@@RCAvhstape I think that's got to be more of a 'fuck you' to China than a.... China doesn't see Taiwan as a separate nation... so to put a Chinese patch on his jacket.... Never mind, it's the youtube comments section.
@@RCAvhstape Do you know Chinese stream platforms mosaic the flag out? I’m a Chinese, I know, and I’m absolutely disgusted by the mosaics. I like the flag, reminds us there’re still a portion of Chinese people doesn’t live under the tyranny and we still have hope
Explicitly or not, Ward does a great job communicating how successful fighter operations are defined by a plan-prepare-execute approach and not the “hair on fire” stuff.
Hey o Ward , im absolutely jazzed about all your work on my fav' warbird of all time.Maybe I'll wake up some morning and will get to see an episode of f14a driver iiaf Kahlil Zandi I have read many of his accounts taking out migs, Su's, etc. all with aim 54 s. and guns. Damm. I know you gotta be impressed ! I really don't know what kind of man he is/was, or how he carried himself as a person. But as a defender of the shaw's regime, then imprisoned, or told to fly for the ayatollah , with both ejection seats disabled , my impression of him is that of a true warrior . Cheers
I love the football and hockey analogy with regards to air/ground versus air/air. "You need to create structure from chaos." How true. It reminds me of the saying from my Army days, "No plan survives first contact." Flexibility and adaptability to the flowing situation is key while maximizing your strengths and exploiting your adversary's weaknesses. Thank you for that schooling on BVR Ward. Very cool stuff.
"The Tomcat pilot with a diamond in his hud is a lot more dangerous than the Tomcat pilot without one" my kind of axiom... Thank you, Ward for the wisdom and knowledge.
This explains why Growling Sidewinder gets shot in the face so much. Aww, G.S., did Jester forget to put the diamond in your H.U.D. Oh, he punched out already! Face McShotty!
Loved the analogy "Air-to-ground warfare is football and air-to-air warfare is hockey". It's description was a perfect ending to a fantastic presentation. Thank you Ward.
@JZ's Best Friend I assumed that as a regular on a channel for Tomcats that you knew about the F14A's issues, and that you were expecting something different when you asked to hear more. So I'm telling you that it's basically the good old issue with the A's engines. In the event that you don't know what the issue with the A's engines are, I can briefly summarise that the F14 originally used the engines from the F111, which were underpowered, temperamental, and prone to stalling at the worst possible times, and that the B model corrected this with objectively better engines. Which is why Jason is amused that Ward took the time to specify 'B', so that we know we're not dealing with a neutered aircraft. But reading the Wiki article will probably be more illuminating than this paragraph I coughed up in 1 minute
What is amazing is how much work goes into being a pilot. The briefings are so detailed, ACM procedures are detailed, and the BVR procedures are detailed. Flying in the movies and in real life are night and day different. I’m blown away by all the info. Mooch , thanks for the good brief.
In the 80s I was a young enlisted man on a destroyer participating in an F14 equipped carrier battle group. I thought the F14s were the baddest things that I had ever seen. I saw them break the sound barrier in a cone of vapor 100 feet off the deck passing alongside my ship with the wings at full sweep, and I stood on deck in the blackest imaginable night as we performed plane guard duty 1/4 mile off the carrier’s stern while F14s passed 200 feet overhead to land on a deck that I could not see in the darkness. Their formation lights were the only things that could be seen because they glowed a soft green and they outlined the entire planes as they approached the deck - so close in the sky that it seemed like I could touch them. It sure is a pleasure all these years later to be able to understand a bit about what those pilots were doing in the cockpit. Thanks Ward.
Fabulous stuff. There's at least a couple of missions in DCS World for the Tomcat which cover BVR engagements, which recreate some aspects of this complex ballet. I really appreciate the breakdown of the timeline, task and role management between the two aircraft and respective RIOs. It's amazing how quickly at 50 miles two groups of aircraft pointing at each other close the gap to a merge: even without the missile threat it's lethal stuff. That cerebral assessment at the merge to engage or bug out seems to be an overlooked aspect of the totality of the fight. There's a false assumption, it seems, that pilots will automatically engage the enemy and conjure up some sort of BFM vodoo to come out on top after the fancy missiles have missed.
I'm an HT2 That served between '84 and '88 and while I know nothing about flight it is still interesting to listen to you talk and get the gist of your lectures, Thanks.
Ward, I appreciate your videos. I was a Manufacturing Engineer at General Dynamics Pomona Division from 78-85. I worked on Standard Missile 1 & 2, Sparrow, Phalanx CIWS, and Stinger (Man Portable, ATAS, RMP). Back in those days we didn’t often get to see how the weapon systems worked or how they were utilized. Your videos help me understand the applications and a little bit of the technology. Thanks for sharing.
The F-15C tactics/weapons employment manual was typically like a phone book. No Air-to-Ground in there. Guys who made it through selection into flight school, graduated UPT at top of their class, and had F-15C available to them have sometimes failed out of their squadron’s probationary period for not being able to execute the BVR timelines and tactics. The difference between an F-15E driver and Grey Eagle pilot might as well be night and day in that regard.
I worked avionics on F-14s in the 90s and I love hearing your stories about the other side of what is happening during the sorties. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Are you in a virtual squadron? I have a virtual wing and I'm starting a F-14B squadron within the wing. I'm looking for guys who can do both driver and RIO and can plug and play with each other. No Jester. I can send you the discord invite if you're interested.
This is the best straight forward view of the "Timeline" that I have seen. Trying to figure out the RIO seat so I can teach my brother more effectively. Thanks for the video!
I'd need a full year of intense study just to learn the acronyms and lingo. (But at least I didn't throw up in the back seat when I rode in an F/A-18.) Ward, you're awesome!
I love this guy, Ward Carroll. I'm a music arranger, educator, orchestrator...but because my eyes are really bad and I'm not a jock, I missed out on flying F-14s. I love my life, but in the next life, I want to be an F-14 RIO. God bless you, Ward Carroll. From one of your Patreon donors, Joe C. in California. Mooch, you are the baddest!
Love the hockey analogy, what a perfect description (I'm Canadian, so I obviously played hockey). Ward, do you mean 4th or 4.5 Gen fighters? Back in 92 with the Tomcats you used in this scenario, our threats didn't have 5th gen fighters, and our F22 was only just in very early testing vs the YF23 back then. Even if you did mean 5th gen fighters, are we certain an F14B's AWG9 system can even detect current threat 5th gen fighters at 50nm, like the J20, Su57, etc? Also, your description of intelligent radar usage is excellent here. IMO it really shows the advantage of having a 2 seat fighter for A2A, as I'm thinking the F15C guys have to do ALL this work being described so far as maintaining a picture and finding targets with the radar, PLUS fly the plane and employ the weapons, etc. Crazy workload. Really makes a great case for the new F15 models coming off the line with 2 seats in them, again IMO.
@@WardCarroll That's what I figured. Ward, this is probably my favorite video you've done, and that's saying something. Fantastic channel growth, I remember joining in your sub 10k numbers, and telling everyone I knew that this channel would explode. I'm reading Punk's War right now as well, what an incredibly well written book, I'm ashamed that I missed it when it first was published. Anyhow, your explanation of this hypothetical engagement, and in particular how the RIO/radar/etc applies...just incredible Ward. THANK you!
The F-14 Tomcat had always been my favorite fighter of all time! I was born in 84, and the first movie I remember watching Topgun. I watched the movie until I wore it out! I never served in the military, so as a citizen, I appreciate your videos. Thanks.
Ok, Ward. You’ve got a musician (Me) learning BVR fighter tactics using sports (hockey vs. football) analogies. Safe to say yours is the only channel connecting all three 😂. 👏🏻👏🏻
Hi, Mooch, I recently discovered your UA-cam posts. Recently, because of a bicycle accident I’ve had spent a lot time watching aviation porn from the couch. You and I have a lot in common. I was USAFA class of ’83. Unfortunately, academics caught me, and I left after my 2nd class year. For my sins the Air Force sent me to Hill AFB where I was a heating system specialist. I was lucky in that my zone was the hangers. Seeing F-16s every day. That kept me motivated. I went back to school, changed my major from Physics to Management Science and graduated. I then earned my commission through OTS. I got my choice of career fields I chose Air Weapons Controller. In short I was GCI. I love the Killing the Bandits Before the Merge. Brings back a lot of memories. Thanks again Kevin “Slink” Slinkman
I was wondering what proper procedures were. I play DCS and love being in the RIO seat. I find it kind of funny that through trial and error that my own timeline that I have produced with my pilot is very similar to the actual procedure The only difference is is after the first Phoenix shot we go to the gimbals of the radar. Wait till the Phoenix is active and by that time they're still far enough out that you can engage safely without a high chance of being hit. But we also aren't going up against normal Russian procedures. It's more random due to the fact that most people who fly Russian aircraft don't seem to follow any procedures or anything. I'll definitely implement this into my DCS gameplay. Thank you for your service 🇺🇲 as always
I do much the same with my own pilot, myself sitting in the back seat. I lit up when at the start with the clarification of what model tomcats and features and was kind of like "oh, so DCS Heatblur B models. SCHWEET." and pulled out the popcorn.
Honestly the f14 seems more unreliable in DCS, your tws Normally lose lock at the minimum manouver of the bandits, and in pulse, no pilot will be even scratched by a Phoenix experienced pilots will see your f14 spike and just go 90 degress, making the Phoenix useless I Normally find the f14 more of an annoyance than a threat, cuz they keep messing my angles while i try to engage the other vipers A good use of the f14 i found, was to stay behind and ambush people in tws, hoping they will think its an amraam and go cold, but that only works if you dont lose tws or the Phoenix doesn't go dumb while he is going cold lol
@@StoneCoolds I've never really had a problem with it in pvp. The only thing that's frustrating is when people see a tomcat on the rwr and go to valleys because they force the tomcat to drop altitude and fight their fight. But someone at altitude I've never had a problem engaging. They usually try to notch but you can't notch pulse. The key is staying below your target. Once they get below you the ground return screws you over. So by that time I stt them which usually causes them to go defensive. I launch one M54 to keep them scared and wasting energy. Gives us time to get close or bug out if it is to dangerous to proceed.
@@hybridscout0134 but all you need to do is to keep the tomcat at 90 degrees every time he fires, you can troll them that way while barely losing any energy lol, then fire a 120 and he will be forced defensive, forcing him to run tell me when had you load a 2x2x2? Probably never because the Phoenix its very unreliable, not the radar that much, unless you didn't went pulse before they went low lol But it is good agains russians, brcause they dont have good rwr, so they dont know what is spike him, and that can be dangerous
That's why you stt with a phoenix in pulse mode. Can't notch the missile because pulse can see you regardless. The only problem with that is they know where you're getting engaged from. But you can't fire at me with an aim 120 because of the inferior range. I don't run 2x2x2 I usually run 4 m54 with 2 aim 7 and 2 aim 9.
Maybe for Americans is an everyday thing to come across people like Ward in the Mall or as a neighbor, cause you have so many Veteran pilots and active duty military pilots, but for someone from a country like Uruguay where our "fighters wing" are 5 (FIVE!) Cessna A37 and our pilot migrate to airlines (and in many cases from homeland) before their thirties just to earn a living, to listen to somebody like Ward Carrol is AMAZING... Thank you for this channel and your time, Ward!
I really enjoyed how you broke down the process in terms that even the average non-aviator could follow. When reading one of your books, or someone else's on the subject, I'll be better able to visualize and understand what is going on and decipher the dialogue! as always, I look forward to Happy Hour. Take care and be safe! Give the dogs a pat! Dave
Love these videos! I was on the total opposite side of the Navy...Submarines; so cool to learn about the aviation side. My first love was airplanes, so these let me relive my childhood. Thanks Ward!
Great stuff as always, had a random conversation about your channel over the weekend with someone who also follows you. You are a hit everywhere, small world keeps getting smaller!
One note about comm brevity. The F14As I flew had a very loud Environmental Control System (ECS) and pretty much every Tomcat comm panel had all the volume knobs up to full. Combine that with the noise of the other guy breathing on "hot mic", and comm brevity and cadence became critical to success. Great brief!
Thank you for all your great video’s. I was an AK in VF-1 from 86 to 90... thanks for using some Wolfpack photos in this video! I sure do miss the Tomcats. Even after living with these Tomcats for three deployments, you certainly bring so much information from the cockpit that many of us ground/support crew never got to see/hear/experience. Keep up the great work, thank you for your service and I will continue to make trips down memory lane thru your videos!
....and then you have to hit the 3 wire, to get feet dry. Road rage has me shaky, take off, combat, landing.......pry my hands off the stick, I'm going home!!
@@projenitor2387 watched a DCS carrier landing, same, exact procedure with yellow shirts and hand commands....I'll be there in the fall, if this damn c19 rolls out of here!!
@@garyjohnson4575 I happen to be with a very passionate crew who loves to provide the authentic experience without the yessir no sir. Some of them retired from there respective services; army, navy, and air force. We all have an aura of respect for one another. Thank you for your service if I read this correctly.
This is the best fkn channel ever. Your ability to communicate and make these videos is phenomenal, Sir. May it translate to much success and may UA-cam not thwart that
Great stuff. This makes me wish I could go back and get my late USMC grandad started on a story about tactics, strike logistics, radio discipline, fighter direction, etc circa 1942-45. I’d sell my car, and refinance the house for just one afternoon and one more anecdote. He didn’t have a whiteboard, but he’d grab a napkin and go to town. I’ already know what he’d say too, “We’d have been fine, except the flight direction officer couldn’t get a word in; those navy boy fighter jocks never shut the F* up, whether it’s in an officer’s club, or if you’re flying CAP. He did love the USN, just loved ragging them more. RIP Col.
I hear that. My step-Grandad was a Captain (Donald N. Aldrich) in the USMCR during WWII flying F-4U Corsairs with VMF-215 "Fighting Corsairs" in the Bismark Archipelago and the Solomon Island area in '43-'44. They made him a flight & tactics instructor after he'd shot down 20 Japanese aircraft, including 18 Zeroes. Our leaders were smart enough to turn our best pilots into instructors, while the Japanese basically left their airmen in combat until they died. I never got to meet him; he was killed while attempting a dead-stick landing about two miles south of Chicago Midway at the former Ashburn Field.
@@stevewilke8524 Wow. Yeah, talent-management is difficult for the military nowadays. “What’s that? You like to work with that particular system and have studied and used it for the past 10-12 years? How does a nice recruiting duty sound to you, because you’re on orders for that."
This is absolute GOLD info for Digital Combat Sim F-14 operators! I am eager to explore how the tactics translates to online multi-player! Thank you kindly Mooch! Keep doing what you are doing! All of it!
As a former Sonar tech in the US Navy I love this kind of play-by-play description of radar ops, especially involving the onboard system. The RIO's procedures and options sound surprisingly similar to my own, while actively tracking a submarine, circa the mid-90's. Of course I wasn't pulling G's with the potential of an unscheduled parachute ride, but the tech design had much in common with my own. No matter how awesome the equipment was, an STG could have missed a hostile sub that was sitting right under the boat if he didn't employ it properly. Ward's mention of the varsity operators was certainly true, at least back then - the human factor was definitely a factor, and I'm sure that he rocked that scope!
i play as a rio in DCS sim, ii understand that a sim will never come close to the real life experience. but its amazing how well what your saying in this video carries over into the sim. having my friends watch videos like yours and other rio/pilots on youtube has given us some very useful advice for what to do in the sim.
That was some of the most interesting stuff I have seen on your channel to date. Just goes to show its not just TWS mode, squeeze off four AIM-54s and be done with it. There are a lot of moving parts, especially if you have a wingman. Great, great info sir!
Agreed. Simple minded ideas of something is fine, but this really stokes the fires for feeling the real nuts and bolts of being an effective RIO. I could have hugely gotten into it (once I got over being sick 🤕).
I'd love to see a vid where you revisit your old job as a rio in DCS world as a rio in an f-14 tomcat in that sim with another human pilot and compare the sim to what you experienced.
Thanks Ward - I'll try these tactics on my drive to work tomorrow! Seriously, your videos are great - love the first hand explanations, and who doesn't love fighter RIO talk?!?!!
I just wanna comment and let you know you're not blowing into the wind here. This is invaluable information for those who would like to one day fly fighter aircraft, and very intriguing content for those who aren't. Keep it up.
Hey Mooch, love the channel! I'm a longtime viewer, first time commenter. I'm wondering if you would consider doing a video about how fuel usage works in the F-14? I've always been curious if the engines pull equally from all internal tanks and drop tanks or if the crew configured that. Also curious if a tanker can refill the drop tanks. Thanks for all the awesome content!
i think the fuel in the drop tanks gets used first. I dont mean that the aircrafts engines draw fuel directly from the Drop tanks, i mean that they draw their fuels normally from the internal tanks but the drop tanks keep replenishing the internal tanks.
Building on that, I'd love a video about the history of carrier-borne refueling assets. It was my understanding that after the KA-6 got retired, there weren't any, until this new refueling drone whose designation escapes me at the moment. Also I'm curious about what there was in that role pre-KA-6.
@@trekker105 after the KA-6 the F/A-18 (Super) Hornet was used to aerial refuel planes. It carried an astonishing 5 Drop tanks. The center tank under the belly contained the special refuelling probe. (shuttle cock like thing). Before/After the KA-6, numerous (un)modified planes like the A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7, S-3B etc. were used to aerially refuel aircrafts
@@ashokiimc I’ve never head that the A-5 Vigilante was ever used an an aerial refueler. Can you provide a link to that? It was still in service when I was a kid, so when I was learning about all the types in an air wing, it stuck out to me as one of the sexiest carrier-borne jets there was. I still think it holds that place from an aesthetics standpoint, way ahead of its time.
Great analogy about football and hockey! One is play by play. The Other is fluid interceptions! George Carlin did a comedy skit about the difference between baseball and football. You said it that simple. Thank You Flyboy from a Marine! Bless You
I just watched some of GS's F-14 videos. He's self-admittedly not well-practiced in the Tomcat, which seems to be a fairly uncooperative aircraft. Gotta respect how much time it took for the real F-14 pilots to master that thing.
@@ilyakipnis7853 exactly, that's why I recommend some of the practiced F-14 DCS streams. I, myself, and my RIO DSPlayer put a lof to research and respect into the F-14 and if Ward were to do anything DCS related, it should be with a creator that focuses on the simulation side of DCS.
Good comparison of Football vs Hockey! I had never heard that before. But as always we have a plan until we punched in the mouth the first time! I find it a little suspect that there were 5th gen fighters at the timeline you mention with the B turkey. As well as picking them up on Radar at 45 miles.
Maybe he meant 4th Gen for them too? Hard to imagine anything else at that timeline. Question for Ward- why not fire two Phoenix in that initial stage of the fight? Take 'em all out, especially if that's possible in TWS. That might save the Sparrows for after the notch.
For most if not all of its career the F14 was the pinnacle of flight air defence. But what happens now when a carrier confronts Su30s or newer adversaries. When the opposition has jamming/ECM, chafe, latest SAMs and their own long range missiles. The other major scenario is being out numbered. Challenging times. Maybe the subject for another video. Thank you for your methodical videos Ward, very much appreciated.
@@harveymushman2219 Thank you for the info, I must have missed that one. That's the only kind of Aides you want to get from a Thailand massage parlor. Still, he could go to Hobby Lobby and get a couple Tomcat models for cheap!! LOL
It's interesting how much training the F-14 crews had for situations like this. Did the Russians and other countries have this same kind of preparation and training going into scenarios like this? Did other countries have assets like the E-2? (I ask because you mentioned the engagement with the Libyans.) This is SO interesting.
Back in the day as I understand it, the US were more flexible with the control being airborne (E-2) where as the Wasaw Pact (Russia) were and still are to a large extent GROUND controlled with limited initiative being given to their pilots..... Don't get me wrong there are some damned good Soviet Pilots..... AS for Soviet Top Gun or FWS..... not to the same level..... I know of some instances of training at Squadron level, how ever not widespread & Politics / trust being a major factor for the Soviets..... East Germany absolutely no way
I would say "no" adversaries have made LOTS of "mistakes" and errors over the years - and WE are often on the receiving end of their lack of professionalism, budget and due diligence sadly it costs BBBILLIONS of dollars and decades to field a top notch air arm
Great explanation of terminology and phases of engagement.. My older brother was an F8 Crusader pilot (VF51 out of Miramar and VF124 out of Moffett) during Vietnam era. For air to air, the F8 was of course guns and sidewinders for close in engagement and topic of many a late night conversation with him years later... I was the EWO on a DDG in TF 77 mostly with carriers Ranger then Coral Sea on Yankee Station and, of course while hoped not likely to happen (nobody wanted to start WWIII over Vietnam!) shipboard attack by cruise missile was a concern after seeing what happened in the '67 Six Day war.
Son: Dad, why are you watching this? You never flew a thing. Dad: I maybe 56 and the F14 is long gone, but I may be called upon in a dream and I want to be ready!😂 This channel is so cool!
Hey, it could happen bro... A scenario in which the US maintained a small wing of operational Tomcats, and perhaps needed competent civilians to volunteer to defend the homeland against an endless hoard of Chengdu j-30 invaders. Since it is also possible China has legit 5th Gen fighters.. We should know since it was stolen from us, Ward's scenario may yet prove prescient -as for the age thing, I believe Randy Quaid covered this in Independence Day' 😃 Cheers!
This is great stuff for us DCS Tomcatters. Thank you so much! QUESTION: After coming out of the notch at 17 miles to reacquire, what are you working the radar with? Is it more efficient to point the radar and observer through the DDD or the TID for the STT acquisition?
This is where having a flight with a pair of human RIOs instead of Jester will really shine. I heard P-Search and PD-Search being mentioned in this phase. That means you'll be using the DDD to quickly lock up the first contact you can find. *Good luck* fumbling with the menus and getting Jester to find and STT anything reliably in such a close in and dynamic environment!
Ward you are a true officer the way u explain things both tactically and dumbed down for non military aviators is second to none sometimes I feel as though I could fly the backseat with no experience. Great videos as always. If u could can u do a story time video a longer video about stretchy traps and cat shots aircraft failures in flight u have gone through. People really like to hear about those events I know I would. Thanks
probably dumb questions for enthusiasts, but how close does the E-2 get to the area of engagement and how vulnerable is it? What are the protective measures taken to keep the E-2 safe and effective?
This is excellent! It´s surprisingly hard to find good sources of the "tempo" of aerial combat. And here we have an experienced F-14 RIO giving it to us methodically. You´ve earned yourself a sub!
I think calling them 5th gen fighters was perhaps a bit of a misspeak. For 4th gen fighters or lower the timeline fits perfectly and would be within the F-14's capability. 5th gen everything the ranges of most radars (especially the missiles) drops dramatically. Even if the Hawkeye can spot them throughout (and that's a huge if) a 40nm lock with an dated radar on even the poor-stealth (comparatively) Su-57 is incredibly hopeful. Reading it as 4th gen, Mig-29 perhaps, its quite enlightening. I'm surprised there aren't speculative shots to force the enemy defensive, but with TWS missiles and the huge range advantage it makes sense that they aren't needed.
A stimulating layout of the pilot/RIO cooperation loop in air to air fights. I have a couple of questions relative to a RIOs situational awareness; does red air radar jamming effect sorting or is there a point (distance/angle off) where your on board radar can burn through the jamming and give tally on the bag guys? How does red air jamming effect this scenario if at all? MiG 25s have had the capability in the past of making a hard 90 degree turn at a particular distance head on from blue force which defeats F-18 radar at least temporarily so I was wondering from a RIOs perspective what happens when a red force aircraft drops off of your radar. How do you recover a situational picture if this happens?
The tactics works with doppler-radars as such radars are dependent on the doppler-effect, or compression of the radar-waves due to the relative speed. (approaching or departing from the radar). As for jamming, it is a bit like stealth. At some point you'll burn through it, but if it is a very stealthy aircraft you are damned close (and probably dead by then) or as with jammers, they have to be powerful enough to drown your radar-returns. At some point, the radar-signal is significantly more powerful than the jamming, so you'll "burn" through it. But then again... A good jammer may render the radar cluttered and you may find that the enemy is upon you or at least in a favorable situation when you finally get through it. In all this, a powerful radar-emitter is important. The Tomcat radar is famous in that respect. Then the receiving capabilities is also important, and as I understand AESA-radars, they are very good at picking up faint signals without the need to transmit very strong signals. That reduces the risk for the enemy's RWR.
@@spiff1003 AESA radars also spread their emmissions over an extremely wide bandwidth of frequencies, changing frequency and pulse modulation several thousand times per second (usually in line with PRF) this way no individual frequency on a broad band receiver gains any distinguishable energy increase over the others. It makes it very very difficult to discern AESA emissions, especially in a jamming environment (which AESA's are also very good at doing).
@@reillybrangan2182 Thank you for supplementing my answer. :) You are making a significant and important point here. I'm not too familiar with the AESA, so I am learning too. :)
amazing! You can feel that you are under the cover of the carrier in the briefing room, receiving the orders and the game plan from the commander in what will be a critical mission and that will go down in history. Thanks from Spain Ward. Any time baby!
Curious if you're in TWS why wouldn't you just engage all bandits with Phoenix at range so they are worrying about those missiles while you close the range for Sparrow?
Not a naval aviation, but as I understand the Aim-54 will track on the first strongest return it gets, so although the second Fox 3 was launched on the trail bandit, it likley will track on the leading bandit when it goes active.
@@ryanlegrand141 The AWG-9 is able to support multiple AIM-54s in TWS mode...so, in theory, you are able to launch on two targets. However, they need to be in the same piece of sky in order for the radar to guide both successfully.
Yes, it can guide into 6 separate targets as I recall, but the problem ends up being if two targets are in the same general vacinity, it's likley that both missiles will track the same target when the AWG-9 gives the pitbull signal - at least that's what I've heard.
@@ryanlegrand141 Ah, I see what you're saying...that's probably based on real-life performance. I only have experience in DCS, where it would (typically) sort multiple 54s on the correct targets (assuming they are all still within the radar cone).
@@ryanlegrand141 Not necessarily... it depends on how close the bandits are. In a combat scenario, the bandits are unlikely to be close enough that the AWG-9 can't provide accurate details as to what is what. Remember, the radar set's original intended purpose was engaging bomber formations, same with the original AIM-54A missile. With that in mind, if the bandits are in tactical spread (~1nmi), they are both getting hit, easily.
Ward, the only thing that was left out of this explanation was the time line: closing speed of both aircraft in Nautical Miles per Hour/Minutes; distance in Nautical Miles per Second/Minutes; duration of acquiring Firing Solutions; duration of weapon to target; overall duration of engagement. It would be really cool if it would be possible to construct an Excel Program with the parameters of how all of this is happening, if you don't already have one on your Ipad. Then explain it all again as it is happening in real time, with all the numbers changing, in a way what the RIO would be seeing in hard data. I believe the value of this would be educational for anyone with any interest in technology, the hard sciences, aviation or any field that requires understanding of dynamic process. Thank You, really like your Comm.
"Yes they're Hornets, pretend like they're Tomcats..." Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Not again! Wasn't once in history enough?! For the record, Hornets are awful training aids. Awful- ptui! Just sayin. Okay... continue. Oh wait- now I see they're ALSO terrible pointers... nose bouncing around... wings are all in the way- covering critical information... too bad they can't be moved a little for convenience and life saving knowledge!
Listening and following the lesson in this video makes your appreciate F-14 Tomcat Crews and F-4 Phantom Crews. All about the Teamwork. Makes you aware of how busy single seat fighter pilots are when they fly a mission. And they only have one brain and one set of eyes working on the task. I tip my hat to all those who fly combat. Definitely The Best Of The Best!
Hockey vs Football. What a great way to describe it. I love employing what I learn from guys like you in DCS and seeing it actually work if it all goes right. This vid gave me a whole new perspective on working the back office. I'm finding it a WAY tougher gig than I ever gave it credit for.
I can remember as a boy watching my dad and his fellow pilots constantly using their "training aids" (hands with palms flat) at squadron parties, especially when he was an instructor at the flight training command at Pensacola FL. This was during the Korean War and he was training new pilots. Boy, those guys really knew how to party! There was always a big party as each class graduated involving premixed drinks in trashcans!
If both groups are closing at a little over 500 knots, time from sort to merge is around 4 minutes. Coincidentally, that’s the length of ZZ Top’s song Got Me Under Pressure. Crank it up!
As always, I love to watch and listen to Ward Carroll teaching!!!! However, I must admit this one was above my pay grade as I don’t have enough Pilot Speak Vocabulary to fully understand what Mooch was laying down. Still, it was very entertaining and I cannot imagine the stress of Air-to-Air Radar Lock going off in your ear while trying to lock onto the enemy!!!! The stress on the body must be incredible!!!! Total respect to those who fly into combat, hoping to fly away victoriously!!!!! Thank You Ward Sir, for all you do to help us better understand what you did and what Pilots and RIO’s do today. Tango Over and Out
Well WHERE has THIS video been????!!!! Good good stuff. Just got in to flying but I understood everything you said, so that means I'm doing well. Football and Hockey. I'll be repeating that one!!
1:40 "So, yes, these are Hornets, pretend like they're Tomcats"
You probably summed up most of Top Gun 2's plot there 😉
and the women are probably the real heros. unless tom has become a women.
Also, pretend the Taiwan patch on Maverick's jacket was never there, because China tells America how to make movies about the US Navy now.
@@RCAvhstape I think that's got to be more of a 'fuck you' to China than a.... China doesn't see Taiwan as a separate nation... so to put a Chinese patch on his jacket....
Never mind, it's the youtube comments section.
@@RCAvhstape Do you know Chinese stream platforms mosaic the flag out? I’m a Chinese, I know, and I’m absolutely disgusted by the mosaics. I like the flag, reminds us there’re still a portion of Chinese people doesn’t live under the tyranny and we still have hope
@@generalshepherd457 I mean Tom is only like 5’6” right???
Ward's demeanor is appropriate for the topic. The most serious. The most telling. He's been there-done that.
Explicitly or not, Ward does a great job communicating how successful fighter operations are defined by a plan-prepare-execute approach and not the “hair on fire” stuff.
@@mrpeterson17 there are things we do at our jobs in everyday life that could benefit from this example of planning.
Ward, I just want to tell you how awesome this secrets of the F-14 Tomcat series is. Some of the best content on youtube. Keep up the GREAT work.
Thanks, David!
@@WardCarroll it seems like air to air is a much more seat of the pants type flying
Must be riveting for the chinese also.
@@WardCarroll what again was that f14 rescue mission
Hey o Ward , im absolutely jazzed about all your work on my fav' warbird of all time.Maybe I'll wake up some morning and will get to see an episode of f14a driver iiaf Kahlil Zandi I have read many of his accounts taking out migs, Su's, etc. all with aim 54 s. and guns. Damm. I know you gotta be impressed ! I really don't know what kind of man he is/was, or how he carried himself as a person. But as a defender of the shaw's regime, then imprisoned, or told to fly for the ayatollah , with both ejection seats disabled , my impression of him is that of a true warrior . Cheers
I love the football and hockey analogy with regards to air/ground versus air/air.
"You need to create structure from chaos." How true.
It reminds me of the saying from my Army days, "No plan survives first contact." Flexibility and adaptability to the flowing situation is key while maximizing your strengths and exploiting your adversary's weaknesses. Thank you for that schooling on BVR Ward. Very cool stuff.
"The Tomcat pilot with a diamond in his hud is a lot more dangerous than the Tomcat pilot without one" my kind of axiom... Thank you, Ward for the wisdom and knowledge.
This explains why Growling Sidewinder gets shot in the face so much.
Aww, G.S., did Jester forget to put the diamond in your H.U.D.
Oh, he punched out already!
Face McShotty!
Loved the analogy "Air-to-ground warfare is football and air-to-air warfare is hockey".
It's description was a perfect ending to a fantastic presentation.
Thank you Ward.
As an employee of General Electric, I like the clarification of being in F-14 “B” models haha
@JZ's Best Friend nothing that hasn't been said to death already about the F-14A's engines
@JZ's Best Friend I assumed that as a regular on a channel for Tomcats that you knew about the F14A's issues, and that you were expecting something different when you asked to hear more. So I'm telling you that it's basically the good old issue with the A's engines.
In the event that you don't know what the issue with the A's engines are, I can briefly summarise that the F14 originally used the engines from the F111, which were underpowered, temperamental, and prone to stalling at the worst possible times, and that the B model corrected this with objectively better engines. Which is why Jason is amused that Ward took the time to specify 'B', so that we know we're not dealing with a neutered aircraft. But reading the Wiki article will probably be more illuminating than this paragraph I coughed up in 1 minute
@JZ's Best Friend No problem, glad I did haha.
To be fair Topcat isn't that far off from Tomcat, especially if conflated with Top Gun.
The lingo is bewildering to me but absolutely facinating!
What is amazing is how much work goes into being a pilot. The briefings are so detailed, ACM procedures are detailed, and the BVR procedures are detailed. Flying in the movies and in real life are night and day different. I’m blown away by all the info. Mooch , thanks for the good brief.
Most anything in the movies vs real life is "night and day different."
In the 80s I was a young enlisted man on a destroyer participating in an F14 equipped carrier battle group. I thought the F14s were the baddest things that I had ever seen. I saw them break the sound barrier in a cone of vapor 100 feet off the deck passing alongside my ship with the wings at full sweep, and I stood on deck in the blackest imaginable night as we performed plane guard duty 1/4 mile off the carrier’s stern while F14s passed 200 feet overhead to land on a deck that I could not see in the darkness. Their formation lights were the only things that could be seen because they glowed a soft green and they outlined the entire planes as they approached the deck - so close in the sky that it seemed like I could touch them. It sure is a pleasure all these years later to be able to understand a bit about what those pilots were doing in the cockpit. Thanks Ward.
Fabulous stuff. There's at least a couple of missions in DCS World for the Tomcat which cover BVR engagements, which recreate some aspects of this complex ballet. I really appreciate the breakdown of the timeline, task and role management between the two aircraft and respective RIOs. It's amazing how quickly at 50 miles two groups of aircraft pointing at each other close the gap to a merge: even without the missile threat it's lethal stuff. That cerebral assessment at the merge to engage or bug out seems to be an overlooked aspect of the totality of the fight. There's a false assumption, it seems, that pilots will automatically engage the enemy and conjure up some sort of BFM vodoo to come out on top after the fancy missiles have missed.
I was going to say the same thing!
This is going to be soo useful as I transition from the F18 to the F14 ^__^
All we need to do now is get ward to play dcs
@@GO-iw1tt be fun to have him in the backseat for a bit
@@Pricklyhedgehog72 At least we know he isn't going to punch out 100yds after take off.
@@tyrantworm7392 True, Jester hasn't been to TopGun yet...
I'm an HT2 That served between '84 and '88 and while I know nothing about flight it is still interesting to listen to you talk and get the gist of your lectures, Thanks.
Have to tell you Ward, I've been flying for a living (fire & ag in Australia) for 33 years, but I still find your presentations absolutely riveting.
Ward, I appreciate your videos. I was a Manufacturing Engineer at General Dynamics Pomona Division from 78-85. I worked on Standard Missile 1 & 2, Sparrow, Phalanx CIWS, and Stinger (Man Portable, ATAS, RMP). Back in those days we didn’t often get to see how the weapon systems worked or how they were utilized. Your videos help me understand the applications and a little bit of the technology. Thanks for sharing.
thats sooo cool sir. Can you tell us more of your Amazing stories? I'm sure people would love to hear them.
You need a channel of your own just to talk about this stuff!
ixnay! ixnay!... _cough_ TS/SCI Clearance _cough-cough_ ;')
Hello Ward ...I' m a former italian Tornado pilot... I do like so much all your videos!! Really well done with an easy way to explain things !!
FASCINATING
wow. Thanks.
How humans can achieve this level of proficiency is mind boggling.
The F-15C tactics/weapons employment manual was typically like a phone book. No Air-to-Ground in there. Guys who made it through selection into flight school, graduated UPT at top of their class, and had F-15C available to them have sometimes failed out of their squadron’s probationary period for not being able to execute the BVR timelines and tactics. The difference between an F-15E driver and Grey Eagle pilot might as well be night and day in that regard.
I worked avionics on F-14s in the 90s and I love hearing your stories about the other side of what is happening during the sorties. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Thank you Ward, intense ! As a common garden civilian faced with this kind of situation l think BVR would represent : Before Venting Rectum.
A/G is football and A/A is hockey... great analogy. You made it make sense! Thank you commander!
As a DCS virtual F-14 pilot and RIO, I LOVE this content!!! Would be incredible to see you commanding a mission in DCS!
I was thinking the same.
I was also just thinking this lol. Love the F14 in DCS
Does Ward play dcs ? If not he totally should
That would be great. And can I put your callsign on the RIOs canopy rail on my DCS F-14B, sir?
Are you in a virtual squadron? I have a virtual wing and I'm starting a F-14B squadron within the wing. I'm looking for guys who can do both driver and RIO and can plug and play with each other. No Jester. I can send you the discord invite if you're interested.
This is the best straight forward view of the "Timeline" that I have seen. Trying to figure out the RIO seat so I can teach my brother more effectively. Thanks for the video!
I loved the reference that G/A is like football and A/A is like hockey. It really explains the concept well! Love the content Ward
This is the best training I've seen yet for keeping me alive 'till the merge on my favorite DCS server. Worked like a charm man, thanks!
I'd need a full year of intense study just to learn the acronyms and lingo. (But at least I didn't throw up in the back seat when I rode in an F/A-18.) Ward, you're awesome!
Mooch, I love the channel and the respect with which you treat our little hobby here. Bravo Zulu and thank you for all you do.
I love this analogy, “creating structure out of the chaos is what a good BVR timeline is all about”
I love this guy, Ward Carroll. I'm a music arranger, educator, orchestrator...but because my eyes are really bad and I'm not a jock, I missed out on flying F-14s. I love my life, but in the next life, I want to be an F-14 RIO. God bless you, Ward Carroll. From one of your Patreon donors, Joe C. in California. Mooch, you are the baddest!
Love the hockey analogy, what a perfect description (I'm Canadian, so I obviously played hockey). Ward, do you mean 4th or 4.5 Gen fighters? Back in 92 with the Tomcats you used in this scenario, our threats didn't have 5th gen fighters, and our F22 was only just in very early testing vs the YF23 back then. Even if you did mean 5th gen fighters, are we certain an F14B's AWG9 system can even detect current threat 5th gen fighters at 50nm, like the J20, Su57, etc?
Also, your description of intelligent radar usage is excellent here. IMO it really shows the advantage of having a 2 seat fighter for A2A, as I'm thinking the F15C guys have to do ALL this work being described so far as maintaining a picture and finding targets with the radar, PLUS fly the plane and employ the weapons, etc. Crazy workload. Really makes a great case for the new F15 models coming off the line with 2 seats in them, again IMO.
Excellent questions and comments. I was a bit confused myself.
That was my thought, can the Awg-9 or even an APG-71 from a D model pick up a 5th Gen?
Let’s call it 4 plus.
@@WardCarroll That's what I figured. Ward, this is probably my favorite video you've done, and that's saying something. Fantastic channel growth, I remember joining in your sub 10k numbers, and telling everyone I knew that this channel would explode. I'm reading Punk's War right now as well, what an incredibly well written book, I'm ashamed that I missed it when it first was published. Anyhow, your explanation of this hypothetical engagement, and in particular how the RIO/radar/etc applies...just incredible Ward. THANK you!
Yep that was my question as well. Gen 5 bad guys would have totally changed the dynamics of that engagement. Gen 4+ this is fine.
The F-14 Tomcat had always been my favorite fighter of all time! I was born in 84, and the first movie I remember watching Topgun. I watched the movie until I wore it out! I never served in the military, so as a citizen, I appreciate your videos.
Thanks.
Ok, Ward. You’ve got a musician (Me) learning BVR fighter tactics using sports (hockey vs. football) analogies. Safe to say yours is the only channel connecting all three 😂. 👏🏻👏🏻
Hi, Mooch,
I recently discovered your UA-cam posts. Recently, because of a bicycle accident I’ve had spent a lot time watching aviation porn from the couch. You and I have a lot in common. I was USAFA class of ’83. Unfortunately, academics caught me, and I left after my 2nd class year. For my sins the Air Force sent me to Hill AFB where I was a heating system specialist. I was lucky in that my zone was the hangers. Seeing F-16s every day. That kept me motivated. I went back to school, changed my major from Physics to Management Science and graduated. I then earned my commission through OTS. I got my choice of career fields I chose Air Weapons Controller. In short I was GCI.
I love the Killing the Bandits Before the Merge. Brings back a lot of memories.
Thanks again
Kevin “Slink” Slinkman
I was wondering what proper procedures were. I play DCS and love being in the RIO seat. I find it kind of funny that through trial and error that my own timeline that I have produced with my pilot is very similar to the actual procedure The only difference is is after the first Phoenix shot we go to the gimbals of the radar. Wait till the Phoenix is active and by that time they're still far enough out that you can engage safely without a high chance of being hit. But we also aren't going up against normal Russian procedures. It's more random due to the fact that most people who fly Russian aircraft don't seem to follow any procedures or anything. I'll definitely implement this into my DCS gameplay. Thank you for your service 🇺🇲 as always
I do much the same with my own pilot, myself sitting in the back seat. I lit up when at the start with the clarification of what model tomcats and features and was kind of like "oh, so DCS Heatblur B models. SCHWEET." and pulled out the popcorn.
Honestly the f14 seems more unreliable in DCS, your tws Normally lose lock at the minimum manouver of the bandits, and in pulse, no pilot will be even scratched by a Phoenix
experienced pilots will see your f14 spike and just go 90 degress, making the Phoenix useless
I Normally find the f14 more of an annoyance than a threat, cuz they keep messing my angles while i try to engage the other vipers
A good use of the f14 i found, was to stay behind and ambush people in tws, hoping they will think its an amraam and go cold, but that only works if you dont lose tws or the Phoenix doesn't go dumb while he is going cold lol
@@StoneCoolds I've never really had a problem with it in pvp. The only thing that's frustrating is when people see a tomcat on the rwr and go to valleys because they force the tomcat to drop altitude and fight their fight. But someone at altitude I've never had a problem engaging. They usually try to notch but you can't notch pulse. The key is staying below your target. Once they get below you the ground return screws you over. So by that time I stt them which usually causes them to go defensive. I launch one M54 to keep them scared and wasting energy. Gives us time to get close or bug out if it is to dangerous to proceed.
@@hybridscout0134 but all you need to do is to keep the tomcat at 90 degrees every time he fires, you can troll them that way while barely losing any energy lol, then fire a 120 and he will be forced defensive, forcing him to run
tell me when had you load a 2x2x2? Probably never because the Phoenix its very unreliable, not the radar that much, unless you didn't went pulse before they went low lol
But it is good agains russians, brcause they dont have good rwr, so they dont know what is spike him, and that can be dangerous
That's why you stt with a phoenix in pulse mode. Can't notch the missile because pulse can see you regardless. The only problem with that is they know where you're getting engaged from. But you can't fire at me with an aim 120 because of the inferior range. I don't run 2x2x2 I usually run 4 m54 with 2 aim 7 and 2 aim 9.
Maybe for Americans is an everyday thing to come across people like Ward in the Mall or as a neighbor, cause you have so many Veteran pilots and active duty military pilots, but for someone from a country like Uruguay where our "fighters wing" are 5 (FIVE!) Cessna A37 and our pilot migrate to airlines (and in many cases from homeland) before their thirties just to earn a living, to listen to somebody like Ward Carrol is AMAZING... Thank you for this channel and your time, Ward!
I really enjoyed how you broke down the process in terms that even the average non-aviator could follow. When reading one of your books, or someone else's on the subject, I'll be better able to visualize and understand what is going on and decipher the dialogue! as always, I look forward to Happy Hour. Take care and be safe! Give the dogs a pat! Dave
Love these videos! I was on the total opposite side of the Navy...Submarines; so cool to learn about the aviation side. My first love was airplanes, so these let me relive my childhood. Thanks Ward!
Great stuff as always, had a random conversation about your channel over the weekend with someone who also follows you. You are a hit everywhere, small world keeps getting smaller!
Great to hear. Thanks for watching.
One note about comm brevity. The F14As I flew had a very loud Environmental Control System (ECS) and pretty much every Tomcat comm panel had all the volume knobs up to full. Combine that with the noise of the other guy breathing on "hot mic", and comm brevity and cadence became critical to success. Great brief!
Love it, Ward! Thanks for this. Loved getting that lock out of the notch.
Thank you for all your great video’s. I was an AK in VF-1 from 86 to 90... thanks for using some Wolfpack photos in this video! I sure do miss the Tomcats. Even after living with these Tomcats for three deployments, you certainly bring so much information from the cockpit that many of us ground/support crew never got to see/hear/experience. Keep up the great work, thank you for your service and I will continue to make trips down memory lane thru your videos!
I feel like a bundle of nerves just listening to Ward expertly explaining procedures and engagement rules!! Cannot envision actual combat. Jim C.
Come play dcs in a milsim wing we train as he describes
Took the words out of mouth. I was like... ok, maybe ill stop dreaming about doing this back in the day lol
....and then you have to hit the 3 wire, to get feet dry. Road rage has me shaky, take off, combat, landing.......pry my hands off the stick, I'm going home!!
@@projenitor2387 watched a DCS carrier landing, same, exact procedure with yellow shirts and hand commands....I'll be there in the fall, if this damn c19 rolls out of here!!
@@garyjohnson4575 I happen to be with a very passionate crew who loves to provide the authentic experience without the yessir no sir. Some of them retired from there respective services; army, navy, and air force. We all have an aura of respect for one another. Thank you for your service if I read this correctly.
This is the best fkn channel ever. Your ability to communicate and make these videos is phenomenal, Sir.
May it translate to much success and may UA-cam not thwart that
Great stuff. This makes me wish I could go back and get my late USMC grandad started on a story about tactics, strike logistics, radio discipline, fighter direction, etc circa 1942-45.
I’d sell my car, and refinance the house for just one afternoon and one more anecdote.
He didn’t have a whiteboard, but he’d grab a napkin and go to town.
I’ already know what he’d say too, “We’d have been fine, except the flight direction officer couldn’t get a word in; those navy boy fighter jocks never shut the F* up, whether it’s in an officer’s club, or if you’re flying CAP.
He did love the USN, just loved ragging them more. RIP Col.
I hear that. My step-Grandad was a Captain (Donald N. Aldrich) in the USMCR during WWII flying F-4U Corsairs with VMF-215 "Fighting Corsairs" in the Bismark Archipelago and the Solomon Island area in '43-'44. They made him a flight & tactics instructor after he'd shot down 20 Japanese aircraft, including 18 Zeroes. Our leaders were smart enough to turn our best pilots into instructors, while the Japanese basically left their airmen in combat until they died.
I never got to meet him; he was killed while attempting a dead-stick landing about two miles south of Chicago Midway at the former Ashburn Field.
@@stevewilke8524 Wow. Yeah, talent-management is difficult for the military nowadays. “What’s that? You like to work with that particular system and have studied and used it for the past 10-12 years? How does a nice recruiting duty sound to you, because you’re on orders for that."
This is absolute GOLD info for Digital Combat Sim F-14 operators! I am eager to explore how the tactics translates to online multi-player! Thank you kindly Mooch! Keep doing what you are doing! All of it!
Great Vid Ward, love when you breakdown the language and acronyms used.
As a former Sonar tech in the US Navy I love this kind of play-by-play description of radar ops, especially involving the onboard system. The RIO's procedures and options sound surprisingly similar to my own, while actively tracking a submarine, circa the mid-90's. Of course I wasn't pulling G's with the potential of an unscheduled parachute ride, but the tech design had much in common with my own. No matter how awesome the equipment was, an STG could have missed a hostile sub that was sitting right under the boat if he didn't employ it properly. Ward's mention of the varsity operators was certainly true, at least back then - the human factor was definitely a factor, and I'm sure that he rocked that scope!
“Diamonds in the HUD” is what I’m naming my band now.
How about HUD's Diamonds ?
Bonus if you hear the Doors when you say it.
i play as a rio in DCS sim, ii understand that a sim will never come close to the real life experience. but its amazing how well what your saying in this video carries over into the sim. having my friends watch videos like yours and other rio/pilots on youtube has given us some very useful advice for what to do in the sim.
That was some of the most interesting stuff I have seen on your channel to date. Just goes to show its not just TWS mode, squeeze off four AIM-54s and be done with it. There are a lot of moving parts, especially if you have a wingman. Great, great info sir!
Agreed. Simple minded ideas of something is fine, but this really stokes the fires for feeling the real nuts and bolts of being an effective RIO. I could have hugely gotten into it (once I got over being sick 🤕).
Excellent video! As someone who enjoys both the front and back seats of the F-14B in DCS I had fun visualizing everything you were describing.
I'd love to see a vid where you revisit your old job as a rio in DCS world as a rio in an f-14 tomcat in that sim with another human pilot and compare the sim to what you experienced.
I bet Grim Reapers would love that... they have a few real world F-14 and F-18 pilots in their ranks.
Thanks Ward - I'll try these tactics on my drive to work tomorrow! Seriously, your videos are great - love the first hand explanations, and who doesn't love fighter RIO talk?!?!!
Great episode - more in the weeds discussions like this so we can feel like we're in the seats with Americas cat people
I just wanna comment and let you know you're not blowing into the wind here. This is invaluable information for those who would like to one day fly fighter aircraft, and very intriguing content for those who aren't. Keep it up.
Hey Mooch, love the channel! I'm a longtime viewer, first time commenter. I'm wondering if you would consider doing a video about how fuel usage works in the F-14? I've always been curious if the engines pull equally from all internal tanks and drop tanks or if the crew configured that. Also curious if a tanker can refill the drop tanks. Thanks for all the awesome content!
Good question, one more vote for this
i think the fuel in the drop tanks gets used first.
I dont mean that the aircrafts engines draw fuel directly from the Drop tanks, i mean that they draw their fuels normally from the internal tanks but the drop tanks keep replenishing the internal tanks.
Building on that, I'd love a video about the history of carrier-borne refueling assets. It was my understanding that after the KA-6 got retired, there weren't any, until this new refueling drone whose designation escapes me at the moment. Also I'm curious about what there was in that role pre-KA-6.
@@trekker105 after the KA-6 the F/A-18 (Super) Hornet was used to aerial refuel planes. It carried an astonishing 5 Drop tanks. The center tank under the belly contained the special refuelling probe. (shuttle cock like thing).
Before/After the KA-6, numerous (un)modified planes like the A-3, A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7, S-3B etc. were used to aerially refuel aircrafts
@@ashokiimc I’ve never head that the A-5 Vigilante was ever used an an aerial refueler. Can you provide a link to that? It was still in service when I was a kid, so when I was learning about all the types in an air wing, it stuck out to me as one of the sexiest carrier-borne jets there was. I still think it holds that place from an aesthetics standpoint, way ahead of its time.
Great analogy about football and hockey! One is play by play. The Other is fluid interceptions! George Carlin did a comedy skit about the difference between baseball and football. You said it that simple. Thank You Flyboy from a Marine! Bless You
You should get with one of the DCS guys like Growling Sidewinder, and use DCS to illustrate your point.
@Ward Carroll This would be awesome, I second this.
I'd recommend @Jabbers or @
FlyAndWire or @ralfidude...GS may have more followers, but he's more "show" than "simulation".
I just watched some of GS's F-14 videos. He's self-admittedly not well-practiced in the Tomcat, which seems to be a fairly uncooperative aircraft. Gotta respect how much time it took for the real F-14 pilots to master that thing.
@@ilyakipnis7853 exactly, that's why I recommend some of the practiced F-14 DCS streams. I, myself, and my RIO DSPlayer put a lof to research and respect into the F-14 and if Ward were to do anything DCS related, it should be with a creator that focuses on the simulation side of DCS.
Thanks!
Good comparison of Football vs Hockey! I had never heard that before. But as always we have a plan until we punched in the mouth the first time! I find it a little suspect that there were 5th gen fighters at the timeline you mention with the B turkey. As well as picking them up on Radar at 45 miles.
Maybe he meant 4th Gen for them too? Hard to imagine anything else at that timeline. Question for Ward- why not fire two Phoenix in that initial stage of the fight? Take 'em all out, especially if that's possible in TWS. That might save the Sparrows for after the notch.
@@davidsmith8997 I understand its a Hypothetical discussion but helps to explain to the gamers what is expected when things go down.
@@timsparks7049 Yeah, for sure, I get that. But I don't think it hurts to ask questions.
Was thinking the exact same thing.
RESPECT- Never realized how hard the RIOs worked.
*Tries to lock bandit in STT* Jester, "No can do Boss." *Gets shot in the face with a 120*
Just mad dog that AIM-54, let the dog out
For most if not all of its career the F14 was the pinnacle of flight air defence. But what happens now when a carrier confronts Su30s or newer adversaries. When the opposition has jamming/ECM, chafe, latest SAMs and their own long range missiles. The other major scenario is being out numbered. Challenging times. Maybe the subject for another video. Thank you for your methodical videos Ward, very much appreciated.
In other words, "How Top Gun should've ended..." Esp with 'MiG-28's' capable of carrying Exocet anti-ship missiles! Great presentation by the way!
Pretty sure the MIG's would have had to jettison their Exocet missiles before attempting a dogfight. But that wouldn't make good movies.
Ward your videos about the F 14 and a career spent in that great plane are the best. Always interesting. Thank you sir!
As a Tomcat guy, I can't understand why you don't have Tomcat training aides yet!! LOL
He told a story about how he got them ...I think it was in Thailand a gift shop in front..Bar / massage parlor in back...something like that...
@@harveymushman2219 Thank you for the info, I must have missed that one. That's the only kind of Aides you want to get from a Thailand massage parlor. Still, he could go to Hobby Lobby and get a couple Tomcat models for cheap!! LOL
So intetesting to listen and learn.
Appreciate being able to listen in.
Sir.
It's interesting how much training the F-14 crews had for situations like this. Did the Russians and other countries have this same kind of preparation and training going into scenarios like this? Did other countries have assets like the E-2? (I ask because you mentioned the engagement with the Libyans.) This is SO interesting.
Back in the day as I understand it, the US were more flexible with the control being airborne (E-2) where as the Wasaw Pact (Russia) were and still are to a large extent GROUND controlled with limited initiative being given to their pilots..... Don't get me wrong there are some damned good Soviet Pilots..... AS for Soviet Top Gun or FWS..... not to the same level..... I know of some instances of training at Squadron level, how ever not widespread & Politics / trust being a major factor for the Soviets..... East Germany absolutely no way
USSR/Russia use the A-50 Mainstay for AWACS.
I would say "no"
adversaries have made LOTS of "mistakes" and errors over the years - and WE are often on the receiving end of their lack of professionalism, budget and due diligence
sadly
it costs BBBILLIONS of dollars and decades to field a top notch air arm
Great explanation of terminology and phases of engagement.. My older brother was an F8 Crusader pilot (VF51 out of Miramar and VF124 out of Moffett) during Vietnam era. For air to air, the F8 was of course guns and sidewinders for close in engagement and topic of many a late night conversation with him years later... I was the EWO on a DDG in TF 77 mostly with carriers Ranger then Coral Sea on Yankee Station and, of course while hoped not likely to happen (nobody wanted to start WWIII over Vietnam!) shipboard attack by cruise missile was a concern after seeing what happened in the '67 Six Day war.
Son: Dad, why are you watching this? You never flew a thing.
Dad: I maybe 56 and the F14 is long gone, but I may be called upon in a dream and I want to be ready!😂
This channel is so cool!
Hey, it could happen bro... A scenario in which the US maintained a small wing of operational Tomcats, and perhaps needed competent civilians to volunteer to defend the homeland against an endless hoard of Chengdu j-30 invaders. Since it is also possible China has legit 5th Gen fighters.. We should know since it was stolen from us, Ward's scenario may yet prove prescient -as for the age thing, I believe Randy Quaid covered this in Independence Day' 😃
Cheers!
Thanks, Ward, I've learned some precious points to acquire tactics in BVR.
This is great stuff for us DCS Tomcatters. Thank you so much!
QUESTION: After coming out of the notch at 17 miles to reacquire, what are you working the radar with? Is it more efficient to point the radar and observer through the DDD or the TID for the STT acquisition?
This is where having a flight with a pair of human RIOs instead of Jester will really shine. I heard P-Search and PD-Search being mentioned in this phase. That means you'll be using the DDD to quickly lock up the first contact you can find. *Good luck* fumbling with the menus and getting Jester to find and STT anything reliably in such a close in and dynamic environment!
Ward you are a true officer the way u explain things both tactically and dumbed down for non military aviators is second to none sometimes I feel as though I could fly the backseat with no experience. Great videos as always. If u could can u do a story time video a longer video about stretchy traps and cat shots aircraft failures in flight u have gone through. People really like to hear about those events I know I would. Thanks
probably dumb questions for enthusiasts, but how close does the E-2 get to the area of engagement and how vulnerable is it? What are the protective measures taken to keep the E-2 safe and effective?
any AEW a/c tries to stay behind the fight in safe air, but sometimes the AWAC will allocate a fighter to protect the asset, or it runs away!
This is excellent! It´s surprisingly hard to find good sources of the "tempo" of aerial combat. And here we have an experienced F-14 RIO giving it to us methodically. You´ve earned yourself a sub!
I think calling them 5th gen fighters was perhaps a bit of a misspeak. For 4th gen fighters or lower the timeline fits perfectly and would be within the F-14's capability. 5th gen everything the ranges of most radars (especially the missiles) drops dramatically. Even if the Hawkeye can spot them throughout (and that's a huge if) a 40nm lock with an dated radar on even the poor-stealth (comparatively) Su-57 is incredibly hopeful.
Reading it as 4th gen, Mig-29 perhaps, its quite enlightening. I'm surprised there aren't speculative shots to force the enemy defensive, but with TWS missiles and the huge range advantage it makes sense that they aren't needed.
Please please please do more of these!!! I fly the F-14b in a flight simulator (DCS) and these tactics will help me immensely!!!! Thank you good sir.
A stimulating layout of the pilot/RIO cooperation loop in air to air fights. I have a couple of questions relative to a RIOs situational awareness; does red air radar jamming effect sorting or is there a point (distance/angle off) where your on board radar can burn through the jamming and give tally on the bag guys? How does red air jamming effect this scenario if at all? MiG 25s have had the capability in the past of making a hard 90 degree turn at a particular distance head on from blue force which defeats F-18 radar at least temporarily so I was wondering from a RIOs perspective what happens when a red force aircraft drops off of your radar. How do you recover a situational picture if this happens?
The tactics works with doppler-radars as such radars are dependent on the doppler-effect, or compression of the radar-waves due to the relative speed. (approaching or departing from the radar). As for jamming, it is a bit like stealth. At some point you'll burn through it, but if it is a very stealthy aircraft you are damned close (and probably dead by then) or as with jammers, they have to be powerful enough to drown your radar-returns. At some point, the radar-signal is significantly more powerful than the jamming, so you'll "burn" through it. But then again... A good jammer may render the radar cluttered and you may find that the enemy is upon you or at least in a favorable situation when you finally get through it. In all this, a powerful radar-emitter is important. The Tomcat radar is famous in that respect. Then the receiving capabilities is also important, and as I understand AESA-radars, they are very good at picking up faint signals without the need to transmit very strong signals. That reduces the risk for the enemy's RWR.
@@spiff1003 AESA radars also spread their emmissions over an extremely wide bandwidth of frequencies, changing frequency and pulse modulation several thousand times per second (usually in line with PRF) this way no individual frequency on a broad band receiver gains any distinguishable energy increase over the others. It makes it very very difficult to discern AESA emissions, especially in a jamming environment (which AESA's are also very good at doing).
@@reillybrangan2182 Thank you for supplementing my answer. :) You are making a significant and important point here. I'm not too familiar with the AESA, so I am learning too. :)
Did you intentionally publish this video on Aug-9?
Haha...brilliant! AWG-9!
Legend
Loved it, as a retired AT and one that supported TARPS as a civilian, I love hearing this side of the Tomcat business.
Can’t wait to apply this knowledge in my dads Bonanza 😂🚀
amazing!
You can feel that you are under the cover of the carrier in the briefing room, receiving the orders and the game plan from the commander in what will be a critical mission and that will go down in history.
Thanks from Spain Ward.
Any time baby!
Hello, Spain!
Curious if you're in TWS why wouldn't you just engage all bandits with Phoenix at range so they are worrying about those missiles while you close the range for Sparrow?
Not a naval aviation, but as I understand the Aim-54 will track on the first strongest return it gets, so although the second Fox 3 was launched on the trail bandit, it likley will track on the leading bandit when it goes active.
@@ryanlegrand141 The AWG-9 is able to support multiple AIM-54s in TWS mode...so, in theory, you are able to launch on two targets. However, they need to be in the same piece of sky in order for the radar to guide both successfully.
Yes, it can guide into 6 separate targets as I recall, but the problem ends up being if two targets are in the same general vacinity, it's likley that both missiles will track the same target when the AWG-9 gives the pitbull signal - at least that's what I've heard.
@@ryanlegrand141 Ah, I see what you're saying...that's probably based on real-life performance. I only have experience in DCS, where it would (typically) sort multiple 54s on the correct targets (assuming they are all still within the radar cone).
@@ryanlegrand141 Not necessarily... it depends on how close the bandits are. In a combat scenario, the bandits are unlikely to be close enough that the AWG-9 can't provide accurate details as to what is what. Remember, the radar set's original intended purpose was engaging bomber formations, same with the original AIM-54A missile. With that in mind, if the bandits are in tactical spread (~1nmi), they are both getting hit, easily.
Ward, the only thing that was left out of this explanation was the time line: closing speed of both aircraft in Nautical Miles per Hour/Minutes; distance in Nautical Miles per Second/Minutes; duration of acquiring Firing Solutions; duration of weapon to target; overall duration of engagement. It would be really cool if it would be possible to construct an Excel Program with the parameters of how all of this is happening, if you don't already have one on your Ipad. Then explain it all again as it is happening in real time, with all the numbers changing, in a way what the RIO would be seeing in hard data. I believe the value of this would be educational for anyone with any interest in technology, the hard sciences, aviation or any field that requires understanding of dynamic process. Thank You, really like your Comm.
"Yes they're Hornets, pretend like they're Tomcats..." Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Not again! Wasn't once in history enough?!
For the record, Hornets are awful training aids. Awful- ptui!
Just sayin.
Okay... continue.
Oh wait- now I see they're ALSO terrible pointers... nose bouncing around... wings are all in the way- covering critical information... too bad they can't be moved a little for convenience and life saving knowledge!
And how am I supposed to know how fast they're going?? Visual aids need visual cues!
@@OfficialUSKRprogram right?!
Admittedly I didn’t understand most all of that but it is still fascinating and very entertaining!
I love all the comments related to the Hornet training aides.....thanks to all! Ward, make no mistake, you have a very loyal Tomcat family here.
Punk's War is a must-read for anyone who follows this channel! Loved it.
Thanks, Joseph!
Listening and following the lesson in this video makes your appreciate F-14 Tomcat Crews and F-4 Phantom Crews. All about the Teamwork. Makes you aware of how busy single seat fighter pilots are when they fly a mission. And they only have one brain and one set of eyes working on the task. I tip my hat to all those who fly combat. Definitely The Best Of The Best!
My favorite video yet! Love the technical, ‘in the weeds’ style talks. Thank you!!
These episodes are becoming classics....good stuff Ward!
Hockey vs Football. What a great way to describe it. I love employing what I learn from guys like you in DCS and seeing it actually work if it all goes right. This vid gave me a whole new perspective on working the back office. I'm finding it a WAY tougher gig than I ever gave it credit for.
Great presentation! So much different than us surface guys going after subs
I can remember as a boy watching my dad and his fellow pilots constantly using their "training aids" (hands with palms flat) at squadron parties, especially when he was an instructor at the flight training command at Pensacola FL. This was during the Korean War and he was training new pilots. Boy, those guys really knew how to party! There was always a big party as each class graduated involving premixed drinks in trashcans!
Ward - Great brief as usual. Thanks for making a complex issue somewhat understandable.
If both groups are closing at a little over 500 knots, time from sort to merge is around 4 minutes. Coincidentally, that’s the length of ZZ Top’s song Got Me Under Pressure. Crank it up!
This video is pure gold! Such valuable information and insightful explanation. Thanks so much for sharing!
Love your channel Ward! Always exciting info.
That was fascinating thanks for letting us all look behind the curtain.
Imagine a Phoenix coming from above and watching your lead explode. Terrifying. Respect to all combat pilots. 😬 Amazing explanation, thank you.
As always, I love to watch and listen to Ward Carroll teaching!!!! However, I must admit this one was above my pay grade as I don’t have enough Pilot Speak Vocabulary to fully understand what Mooch was laying down. Still, it was very entertaining and I cannot imagine the stress of Air-to-Air Radar Lock going off in your ear while trying to lock onto the enemy!!!! The stress on the body must be incredible!!!! Total respect to those who fly into combat, hoping to fly away victoriously!!!!!
Thank You Ward Sir, for all you do to help us better understand what you did and what Pilots and RIO’s do today.
Tango Over and Out
Well WHERE has THIS video been????!!!! Good good stuff. Just got in to flying but I understood everything you said, so that means I'm doing well. Football and Hockey. I'll be repeating that one!!
Oh I love it when you talk dirty! "...active in the end-game..." You the man Ward!