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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Assign SHADOW
- Find the airborne fighter flight you want to use and check its fuel and current task.
- Right-click one of its interceptors and choose SHADOW.
- After choosing SHADOW, click the intended contact. If TASKING SELECT appears, check that it names the correct fighter and asks for the SHADOW target. This message can be omitted when you use the other fighter in a pair.
- If TASK ASSIGNED appears, check that it names the intended flight and target. This heading can be omitted when you give the order through the other fighter in a pair. Check both fighters’ current tasks in ACTIVE OPS and follow their positions relative to the contact.
Keep the three decisions separate
IDENT asks the flight to investigate. SHADOW asks it to follow. ENGAGE is a weapons task. A flight following a contact is not, by itself, evidence that the simulation is waiting for you to authorise a shot.
Choosing SHADOW asks the flight to follow; it does not start the IDENT investigation. Following can also begin automatically during an identification flight. The same SHADOW wording can therefore describe different stages. Read the current task and recent reports before changing the order.
If the flight is already following
Read its reported task and recent communications before sending a new order. Use the intercept checks if its behaviour does not fit the order. Keep the target serial and flight callsign together in your report.
What if ASMA says TARGET LOST RADAR?
Match the named flight and target, then check that flight’s current task and target in ACTIVE OPS. This report appears when the target has gone without new radar detections for a short time. It does not prove that the target was destroyed or that the fighters are already returning.
The next action depends on the task. At Critical tension, a flight already on ENGAGE can try another target if it has weapons remaining and the game finds a suitable target. SHADOW alone does not meet that rule. A temporary task may instead give way to an earlier task, the pair’s continuing task, or RTB. Read the actual messages and watch the flight’s movement.
Use the missing-track checks if the radar picture is unclear. To give a different order, use the retasking controls and confirm the result. If the flight is returning, follow RTB through to landing.
End the shadow task deliberately
Use a new task and target, place a CAP, or order RTB. Closing the menu does not cancel an accepted shadow task. Check fuel before extending the mission.
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.
When following begins during an identification flight
After an IDENT investigation, a flight can start following a contact outside the game’s FIR boundary. This is different from choosing the SHADOW follow order yourself.
First match the flight callsign and target serial in the report. Then check the task and target in ACTIVE OPS and watch their positions on the scope. The reports below describe changes in this automatic following sequence; they are not a checklist every SHADOW order must produce.
| Report | What to check next |
|---|---|
| TARGET ENTERING FIR | The contact has entered the game’s FIR area and the report announces escalation. Show the FIR map layer to follow the boundary, then read the next task and reports. |
| TARGET RECLASSIFIED HOSTILE | If this report says Engaging, the automatic following has changed to ENGAGE at Critical tension. Check the flight’s task and weapons status; it does not guarantee a shot. |
| TARGET COMPLYING | The flight is standing down from this intercept. Check what it does next: it may resume an earlier CAP patrol or start RTB. A return message is not a landing. |
If you need a different job, give a new order and confirm its result. If the flight turns away without one of these reports, check fuel and tanker messages before assuming the task has failed.