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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
A pair and a launch group are different
A pair is two fighters working together, with a leader and a wingman. A launch group is the set of aircraft sent out together. A larger launch can contain more than one pair. Aircraft being close together on the map does not, by itself, make them part of the same group.
Check the whole flight
- Open ACTIVE OPS and match the flight’s callsigns with its map tracks. Read each member’s current task, fuel and status.
- Choose the task through AC Control or a button offered on the flight’s ACTIVE OPS row. Check whether it needs a target, a tanker or a map position before confirming it.
- Read the ASMA response and compare the other members’ tasks. Do not assume that selecting one symbol makes an order individual.
- If one member reacts differently, check whether it is refuelling, landing, already stationed at a base or moving to another base. Read any message explaining the difference.
Which controls can affect the group?
For an ordinary operational flight, orders can pass through both the pair and the launch group. During a TRG training sortie, orders apply to the selected pair; they do not also task the other pair sharing the radio channel. Check which aircraft actually accept the order.
| Control | What to expect |
|---|---|
| IDENT, ENGAGE and SHADOW | The task is passed to eligible aircraft in the selected fighter’s pair and launch group. Other members already taking fuel are allowed to finish; giving an order directly to the refuelling fighter can interrupt it. Read the target-selection guide. |
| BUSTER, CRUISE and ECO | These speed-mode choices normally pass across the flight. Another member on a transfer between bases keeps its own speed setting. The same mode does not guarantee identical speeds at every moment. See fighter speed modes. |
| REFUEL | The fighter command can send the group to the selected tanker. Fuel is transferred as the aircraft complete the refuelling process, not at the moment you give the order. See REFUEL step by step. |
| RTB | The return order can reach eligible airborne pair and launch-group members. If the selected fighter is still taking off, wait for take-off to finish and give RTB again. Check each aircraft’s actual return and landing; one confirmation does not mean all have landed. See RTB. |
| CAP | Can reach the pair and other launch-group members. Some can accept while another continues its previous task: read CAP PARTIAL and check actual patrol coverage. See CAP placement and partial orders. |
| DIVERT | DIVERT can change the landing base for the selected fighter’s eligible airborne pair and launch-group members. Check the whole flight before choosing a destination and after the order. Follow the diversion guide. Before diverting a fighter, check the whole flight. |
| REJOIN | This is a different operation: it tries to restore the selected fighter’s previous pairing. See the REJOIN guide. |
Why does a refuelling fighter turn later?
During an ordinary new target order, another group member already taking fuel is allowed to finish that process first. It can then follow the pair’s new task. Watch its fuel and state instead of sending conflicting orders just because it did not turn with the others.
What does SINGLE-SHIP TASKING mean?
It means the selected fighter is being tasked alone. The message can explain that its previous partner is on a transfer flight, paired with someone else, still in the air, on the ground or at another base. Read the reason and check the named aircraft. It is not a button for splitting any group you choose.
After the aircraft return to base
For some new tasks, the game can restore a previous pair when both aircraft are available in the same state at the same base. Supplies still matter: one member’s fuel or weapons shortage can block the ground launch. Use the servicing checks and read QRA LAUNCH BLOCKED if it appears.
If the order seems to affect the wrong aircraft
Record the launch that created the flight, both callsigns, the exact control you used and the tasks before and after. Include whether either aircraft was refuelling, returning, diverted, transferring bases or loaded from a save. That evidence helps a report distinguish group behaviour from an incorrect response.