F-14 Tomcat: SYNC-Z-TURN Demo

Unplanned initially, I later expanded the discussion about the Sync-Z-Turn to show how its fundament concepts can be applied (sometimes forcibly and with several adjustments) to other modules:

In this scenario, a Section of F-14A Tomcats is tasked with intercepting a bandit heading at a low altitude toward friendly assets. Usually, this is a no-brainer for any RIO: the 1960s AWG-9 enables finding targets at incredible ranges, and there is often plenty of time to compute the intercept. However, this may not always be the case. What if THREAT is called, or a bandit uses terrain masking to hide from the radar? Or what about a jamming bomber, that can deny range determination until very short range?

The Sync-Z-Turn highlights a minor issue: the lack of a b-scope for the front seater. Since drift is the “Centrum Mundi” of this manoeuvre and the azimuth is easily observed there, we either need Track-While-Scan, or the RIO providing instructions. For this test, being on my own, I used Tweez Auto and MLC off, just in case.

To spice things up, I spawned the bandit closer than 20 nm. As we know, the vector in the TID A S shows all the information we need to skip the “point and assess” step. Ergo, the pilot can immediately manoeuvre to place the target at a synched azimuth of circa 45°, using the TID readout to monitor the ATA. Given the short range, it didn’t take long before I turned to pure pursuit whilst gently diving to match the bandit’s altitude.

In retrospect, and these observations will become immediately visible watching TacView, the manoeuvring room was probably too much, and I blame the lack of an RIO for that. A human in the backseat would have immediately seen how the geometry was close to 60-70 Cut, or 130-140 HCA if you prefer, thus alerting the pilot that such a great amount of room was not necessary. A glance at the DDD, even in PD mode was all that’s needed.
As virtual crews, we should always aim to use any little bit of information the scenario and the avionics give us. That’s how we build better Situational Awareness, which, in turn, allows us to do better in any situation.

TacView clearly confirms the initial impressions. Given the amount of Cut, the sync azimuth could have been a bit more conservative, leading to a cleaner and closer rollout. On the other hand, the delay in the turn has a potential benefit: the fighter is potentially less visible to the bandit scanning outside, as it tends to drift closer to the cold aspect rather than flanking. Food for thought, I guess.