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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Find a flight
- During a session, close the Escape menu, then choose ACTIVE OPS on the menu bar or press the default key G with no text box selected.
- Find the callsign and aircraft type. Read the base and current status on that row. The status changes with the phase of flight: a launch countdown can take the place of the mission name. Use the route and cargo line as well for a supply flight.
- Choose >, where available, to jump to the aircraft on the scope. Compare its position with its reported task.
- Read the latest ASMA messages before issuing a new order. An earlier “launched” message is not the current flight status.
Show the flights you need
Use IDENT to filter by identity letter and TASK to filter by the job being done. You can use both together: a flight must match both filters to appear. Click a selected badge again to clear that restriction. The badge counts are flight groups, not a count of individual aircraft. No sorties match the current filters means the current selection found none; clear both filters before assuming no aircraft are flying.
Read the compact figures
| Display | Meaning |
|---|---|
| F60% | An example of 60% of that aircraft’s own fuel remaining. |
| AF…% on a tanker | The tanker’s available fuel for passing to other aircraft, shown separately from its own F figure. |
| G… / R… / H… on a fighter | G shows remaining cannon rounds. R and H show the remaining missiles in the game’s two counters. R does not always mean Skyflash: check the aircraft type and the weapon-counter explanation before deciding which weapon it has. |
| L11 on an E-3D row | Its radar is enabled for the airborne contribution to the picture. This is not a promise that every aircraft is detectable. |
| SUP or RDP | A supply mission or aircraft transfer. |
| C5t/8/2000 | Example cargo: 5 tonnes of fuel, 8 missiles and 2,000 cannon rounds. Read the supply-flight stages to see whether it has been delivered. |
Choose the correct action for that aircraft
| Aircraft | Linked instructions |
|---|---|
| Fighter | ID, ENG, CAP, TRG, RTB and DIVERT, when offered. The Hawk T1A has additional restrictions below Critical tension. |
| Tanker | Use TRACK and RTB when offered. Some tanker rows offer only > and, when available, DIVERT. Check that row instead of expecting identical buttons for every tanker. |
| E-3D AWACS | TASK, RTB and DIVERT. |
| Nimrod | TASK, REFUEL, RTB and DIVERT. |
| Hercules or Chinook supply flight | Use the > button when present to locate it, and follow the status and delivery messages. |
Only use buttons actually offered on that row. Availability depends on the aircraft and its current state.
If you cannot find a flight
Clear any highlighted IDENT and TASK badges, then scroll the panel. Check whether the aircraft is waiting to launch, has landed or has moved to another base. Compare with ASSETS and the latest ASMA report before launching a duplicate. ACTIVE OPS is not a list of all civilian traffic.
Cancel a launch that is still waiting
- Open ACTIVE OPS and look for the QRA Pending row. Match its target track number and base, where shown. Pending means the fighters have not yet appeared as an active flight.
- To stop that waiting launch, click CANCEL on its row. ASSETS → CANCEL TASK does something different: it ends a map selection and can also send the fighter prepared for that selection back to base. It does not restore the fighter’s previous task. Read the cancellation steps, then check ASMA and ACTIVE OPS. For a pending TRG placement, CANCEL TASK only cancels that placement: it does not send an airborne pair home.
- Check ASMA for QRA LAUNCH CANCELLED and recheck ACTIVE OPS. If the flight has already appeared, use RTB to order it home; do not assume a waiting-launch cancellation recalls airborne fighters.
A pending row may not appear when an active fighter flight already has the same target. Do not take a missing row as proof that no launch is waiting. Check the launch messages and the existing flight before requesting another launch.
Locate an aircraft without changing its task
- Find the aircraft’s row and click >, where shown. The radar map moves to its position and shows the IDENT locating marker. This helps you find it; it does not change its mission or identity letter.
- This also narrows ASMA to messages matching the flight. For an interceptor, it opens A/C → INTR and its sortie number. For a tanker, AWACS, Nimrod or supply flight, it uses a separate flight filter across message categories; no category button needs to be highlighted. Choose a message category to leave that support-flight filter.
- To give an order, use the named task button instead. ID, ENG, CAP, TASK and TRACK need the next map choice explained in their linked guides. RTB orders a return to base; it does not need a target click.
Close the list and open it again
In a floating panel, use the title-bar × to close it or minimise it to keep only its small bar. Use □ on that bar to restore the list. Reopen ACTIVE OPS from the menu bar or default G; reopen ASSETS from the menu bar or default R, with no text box selected. Closing the list does not cancel its aircraft missions. See panel layout and keyboard settings.
Read the TASK badges
| Badge | Flights shown |
|---|---|
| QRA | Launches still waiting to become active fighter flights. |
| INT | Fighters assigned to identify or engage a contact. |
| CAP | Combat air patrols. |
| ESC | Fighters escorting or shadowing. |
| AAR | Tankers and aircraft going to or taking fuel from a tanker, including AWACS and Nimrod. |
| TRG | Air combat training sorties. |
| RTB | Fighters returning to base or transferring between bases. A support aircraft does not necessarily move into this category when it returns. |
| SUP | Other support flights, including AWACS, Nimrod and supply aircraft when not assigned to the AAR category. |
These are current-task filters. Choosing one does not issue a task. The list refreshes periodically; give it a moment after an order, then check the aircraft and ASMA response together.
Find aircraft receiving fuel
With no IDENT filter selected, aircraft assigned to a tanker are grouped beneath that tanker. This helps you follow the refuelling job. It does not prove fuel is flowing: compare the aircraft’s F reading over time. An IDENT filter can hide a tanker, so that filtered view uses the ordinary flight order instead. See fighter refuelling and support-aircraft refuelling.