F-4E: Stop struggling in Air-to-Air

I noticed that most problems fall into two categories: “forma mentis” and “modus operandi,” with the underlying commonality of poor Situational Awareness. These categories refer to “how you see things” and “how you act” because these aspects are paramount to building solid SA, and in a fight, the crew with better SA has the greatest chance to win.
That said, there is no “I win” button in DCS. Some fighters may have advantages, even beyond realism sometimes, but eventually, it comes down to the crew. In the Phantom’s case, since the aircraft does not provide the same degree of information as more modern jets, the crew must first change their understanding of the aircraft and then adapt by learning new ways of tackling the issues. There is no way of improving without putting in some effort.

If you are already familiar with the topics listed here, have a thought about them, and try to change your perspective. If you are not, fasten your seatbelt because we are about to begin.

Forma Mentis

Situational Awareness: APQ-120 as a search radar and lack of Datalink

The single most disruptive feature new Phantom players encounter is the AQP-120, for this is more a self-defence and air-to-ground radar than a modern Search radar. Therefore, it cannot match the range or the features of a radar such as the AN/APG-73 mounted in the F/A-18 Hornet. Even the contemporary AWG-9 of the Tomcat is vastly superior from our point of view, as the F-4’s APQ-120 it traded more air-to-air functionalities for air-to-ground features. In particular, the reduced power and lack of Pulse Doppler capability mean that look-down performance is gravely affected.
Moreover, the F-4E does not feature a datalink system comparable to the features provided by the LINK4 or the LINK16 many players are familiar with. Changing how the crew creates SA is necessary for the F-4E.

Reliance on GCI/AIC

The points discussed so far already hint at the different approaches required of the crew when operating the Phantom. So, poor radar, no datalink: only voice comms remain. Like many other third-generation aeroplanes, the Controller is a fundamental component of SA and successful operations. Unfortunately, the status of GCI and AIC in DCS is disappointing, and finding a human Controller is a must to make the best out of the Phantom.

A different type of aircraft

The picture represented so far looks quite grim. But it is not as bad as it appears, though. The Phantom has two crew members, thus enabling better workload distribution and increased awareness by having four hands, four eyes, and two brains, ultimately providing more resilience to task saturation. Although the advantages of these aspects are intuitive, they become much more relevant when former fighter crew members discuss them. The following is an extract from a brilliant Aircrew Interview video, where a former Tornado F3 Pilot, Roy Macintyre, outlines how the F3 engaged the overall superior F-15 and what they tried to achieve (starts at 13:24).

Blow Through and Bugout

Somewhat connected to the previous point is the concept of Blow Through:

BLOW THROUGH: “[A/A] Directive call to continue straight ahead at the MERGE and do not become ANCHORED with target(s).”

ANCHORED [location]: “[A/A] Turning engagement at the specified location.”
MERGE: “[A/A] FRIENDLIES and targets have arrived in the visual arena.”

This brevity communicates the intent of not stopping at the merge but continuing through the situation. As mentioned, a fast Phantom is a deadly Phantom, but a slow one plays the game of the adversaries: far too often, I see players pulling hard Gs and performing tight manoeuvres, which bleed away all of the aircraft’s energy.
The Phantom has excellent flight characteristics and a Thrust-to-Weight ratio close to 1 when the internal fuel decreases. A value similar to most contemporary aircraft, such as the MiG-19 or MiG-21. On the other hand, the Phantom carries quite a considerable amount of internal fuel, almost four times the quantity of the MiG-19 and more than twice the capacity of the MiG-21. This characteristic gives the F-4E the option of reducing the considerable drag otherwise provided by external fuel tanks, then unloading and Bugging Out if the situation is not favourable.

BUGOUT [direction]: “[A/A][A/S][AIR-MAR] Separation from a particular engagement or attack or operation with no intent to reengage or return”.

Forma Mentis: Observations

This first part of the discussion highlighted how the Phantom is a very different asset compared to most other modules. Therefore, habits must be changed and adapted to the new fighter. In the Phantom, in fact, the creation of Situational Awareness shifts from the datalink to the Controller and from the radar to the Mk I Eyeballs. Moreover, porting 1:1 tactics used in a Fighting Falcon or other modern aircraft to the Phantom will rarely work. Instead, taking advantage of the two crew members is highly advised, and against peer but single-seat aircraft, playing the “task saturation” card works exceptionally well. If the situation is unfavourable, using the Phantom II as a sort of more modern “Boom and Zoom” fighter, or an “opportunistic scavenger”, if you will, can provide better results than insisting on merging and pulling high-Gs against better-suited opponents in this type of gameplay.

Modus Operandi

Look outside!

The combination of older avionics, lack of information condensation into sensors and poor search radar capability, combined with older shorter-range missiles and the presence of a second crew member, should prompt the crew to look outside much more than inside the cockpit. In real life, pilots spend much more time looking outside than at their avionics. The blunt reality is that, in some cases, the chances of spotting a target with the APQ-120 are inferior to Mk I Eyeballs, especially with multiple pairs.

Human crew

There is little point dancing around it: the Phantom II performs best when both crew members are humans. Although Heatblur has and is still working on improving Jester, nothing beats the proactivity and efficiency of a well-oiled and proficient human crew. There are many places where you can find pilots or WSOs to play with, for instance Heatblur’s Discord to r/hoggit on Reddit. If you have the opportunity, look for a virtual soulmate!

Play as WSO / Learn both seats.

As a variation of the point above, if you are stuck with Jester, consider deactivating it when not required, flying with AFCS and from the WSO seat to fine-tune the radar as needed. This suggestion should not come as anything new to Tomcat players, where Iceman was more than enough to hold course whilst the player fiddled with the radar in the backseat.
Another lesson learnt in the F-14 is the necessity of knowing the details of both cockpits. A pilot may not understand why, for example, the WSO cannot lock a target whose returns are partially displayed on the radar scope, a non-uncommon situation if the main lobe is also illuminating the ground. The pilot may, therefore, become impatient, leading to friction between the crew members and wasted time. A pilot familiar with the WSO toolset will instead immediately focus on the necessary steps to circumvent the problem and help the backseater obtain the lock.

Basics of Geometry

More action-oriented players may not like the idea of refreshing high-school maths concepts. However, they are key to understanding what is happening around the Phantom II. Not only they help to interpret the status quo, but also how the situation will evolve in the future, assuming parameters are unchanged, of course. A simple example of their importance is reported in the next discussion point.

GCI/AIC Intercepts

The previous points of this discussion have highlighted how the Phantom relies on external input to augment the crew’s SA since the APQ-120’s capabilities as a search radar are limited.
One of the most common sources of external information is the Controller, either airborne or ground-based. Although the AI controllers in DCS offer limited functions, they still provide contact details in Bullseye or BRAA format. That’s pretty much it, but it is definitely better than nothing.
Once the crew has information such as Bearing, Range and Altitude, they can create a mental picture of the situation. This topic will have a dedicated video later on,

So, why is understanding the basics of geometry is very important? Well, for instance, if a target is drifting left, assessed by the increase of the left Antenna Train Angle, it may be the effect of a target travelling in such a direction, ergo, right to left. Therefore, the Phantom’s crew may consider correcting for an angle twice the ATA in the opposite direction, aiming to make the intercept hotter, and then evaluate. The next update will likely report the target now drifting right, reinforcing this conviction. *But*, the same kind of reports may be provided for a target travelling from left to right if, for example, the Phantom is faster than the contact and the geometry suits the scenario. The two situations described are opposite, but without understanding the basics of geometry, the crew will probably not realise it or realise it too late.

Basic radar tips

Ground returns are the greatest obstacle players moving from a Pulse Doppler to a Pulse radar have to get used to. Although Pulse presents some advantages over Pulse Doppler, such as the lack of Doppler-related blind zones, this radar technology often provides a shorter detection range, and the ground returns mentioned really hinder the scan operations.
Experience and practice are important teachers, but the following tips should help you to put things into perspective:

• if the antenna elevation angle is greater than the bisector of the current radar cone height, the ground clutter should become less relevant, assuming no elevated terrain is in front of the aircraft;
• Low-altitude operations benefit from reducing the Gain knob to try and minimise the ground clutter;
• Once achieved, the PSTT lock is remarkably resilient. Obtaining a lock before decreasing altitude often simplifies the operation;
• lookdown-shootdown is achievable, but it depends on whether the radar main lobe intercepts the target before the terrain;
• the APX-80’s range is greater than the radar’s. Interrogating every few seconds is a simple yet effective means of increasing the crew’s Situational Awareness.

Conclusions

The first part of this video discussed how the crew should see the Phantom in a new light in order to succeed, such as changing habits and understanding the platform’s strengths and differences from what the player may have flown in the past. The second part has provided practical points worth implementing.
Everything said in this video is quite related: for example, the crew should stop relying entirely on the avionics to build SA. Therefore, the next step is to find an alternative, namely the Controller. However, if the crew cannot translate numbers into a mental picture of the airspace, and all they can do is go Pure, then the resulting Situational Awareness will never be adequate.
In the description below, you can find links to a series discussing the Phantom in the Air-to-Air arena, the APQ-120, procedures and intercept geometry.
Although DCS is a video game, it requires some effort and time investment. After all, many MOBAs, RTSs, and even FPSs have quirks and rules to learn, so this should not come as a surprise when the game being played is a complex military flight simulator.