aircraft artillery
FS	Friendly search radar
HS	Hostile search radar
UKN	Unknown class of emitter
PRI	Emitter currently tracking the aircraft (priority)

PB Mode

Not yet implemented.

Resources

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Manuals & Documents

• NATOPS Flight Manual
• Startup Checklist
• I Read the Manual So You Don't Have To By MustardCosaNostra
• F/A-18C Hornet | Armament Matrix by Twisted-Biscuit
• SkillSawTheSecond's HOTAS Setup: Thrustmaster Warthog
• Official Feature List

Wags' Tutorial Videos

YouTube tutorial videos by Wags, the senior producer for DCS:

• Introduction
• Cockpit Tour
• Preflight, Startup, Taxi, and Takeoff
• HUD, UFC and IFEI
• ADF and TACAN Navigation
• VFR Airfield Landing
• Waypoint Navigation
• Rockets and AG Gun
• CASE I Carrier Landing
• Air-to-Air Gun
• AIM-9 Sidewinders
• Unguided Bombs
• AIM-7 Sparrow Air-to-Air Missile
• Auto to CCIP Bombing
• Case III Carrier Recovery
• Flight Performance Advisory System
• Laser Maverick

Other Tutorials

• DCS F/A-18C Hornet Countermeasures Tutorial by RedKite
• DCS F/A-18C Manual Waypoints Quick Guide by RedKite
• Carrier Lights Tutorial