i pretty much guess what is the reason that we don't see that many neither often tutorials covering this. The reason is simple: it is sensitive. Software devs will teach you how to use weapon systems and what button to press, but nothing about real TACTICAL EMPLOYEMENT. It is where we reach a certain line as a flight simmer. Combat tactics is a very much sensitive matter, each airfrorce use their own and they are highly classified. if you want to learn those you are supposed to join a real airforce of your respective country and do a career as a pilot etc.

There are certain things I won’t cover in a video but there are some things that are out there open source which I can talk about.

@@TacticalPascale that is understandable and it pretty much confirms what i have said, and thank you again for your work.

@@Ozieneercs I feel like the limitation here is where the tactics involved are playing into the abilities of a classified weapon system or plane with classified specs and capabilities. But the rest of dogfighting and BVR, most of that is stuff you can work out on your own with simple thought exercises or pen & paper or video games. A good example is infantry tactics. You'd think they're sensitive but that fact of the matter is that Joe Schmoe and his buddies can work out a great deal of them for themselves by simply reading some books on the matter and then practicing with some paintball guns in a patch of field and forest somewhere. Is it gonna be spec ops level of training? Of course not. But would they be able to master the basics of base of fire, flanking, and assault, as well as room clearing and urban combat. Hell, lots of that stuff is taught privately for a lot of money. So it's less that it's classified in a lot of cases and more that it's locked behind paywall haha Beyond all that, there's not a lot of reasons for civilians to know deep air combat tactics LOL except for us flying game nerds

I'm from another sim, but i assume DCS has TWS mode. Find the tanker on the radar with TWS or even CRM and it'll show you the heading. Some sims even direct you in with vectors.

You can use data links, but following the tanker around the towline is folly, we can use basic figures to intercept using the least amount of time. Useful when going to/from CAP or CAS taskings.

Thank you.

I’m glad it switched from 90s and 180s. Although my students still look at me wildly if during a demo I go onto the reciprocal at 40 if I have a 10’ NASP

It’s how I’ve intercepted Bears with Typhoons and stuck A-10s behind tankers

Well, most fighter jets are Digital Bullseye with better AI RADAR & BVR capable.

Yes we do 😁

Nope, just following the geometry

@@TacticalPascale Wow, I need more practice, then! :) These videos are SUPER helpful as a MiG-21 guy, given how dependent we are on GCI. Thank you for uploading them. :)

Thanks

Nice to hear. More soon.

Thanks!

Depending on the radar we use. Some sites are more accurate with height finding than others.

Funny you should say that.

I know this, but for headings it is easier to work to the closest 10’. I don’t have to fly 307’ for example.

Monstertech

You correct your heading to adjust for its manoeuvre and start again with RDIF

@@TacticalPascale I assume that you have to do this in your head as you go? Practice makes perfect I suspect!!

Yes, TH - reciprocal, +/-20 Ideal, final. Hand on heart, this was the first time I used actual intercept techniques in DCS. Surprised me.

@@TacticalPascale Excellent I'll give it a go!

Yup, I’ve mentioned it to ED several times, but alas, it’s not been implemented.

I will. I’m learning the M2k now

@@TacticalPascale Razbam did a fantastic job with the overhaul of the module. It went from OK to "study level".

I’ll defo be delving into it

It is indeed

Yes the HD cockpit mod

I don’t know, but I hope ED have an easy fix for such a vital piece of information

on some MP servers the AWACS gives callouts like hot cold and flanking

Yes, great for bullseye, useless for close control

It’s just the bearing that the awacs called out

@@TacticalPascale Thanks. I'll give it a whirl.

I'm a GCI, not a pilot :)

Close control is used for QRA and tanker joins etc. The F-5 isn’t great with bullseye.

@@TacticalPascale F5 driver here, you're tellin me!

Yes, to give myself room to turn (about 7nm parallel), otherwise I’d be waaaaay off to the tagest left. It also allows for a fox 2 shot, if hostile, as I roll in behind

Nope, the GCI would be telling him left, right, up and down until the pilot got tally or called Judy.

War: all about who shoots first. Wingman sees me shot down, reports it, he shoots them down. War begins, we’re the good guys because we shot second

You would adjust your headings as you get the bandits new ones passed to you.

@@TacticalPascale Wouldn't that ultimately leave him behind your 3-9 line if he's pointing right at you? I mean, sure, he'll be 20 degrees off from you but you're ultimately turning out and away from him. I mean, i get that this is kinda to look like you're not aggressive on him and to keep yourself out of a 50-50 (which is what would happen if you flew the BRA the whole way). On one hand, i don't want to fly straight at an opponent for a 50-50, but on the other i feel like you're handing him 20 degrees, which is fine if he's flying a TU-22, but what if this ended up a 4-ship of Mig-29s or something a little more maneuverable and threatening? Or is this primarily a strategy outside of wartime?

At every stage of the intercept, with a more capable platform, you are within weapons parameters. At no point is the target outside of radar coverage. If they are declared hostile as you approach then you can shoot immediately. I have been in a Hawk and intercepted by an F3. We didn’t know it was there until it appeared 50ft from the left wing.

@@TacticalPascale Ah, ok, so then this is specifically about intercepting for ID, escorting out of friendly airspace, and other things where you're not necessarily planning on firing right away. Judging from the title of the video, i (and i think a few others) made the fault assumption that this is specifically andvanced BFM specifically to get behind someone for some AIM-9Ps or archers.

Nope; any intercept on a bogey or bandit would be done this way. Hostile gets an AMRAAM from many miles away. Bogey / bandit, we have to establish hostile intent before we give them the good news.

Seems strange to me too. However, not a great deal of people know how it’s done properly, they may have not had the full picture 😁 Hopefully it will get an overhaul.

Am I missing something? 3:21, one of the first callouts of the video, is a BRAA call, ended with target aspect. Still not precise heading, but aspect is there, DCS AI GCI calls out BRAA for contacts

@biaskolka it doesn’t give the heading

@@TacticalPascale Yes. Not the heading, but the aspect, so what BRAA is supposed to call: bearing, range, altitude, aspect.

Datum is the bearing from fighter to target, the difference between that and there target reciprocal is the nose aspect. We want a 20nasp.

@@TacticalPascale I think I got it once I figured out which numbers were BRAA and which were ownship heading. I always end up 11nm abeam before the final turn, but at least I'm mostly there.

Practice makes perfect. It looks easier in the video simply because of my experience. The more practice you get the more comfortable it becomes

Looks cool for movies, but so does flying through flaming balls of planes exploding in mid air.

Yes

When we use them for QRA we often have their radars off so as to not alert the Russian “navigation” flights. It works well for joining tankers too.

@@TacticalPascale Thank you, much appreciated.

Reverse of, opposite on a compass. 360 - 180 / 090 - 270 for example

No, irl you don’t have a word in there. 0-9-0, forty five,

It’s a “basic” intercept technique. Used for targets that are unaware, hence the lack of your own radar used. If the target is manoeuvring towards you then your tactics need to change. I’ll cover more advanced techniques in a later video.

@@TacticalPascale :3

@@TacticalPascale I always imagined there was a magic procedure to maneuver around a radar cone eg +-30 45nm to have a chance eg F5 vs F4

It was just the bearing that the awacs gave, it helped me choose if I was going left or right of the datum. That sounds like a cool mission to have been part of, I used to live on a Jaguar airbase many moons ago.

@@TacticalPascale Got it, thanks! I'm going to try a GCI mission right now...