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Silent Operation - In Silent Operation, the radar stops transmitting but
continues to process received signals. The radar will transmit for a
single frame when the TDC [designate] key is pressed. The radar display
freezes when SIL is selected and again after an active frame is
completed.
Jane's F/A 18 Silent Mode
IFF - When the Identify Friend or Foe probe is activated the bogie's
transponder will be interrogated. If a Friend the transponder will
respond with a positive return and a tone will be heard. If a Foe no
return will be received and no tone heard. Fratricide (causing friendly
casualties) is punishable by a minimum of Courts-Martial!
TYPICAL A/A SCENARIO
This scenario starts with you spooled up on the waist catapult of the
USS Nimitz, on station in the Indian Ocean. Your mission is to provide
Combat Air Patrol a hundred nautical miles out from your Battle Group's
patrol route and your rules of engagement permit weapons loose upon
negative IFF squawk.
You select zone three afterburner, salute the catapult officer smartly,
and in the time it takes you to scan the instruments once you are
thundering down the ramp. Drop out of AB, clean up, and you're ready to
rock 'n roll!
Upon reaching angels ten you set up your Hornet for air-to-air mode. You
select Velocity Search as your initial Radar Mode to scan for any fast
movers at maximum range. You pick up the characteristic "blocks"
indicating multiple bogies at 80 NM.
DIs F/A 18.
Next you switch to Range While Search to ascertain bogie bearing
relative to your aircraft. They're incoming at fifteen degrees angle off
your port nose, and closing fast. You maintain lateral separation as you
close to 40 NM and initiate an IFF probe - Confirmed Bandits, Tally Ho!
Your fine training shows as you immediately switch to Auto Acquisition
to automatically lock on to the lead. After all, he must be the brains
behind this foolhardy group.
Time to warm up the AIM-120 at 20 NM and to switch to Track
While Scan to maintain better overall situational awareness. You
target-designate the lead bandit and Single Target Track automatically
engages. You bring your nose into the weapon's optimum release zone and
fire the missile as soon as you get within parameters. It corkscrews as
it tracks on the bandit's reflected radar energy. A miss - damn this
guy is good!
Click to continue
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Jane's F/A 18 Padlock.
Switch to 'winder and at closure to 12 NM you launch and watch the
missile tracks smoothly on the bandit's leading edge radiant energy.
Blaam - Good Kill!
Without pausing to rejoice you switch to Air Combat Maneuvering Mode, ("0" key)
starting with Wide Acquisition ("7" key) to keep the two remaining bandits in
radar view. Fortunately they're still in echelon formation and you
concentrate on the new lead.
DIs F/A 18 Padlock.
Bringing up Gunsight Acquisition you switch to your mighty 20 mm Vulcan.
Keeping the bandit laterally separated you start a lead turn just prior
to the merge. It pays off and you turn inside his arc for an effortless
kill.
DIs F/A 18 Padlock.
Unfortunately you've lost SA and you frantically scan the sky; he's out
there somewhere! You switch to Vertical Acquisition and voila, he's 5k
above you, nose on. No time for a pretty move, you bring your own nose
on and switch to Boresight Acquisition to ensure observation of any
slight change in the bandit's flight path.
He must be a rookie because
he's yawed to starboard. You correct for angular deviation, let the CCIP
piper compute a solution, and fire at max effective range. The instant
plume of black smoke tells the tale as you quickly employ a guns defense
high-G pull out of plane. His too-late fired rounds pass harmlessly by
and you savor the easy mop up to come.
Well done Naval Aviator, RTB for a wet cell on the Boss!
Bill Hewett is a General Dynamics Program Manager for US Marine Tactical
Data Communications Systems and also a Marine Lieutenant Colonel with over
twenty-five years Active/Reserve service. As a Marine he flew A-4M Skyhawk
jet attack aircraft with the active duty VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers and
was an airborne forward air controller (Fast-FAC) with the reserve VMA-312
Fighting Cocks. During Desert Storm he led a composite Air Strike Control
squadron, MASS-6 Det A.
He is an electrical engineer and graduate of the
Naval War College. Bill has been active in the flight simulation community
as a beta tester, technical writer, and consultant. He has worked on titles
for both the Mac and PC platforms, notably Microprose FalconMC, GSC F/A-18
Hornet series, DI Apache, iMagic iF-22 & iF-18, and the non-released Eidos
Flying Nightmares (AV8B Harrier) and Janes A-10. Bill is married with three
children and also enjoys woodworking, racquetball, skiing, and private
flying.
Go to FA 18 Action Shots
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