What do the track identity letters mean?

Common identities

• P — Pending: traffic waiting for identification. It may look civilian, but that has not yet been confirmed.
• A — Assumed Friendly: traffic accepted as civilian or compliant after the identification checks. A does not stand for airliner.
• U — Unknown: a radar contact whose identity has not been established.
• S — Suspect: there is reason to suspect enemy activity, but this is a different category from confirmed Hostile.
• H — Hostile: classified as confirmed enemy.
• Z — Zombie: the checked registration information links the aircraft to a country of interest. It does not mean hostile or missile. A deceptive contact can use a registered cover identity, so Z alone does not prove which airframe is really there.

Useful role identifiers

• I — Interceptor.
• E — Early warning aircraft, such as the E-3D Sentry.
• K — High-value support asset; this can include a tanker or Nimrod. K alone does not identify the aircraft type.
• M — Missile.

Use the information together

Read the trackblock and the supporting information before drawing a conclusion. A circle is not a friendly declaration, and the colour of a track is not a substitute for its identity.

Look up or assign an identity

During an ordinary session, close the Escape menu if it is open, click HELP on the bottom menu, then Identity in the Guide. The page is headed IDENTITY DEFINITIONS. Some training lessons hide the bottom menu; follow their instructions instead. On the identity bar, left-clicking assigns an identity to the selected contact or, in v0.8.16.0, the eligible hooked group; right-clicking changes the display include filter. Complete the identification checks before assigning one. Alternatively, in the selected contact’s Flight Info tab, choose the appropriate letter under Set ID if shown, then check the resulting letter and any refusal message.

Changing identity can affect an assigned fighter

An identity describes how the contact is classified. Assigning H and selecting ENGAGE are different actions, but at Critical tension H can make an eligible fighter already on an Identify task switch to Engage. Check the fighter’s task before proceeding. Read identification versus engagement and weapons-release controls before issuing a combat order.

Confirm an identity change

1. Before assigning an identity, complete the identification checks and confirm the callsign in Flight Info, or its track serial on the scope data block. Do not use identity changes as a way to search for the aircraft.
2. Check the hooked group before left-clicking the intended identity. In v0.8.16.0, two or more eligible hooked contacts can be changed together; read the group procedure before doing this. Right-click changes a display filter instead.
3. Recheck the same contact’s letter. If ASMA shows TRACK RECLASSIFIED, compare its track number and identity with the contact you intended. Repeated messages can be suppressed, and training can use different feedback; the absence of a new message alone does not prove failure.
4. If ASMA shows IDENT FAILED, read the explanation before doing anything else. Some confirmed friendly military contacts are protected from ordinary reclassification. If the displayed result does not match your action, keep the callsign/serial, old and intended identities and message for a problem report. Do not repeatedly try H to force a change.

An identity change can affect other tracks and fighter tasks

1. The game can copy an identity change to other displayed contacts it puts in the same raid: a group of aircraft in the same game attack. That does not apply to every nearby aircraft. Z (Zombie) is aircraft-specific and is not copied to the group. Check the other letters after your change.
2. Using the identity bar to change a contact from outside the X/S/H group into that group can open QRA launch options. X is included in this v0.8.16.0 rule even though S and H are the usual decisions discussed here. An options window is a decision to make, not proof that fighters have launched. Check the base, number of aircraft and target before confirming; choose CANCEL in the launch window if you do not intend to launch. Training lessons can follow a different sequence.
3. Using the identity bar to change S or H to A, P, U or X can give assigned fighters another Suspect or Hostile target. Fighters without an allocated alternative can be sent home, including surplus fighters when there are fewer targets than fighters. This retasking rule does not apply to the alternative Flight Info Set ID control, and training lessons can bypass it. Read QRA RETASKED or QRA RTB in ASMA, then check the actual aircraft tasks. Returning S to U does not prove the contact is friendly; it means you have changed your assessment.
4. Complete the identification checks before changing a letter. Do not left-click identity letters just to hide tracks or stop a fighter. Use right-click filters to change what you see and RTB when you intend to bring a fighter home.