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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Choose where the Nimrod will listen
- Open ASSETS with R and find the available Nimrod R1 at the base you want to use.
- Select TASK on its row. The game is now waiting for a map location; this button alone does not complete the order.
- Click the intended working place on the visible map, outside other panels. Nimrod TASK chooses a place, not an aircraft to follow. Choose clear space so you can see where you clicked.
- Read SIGINT TASKED in ASMA and check the Nimrod’s callsign. Look for the white SIGINT label at the requested place.
- Open ACTIVE OPS with G and find that callsign. Follow its departure and actual movement towards the area. The label and message do not mean it has already arrived or detected a signal.
Which message tells me what happened?
| What you see | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| SIGINT TASK | The active-aircraft menu is asking you to choose a location. Click the intended place on the map; this prompt alone has not changed its assignment. |
| SIGINT TASKED | The game reports a location assignment. Match the callsign, check the SIGINT label, then follow the aircraft in ACTIVE OPS. A bearing and distance FROM a radar station describe the requested place, not a detected emitter. |
| NIMROD UNAVAILABLE | The request was refused. If the message says Aircraft is queued for redeployment, the Nimrod is already committed to a base transfer; follow that transfer in ACTIVE OPS. For a launch-preparation or fuel reason, check the aircraft and fuel at its base. Resolve the stated reason before trying again. |
What does the SIGINT label mark?
The white SIGINT label marks the place you asked the Nimrod to work near. It is not the Nimrod’s current position, a detected aircraft or a confirmed source of electronic signals. Find the Nimrod itself by its callsign and K identity. Its bearing lines and diamonds are separate information. AWACS works differently: its TASK selection can choose a contact or a place.
Cancel before choosing the map location
While the map choice is waiting, use CANCEL TASK in the ASSETS header. Open ASSETS with R if it is hidden. This cancels the waiting selection; it does not bring home a Nimrod that already received an order. Use RTB and check its return for that.
Move a Nimrod that already has a task
- Find the Nimrod by callsign and K identity. E identifies the E-3D AWACS; check which aircraft you are about to command.
- Right-click the Nimrod and select TASK. Read SIGINT TASK, which asks for the new location.
- Click the new working place on the map. Read SIGINT TASKED (ASMA) and check the same callsign. Its previous SIGINT location label is replaced by the new one.
- Follow the aircraft’s actual movement and task in ACTIVE OPS. If it is still preparing to depart or taking off, choosing a new place does not make it turn in the air immediately.
Read the information it adds
Use strobes and EW diamonds to interpret the passive picture. A bearing cue is not automatically a full radar track with a measured height and speed. Nimrod and AWACS help you in different ways.
If the expected information is missing
Check the aircraft’s actual position and current task in ACTIVE OPS (open it with G). Nimrod SIGINT can contribute with the global EW switch off; that switch is not a requirement for its output. Bearings appear during listening periods and are not promised for every aircraft. Keep the EW cue, track data and source of information distinct. A Nimrod is not an AWACS and does not replace active radar coverage.
Fuel and returning to land
Its right-click menu offers REFUEL for tanker support and RTB to return and land.
RDP opens a transfer from its base. For a Nimrod already in flight, it does not redirect that particular aircraft: it needs another Nimrod available at the base. Follow the base-transfer steps below. To land the airborne Nimrod elsewhere, use DIVERT, where offered.
Changing the working position during a fuel attempt stops that attempt. Check the aircraft’s fuel first; see the support-refuelling steps before completing a new map choice. Support-aircraft refuelling →
If the right-click menu is disabled
Open the selected aircraft’s AC Control tab and use ENABLE RIGHT CLICK MENU. The tab also offers the main task controls directly.
Bring the aircraft home and use it again
Use RTB when it needs to return and land. After it arrives, follow the Nimrod fuel and relaunch checks at that base.
Follow the aircraft, then read its listening line
The SIGINT label is the place you requested. The Nimrod itself may still be travelling towards it. Find the aircraft by its callsign and K identity, then compare its position in ACTIVE OPS with the map. A Nimrod listening line starts at the aircraft’s actual position, not at the requested SIGINT label. It points towards a signal source. Its far end is not a measured aircraft position.
The lines appear during short listening periods. Between periods, a line can disappear while an EW diamond remains at its last reported position. That remaining symbol is not proof of a fresh report or of an aircraft standing still.
One line does not mean one aircraft
| What you see | What you can conclude |
|---|---|
| One white line from Nimrod | You have a direction cue. Nimrod can contribute information about more contacts than the single line drawn from it. Do not count aircraft by counting its lines. |
| A line without an EW diamond | A single listening source can give direction without enough separate sensors reporting to produce a position symbol. Compare other bearing sources and the radar picture. |
| An EW diamond or several history dots | The diamond shape describes contributing sensors; history dots, or plots, show earlier reports. Neither is an aircraft count. Check individual tracks in TRACK LIST. |
Aircraft type and track identity are different
EW information can reveal an aircraft type in the game when that information is available. To examine a contact, select and hook its track, then read its trackblock and the hooked-track list. Read the type, if shown, separately from its identity letter.
A type name answers “what kind of aircraft might this be?” It does not, by itself, answer “is it friendly or hostile?” The displayed type may also come from other information, such as a visual identification. A type remaining on the display does not prove that Nimrod is receiving a fresh signal now. If no type is shown, do not invent one from the length of a line or the shape of a diamond.
Check these five cases before changing the task
| What seems wrong | What to check next |
|---|---|
| SIGINT is in place, but no line appears | Check the Nimrod itself by callsign in ACTIVE OPS, not just its requested place. Watch for a later listening period. A task message is not a detection report, and not every aircraft produces an EW cue. |
| A line appears, but there is no diamond | Read it as direction only. Look for other listening sources; one Nimrod is not several independent sensors. Do not place the aircraft at the line’s endpoint. |
| EW is off, but Nimrod information appears | Nimrod listening is an exception to the global EW switch in this release. Read the EW controls before treating this as a fault. A retained diamond alone does not prove that a new report arrived. |
| Radar tracks disappear despite a Nimrod nearby | Nimrod does not replace active radar coverage. Check radar and display settings, then AWACS reporting if an E-3D is available. Passive information is not a promise of fresh radar position, height and speed. |
| The diamond or aircraft type does not change | Compare later listening periods and individual tracks. Old position reports and retained type information may remain. Record what actually updates; an unchanged display alone does not prove a broken task. |
If the behaviour still seems wrong, report it with the game version, Nimrod callsign, actual position and status, EW setting, and screenshots of the same area before and after a listening period. Say whether you saw a fresh line, new plots or only an old symbol. That helps distinguish new information from retained information.
Practise reading Nimrod without issuing new orders
- Use an ordinary session where a Nimrod is already operating and EW information is visible. You do not need to launch, retask or move aircraft for this exercise.
- Find that Nimrod by callsign and K identity. Locate its actual position and the requested SIGINT label separately.
- Watch a listening line appear. Follow it from the aircraft, then stop: its endpoint is not a measured target position.
- Compare the next listening period with any diamond, plots and track information. Note which items update and which simply remain. Do not guess a position, aircraft count or identity from one line.
- Leave aircraft orders unchanged. If you changed a display setting while looking, restore its starting state. Use the Nimrod and AWACS comparison to explain which kind of information each aircraft adds.
Why did my map choice not do what I expected?
| What happened | What to do next |
|---|---|
| I pressed TASK, but nothing moved | Make a separate left-click on the visible map after choosing TASK. The button starts the choice; it is not the destination. Check the resulting ASMA message before repeating the order. |
| My click seems to be ignored | Choose visible map space outside ASMA, TRACK LIST and an open Escape menu. Those panels can block the map choice, even if you can see the radar through them. Move or close a panel using the panel controls if it covers the place you need. |
| Escape did not end the choice | Escape can fail to cancel while the pointer is over one of those panels. Open ASSETS and use its header’s CANCEL TASK. Check that the waiting choice ends. If CANCEL TASK remains available, a map choice may still be waiting. |
| I see a task message but no aircraft nearby | Match the callsign in ACTIVE OPS and read its departure status. An accepted task and a destination label are not proof that the aircraft has taken off or arrived. |
| The SIGINT label is in the wrong place | Nimrod TASK chooses the clicked place; it does not select an aircraft to follow. Check SIGINT TASKED and the white label. To move an accepted task, use the Nimrod’s TASK steps above and select the new place. CANCEL TASK does not undo an accepted order. |
Practise cancelling before a launch
- In an ordinary session with no map choice already waiting, open ASSETS and find an available aircraft of the type described in this guide. Note its base and available count.
- Choose TASK once. Do not click the map. Find CANCEL TASK in the ASSETS header; this is the waiting choice, before you have selected a destination.
- Click CANCEL TASK. Check that the waiting choice ends, then check the same base and aircraft row again.
- You have practised starting and cancelling the choice before launch. For an aircraft that already received an order, use RTB or the task-change steps above instead.
- If the choice remains active or an aircraft launches during these exact steps, keep the version, base/type, screenshots and a short clip for a problem report. Say whether you clicked the map at any point.
Move a based Nimrod to another base
- Open ASSETS with R. Find the Nimrod row at the base it is leaving and check how many are available.
- Choose RDP. Check the heading Redeploy [type] from [base] to:. It should name the intended aircraft type and departure base.
- Choose an offered destination. Clicking its button issues the request; there is no separate DISPATCH button. Choose CANCEL before clicking a destination if you want to stop.
- Read ASSET REDEPLOYED in ASMA. Check the base names, then find the transferring Nimrod by callsign and status in ACTIVE OPS.
A preparing-to-redeploy report means the move has been accepted, not that the aircraft has arrived. A departure countdown can appear before a radar track. Follow the flight, then confirm the aircraft in the new base’s aircraft list after it lands.
Opening RDP from an airborne Nimrod’s right-click menu uses its base for this same transfer. Check the callsign of the flight that actually starts; do not assume the airborne Nimrod you clicked is moving.
If the Nimrod transfer does not start
- Read any alert. No stationed [type] available at [base] means the request could not move a based aircraft. The chooser closes after failure too.
- Check the base’s available Nimrod count and ACTIVE OPS for an aircraft already launched or being moved. Do not repeat RDP simply because the original airborne Nimrod stayed on task.
- Once a Nimrod is available, reopen RDP from its ASSETS row and choose the destination again.
If the menu says Unable to resolve Nimrod base for redeploy., open ASSETS and find the intended departure base instead. For a problem that persists, record the problem with the game version, base names, available count, callsigns and exact alert.