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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Check one contact before choosing a letter
- Left-click the contact’s position symbol or identity letter on the radar map. Read its callsign in Flight Info, or its track serial on the scope data block. If the panel opens on AC Control, choose the Flight Info tab. Keep this contact selected throughout the checks.
- Read the available ALT, SPD and TYPE, and the flight-plan information when present. ALT is altitude in feet; SPD is speed in knots. Use the flight-plan guide to distinguish the planned flight from the aircraft’s actual movement.
- Click Aircraft Data in this same panel. Check the heading and type code, when shown, before comparing its speed and height figures with Flight Info. These are reference figures for the type, not live measurements. Follow the worked Aircraft Data checks if a field is unclear.
- Leave any text-entry box, then press backslash \ with the default bindings to call ATC for this contact. Read the ASMA reply or failure message. Backslash differs from forward slash /, which also moves and highlights the view.
- Compare the reply’s track number or callsign with your selected contact. Check which information agrees, differs or is unavailable. A radio name such as Speedbird can differ from the letters on the track without describing a different aircraft.
- Before choosing a letter for just this contact, check your hooked group. In v0.8.16.0 the identity bar and shortcuts can change several hooked contacts at once. If you do not intend a group change, clear the other hooks, select the intended contact and repeat any required checks. Then left-click the intended letter, or use a supported shortcut such as Ctrl + A. Recheck the resulting letter. Plain A is not an identification shortcut.
What should I compare?
| Information | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Flight Info | Is this still the contact I intended? What height, speed and type does the game currently show? A missing value is missing information, not a hostile declaration. |
| Aircraft Data | Am I reading the matching type and variant? Do the reference labels and units match what I am comparing? A normal cruise speed is not the aircraft’s current speed or an absolute speed limit. |
| Flight plan and movement | Does the available plan match the observed flight? A plan states an intended flight; it does not prove the aircraft is following it. A difference is a reason to investigate. |
| ATC / ASMA | Does the reply refer to the same track? What can the controller confirm? A plausible squawk or familiar operator is one clue, not proof of friendly identity. |
Use the trackblock guide for height and speed units, and the specification guide for cruise speed, maximum speed and service ceiling. If two displays disagree, preserve both values rather than choosing the one that fits your first guess.
What if the ATC call fails?
For a valid selected contact, the game records the automatic ATC attempt before checking whether a Mode 3 code is available. A message saying the contact has no Mode 3 code assigned can therefore be the result of carrying out that step. It does not by itself mean that you skipped the procedure, that the aircraft is hostile, or that identification is complete.
If the message says No track selected, select the intended contact first. If a controller refers you elsewhere, follow the controller-call steps. Keep any missing information in your assessment; do not invent a reply.
Complete the checks before changing identity
The recorded checks belong to the contact: open its information panel, click its Aircraft Data tab and make the ATC check. Opening a different aircraft’s panel does not complete this contact’s procedure. You can complete the three checks in a different order, but do them before changing the letter.
The remembered checks expire after about five minutes of real time from the recorded selection, including time while the game is paused. If the checks have expired, open TRACK LIST and find the contact by callsign or Track No. If its Hook column shows ✔, click that button to remove the hook. Use the row’s > button to locate it, then left-click its position symbol on the scope to hook it again and open its information. Repeat the Flight Info, Aircraft Data and ATC checks before changing its identity. Simply reopening an already-hooked contact’s panel does not restart the timer. The game can clear the remembered steps after an identity change. Repeat the check routine before a further change. The separate IDENT highlight is not a substitute for reading the information.
Procedure feedback and a correct decision are different
PROCEDURE FOLLOWED means the game recorded the required checks; it does not prove that your chosen identity is right. Identification and procedure scoring are separate, so their feedback can differ.
On ordinary Easy and Normal play, completing the procedure can earn a performance award; skipping it does not trigger the Hard-mode procedure penalty. On Hard, incomplete checks can produce PROCEDURE FAILURE. That warning can refer to any missing or expired check, even when its wording mentions the ASMA query. Check all three steps, not only ATC. Training can use different feedback. Read ASMA coaching and score changes and difficulty settings.
If the letter does not change
| What happens | Next check |
|---|---|
| Warning sound, no new letter | Confirm the intended contact in Flight Info. Confirmed friendly military contacts such as your interceptor, AWACS or support aircraft can be protected from ordinary reclassification. A warning does not always produce a new IDENT FAILED message. |
| IDENT FAILED | Read the accompanying reason. Keep the contact’s callsign or serial, old letter and intended letter. Do not keep trying H to force the change. |
| No new TRACK RECLASSIFIED message | Read the actual letter on the same contact. Repeat messages can be limited; training feedback can differ. Silence alone does not prove rejection. |
| The wrong contact changed | Stop assigning letters. Preserve the intended and changed track numbers, the open panel and ASMA messages for a report. Do not guess which aircraft the next click will affect. |
Left-click assigns an identity. Right-click changes an identity display filter. Use display filters when you only want fewer tracks on the screen; use Keyboard settings to inspect changed shortcuts.
An identity change can affect the response
Assigning an identity is a game decision, not a harmless viewing tool. A change can affect other contacts in the same game raid and can open QRA options or change fighter tasks. Read identity-change effects before experimenting.
Classification and authority to attack remain separate. Follow HELP → ROE and the current instructions; see identification versus engagement. The identity bar is not a fire button. However, at Critical tension, an existing Identify task can automatically change to Engage when its target becomes H. Check the assigned fighter’s task and the current rules before changing the target’s identity.