On this page
Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Follow the message
- Open ASMA and read the whole FLASH - WEAPONS HOT message. If a filter hides it, return to the unfiltered message view.
- Match the named fighter to your flight and the named target to its track number. This is a message about a particular intercept.
- Review the current objective and situation. If you choose to attack, follow the ENGAGE steps and select that target.
- If TASK ASSIGNED appears, check the named flight and target. This heading can be omitted when you use the other fighter in a pair. Check both fighters’ actual task and status in ACTIVE OPS. Continue to monitor the flight and any weapon-launch or outcome reports.
Why did it appear?
The TS meter shows the game’s tension state: Peacetime, Heightened or Critical. During Heightened tension, the intercept’s completed final-warning sequence can lead to this notification for a Suspect (S) or Hostile (H) contact. This notification also sets the contact to Hostile (H). It is not a message that every unknown aircraft receives after a fixed wait.
Am I waiting for a decision window?
For this v0.8.16.0 flow, use the ASMA message and the aircraft’s task controls. There is no separate Destroy/Shadow/Escort decision window to wait for. The weapons-hot notification itself does not assign a new ENGAGE task. If the flight already has an engagement task, check its current state before repeating the order.
Critical tension works differently
At Critical tension, an IDENT task against a contact already identified Hostile (H) can become ENGAGE automatically. The game also has automatic engagement decisions for hostile contacts during this state. Training lessons can control the sequence. Read the actual task in ACTIVE OPS; the button you originally pressed is not enough to tell you what the fighter is doing now.
What about an aircraft with an emergency?
A failed radio reply is not, by itself, this weapons-hot message. The normal notification path excludes radio-failure code 7600 and emergency contacts monitored by D&D, the game’s Distress and Diversion service. Use the emergency guide to investigate the reported problem.
If nothing fires
Check whether an engagement task was actually accepted, then use the weapons checks. Do not change the target to H simply to force the sequence: the identity should follow the information you have.