Radar warning receiver
How the Su-27's SPO-15 warns you of radars searching, locking and guiding missiles at you, and how to read it in a fight.
The SPO-15 "Beryoza" listens for other aircraft's radars. It tells you where a radar is, roughly how close, and whether it is searching, locked on you, or guiding a missile at you. It needs no switching on.
What it hears
- The radar of every other aircraft that has its radar on, players and computer pilots, out to 180 km, as long as there is no mountain in between. It shows only when that radar's beam is on you: a radar pointing elsewhere doesn't show.
- An R-77 missile once its own radar switches on, in the last 15 km to its target.
- It does not hear heat-seeking missiles (R-73, R-27T, R-27ET): they give no warning at all. Watch behind you.
Your own radar doesn't show. There are no ground radars or SAM sites in the game yet.
Reading the display
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Direction lamps, round the jet outline | Where the radar is: 10°, 30°, 50° and 90° each side ahead, and two behind. Only direction across, not up or down |
| Strength row, across the top | How close the main threat is: one more lamp lit for every 18 km closer. All ten lit: inside about 18 km |
| AIR | An airborne radar is being heard |
| LOCK (red) | Steady: a radar is locked on you. Flashing: a missile is being guided at you |
| SND OFF | The sound is turned off |
- The main threat is lit steadily: a missile first, then a radar locked on you (the nearest), then the nearest radar.
- Other radars flash their direction lamps briefly each time their beam sweeps over you.
- A radar stays on the display for 5 seconds after it last swept you.
- The LR, MR, SR and EW lamps on the bottom row don't light yet.
The EW page on the displays shows the same radars on a round map. See Displays.
The sounds
| You hear | It means |
|---|---|
| A short low beep | A search radar's beam swept over you |
| A steady high tone | A radar is locked on you |
| A fast pulsing tone | A missile is being guided at you |
Turn the volume with the SOUND knob on the SPO-15 panel of the right console, or in Audio settings: off, 1, 2, 3 (the default) and 4, the loudest. The lamps work whatever the volume.
Missile warnings
| Missile | Warning |
|---|---|
| R-27R, R-27ER (radar) | From launch, as long as the shooter keeps his radar locked on you |
| R-77 (active radar) | From launch if the shooter is locked on you; and from the missile itself in its last 15 km |
| R-73, R-27T, R-27ET (heat-seeking) | None |
Using it in a fight
- A steady LOCK with no launch: someone is preparing a shot. Turn so he is on your 90° lamp and get low, or below him, so the ground is behind you: his radar loses you. Or put a mountain between you.
- Flashing LOCK and the pulsing tone: a missile is on the way. Against an R-27R or R-27ER, put the shooter on your 90° lamp with the ground behind you (the notch): his radar loses you within about 2 seconds, and the missile a few seconds after that. Once an R-77's own radar is on, the notch doesn't help: turn hard across its path and dive for terrain.
- Strength row nearly full and LOCK steady: he's close. Expect a heat-seeking shot too, which won't warn you.
Checked against FlightOut 0.5.2.