On this page
Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Open the correct aircraft
- Left-click the player aircraft on the scope. Check its callsign at the top of the panel.
- Choose the AC Control tab if it is not already selected. Supported player assets normally open on this tab; an ordinary traffic track opens on Flight Info.
- Choose an order. If a yellow instruction asks you to choose a contact or map position, make that choice on the radar map, outside this panel and other windows. Orders such as RTB do not need a second target click; use the result checks below.
- Check the resulting task and ASMA messages. The panel can remain open after an order, so an open panel is not evidence that the order was ignored.
Finish fighter orders on the map
| Order | Your next click |
|---|---|
| IDENT, SHADOW or ENGAGE | Click the aircraft you want the fighter to investigate, follow or engage. Check its position symbol and identity before clicking; ENGAGE is a combat order. Use the tasking checks and the engagement rules. |
| CAP | Click clear map space where you want the fighter to patrol, away from other aircraft. You can also choose an existing CAP point. An empty-map click sets a patrol location for this order; it does not cancel it. Follow the CAP procedure. |
| REFUEL | Click the active tanker that will give the fighter more fuel. You are selecting the tanker, not another fighter or a base. Follow the fighter refuelling steps and check that fuel is actually transferred. |
For IDENT, SHADOW, ENGAGE or REFUEL, clicking empty map space ends this pending selection. Click the order button again and choose the correct target. To cancel deliberately, use the fighter’s CANCEL button or Escape while selection is waiting. This does not undo an accepted order.
Check the result before clicking again
- If TASK ASSIGNED appears in ASMA, match the fighter callsign and target. This heading can be omitted when you give the order through the other fighter in a pair. Check both fighters’ current missions in ACTIVE OPS and follow their movement before repeating the order.
- If the yellow instruction disappears without a confirmed new task, recheck the mission before trying again. The banner can disappear after a missed target click or a refused assignment; disappearing does not prove success.
- For RTB, no second target click is needed: check the current task and the return flight. RTB ORDERED can appear even when a fighter cannot accept RTB during take-off; follow the take-off checks. DIVERT, when shown, opens a choice of another landing base; use the diversion steps. Speed buttons change the speed mode; use the speed guide to check their effect.
AWACS, Nimrod and tanker selections follow their own procedures: RETASK, TASK and ANCHOR / TRACK. Their REFUEL buttons request fuel for that support aircraft; follow support-aircraft refuelling, not the fighter’s tanker-selection steps.
What each aircraft can show
| Aircraft | Main controls |
|---|---|
| Interceptor | IDENT, ENGAGE, CAP, SHADOW, REFUEL, REJOIN, JUDY, RTB, CANCEL and the speed modes. DIVERT appears when available. |
| E-3D AWACS | L11, Rings, RETASK, REFUEL and RTB; DIVERT when available. |
| Nimrod R1 | TASK, REFUEL and RTB; DIVERT when available. Its separate right-click menu also offers RDP. |
| Tanker | ANCHOR and TRACK. Active tankers also show REFUEL and RTB, with DIVERT when available. |
Enable or disable the right-click menu
At the bottom of AC Control, select ENABLE RIGHT CLICK MENU if you want the map context menu. When enabled, the button reads DISABLE RIGHT CLICK MENU. If right-clicking seems to do nothing, check this setting before concluding the aircraft cannot be tasked.
Cancel a fighter target selection
While AC Control is waiting for an interceptor target, use its CANCEL button or press Escape. This cancels the pending selection. It does not undo an order already accepted. The separate ASSETS CANCEL TASK route has different behaviour and can order RTB.
JUDY and REJOIN have different jobs
JUDY requests the fighter’s radar-contact exchange; it does not assign a new attack. Read when to use JUDY and what can prevent a response. REJOIN asks a separated fighter to join its previous partner and can take up that partner’s mission. Read the REJOIN steps and response messages before using it. Neither button replaces IDENT or provides a general fix for a stalled intercept.
Follow the relevant procedure
Use fighter tasking, CAP, fighter refuelling, AWACS tasking or Nimrod tasking for the full sequence. AC Control provides task commands; do not infer an unrestricted heading, height or route editor from its name.
Request a fighter status report
- Right-click the fighter you want to check and choose STATUS. If its menu is disabled, use ENABLE RIGHT CLICK MENU in AC Control first.
- Read the new STATUS UPDATE in ASMA. Match its callsign and time. The popup closes; this request does not change the fighter’s mission or play a new voice report.
- Mission is its assigned task, Phase is its current stage, and Fuel is the percentage remaining. Read Mission, Phase and Fuel together. Here BRA gives the direction and distance in nautical miles from that fighter to its target; it does not include altitude. No target means a target position was unavailable for this report, not that there are no threats.
- Each fighter can issue one report per 10 seconds of real time. Rapid repeat clicks may produce no new report. If a report is missing, check the ASMA filters and the fighter’s actual task in ACTIVE OPS before issuing another order.
After loading, an old ASMA report is history. Follow the current-flight checks and request a fresh report if needed; loading does not queue or replay your STATUS click.
Training and Hawk tasking in v0.8.16.0
Use TRG to send an eligible fighter pair on an air combat training exercise. Before its map point is chosen, Escape or CANCEL TASK cancels only that TRG placement. Below Critical tension, the Hawk T1A accepts training and redeployment, while combat tasking such as ID, ENG and CAP is refused. Check the tension level and the refusal message before repeating an order.