Firing missiles

#The trigger

Space is the trigger. In BVR or WVR, in the air, each press fires one missile of the selected type. Holding it down doesn't fire more: press again for the next. You can fire one every 0.4 seconds at most.

On the ground Space is always the wheel brakes; in NAV and GND it does nothing in the air.

A missile goes only when all of these are true:

• you're in BVR or WVR, with a missile selected, in the air;
• you're pulling no more than its launch G: 8 G for the R-73, 5 G for the R-27s, 6 G for the R-77;
• it has a target:
  • heat-seekers (R-73, R-27T, R-27ET): the seeker has locked (steady tone);
  • R-27R and R-27ER: the radar is locked (STT, not ACQ);
  • R-77: the radar is locked, or nothing at all (a blind shot, see below).

If any of these isn't met, nothing happens: there's no sound or message. Check the lock and ease off the G.

#The launch zone

With a target, the BVR page of the HUD shows the selected missile's launch zone on the range scale at the right:

Marks beyond the radar range scale you've selected aren't drawn: choose a longer range to see them.

LA (launch authorised) flashes under the centre of the HUD when the target's range is between Rmin and Rmax and everything else is ready. It shows in WVR too.

• LA is a guide, not a lock-out. You can fire without it; outside the zone the missile will most likely fall short.
• The zone is worked out for straight, level flight at your height and speed. It doesn't know he might turn: if he does, Rmax shrinks fast. For a likely kill, fire inside the no-escape range.
• Against heat-seekers the zone only tells you how far the missile can fly. Whether it can see him is a separate matter: see Missiles.

#Heat-seeking missiles (R-73, R-27T, R-27ET)

1. WVR (3). The R-73 is selected first; Z for the R-27ET or R-27T. (In BVR, Z also reaches them.)
2. Point the nose at the target. The seeker looks straight ahead in a small cone. With the radar locked, it looks at the radar's target instead, as long as he's within 45° of your nose (50° for the R-27s).
3. When it sees him you hear a growl, and a small circle on the HUD flashes on him.
4. Hold him there for half a second: the growl becomes a steady tone, and the circle stays steady with a ring round it. Locked.
5. Check you're pulling no more than the launch G (8 G for the R-73) and press Space.
6. That's it: the missile guides itself. Turn away if you like.

• The seeker locks anything hot, friend or foe.
• The seeker in the cockpit holds its lock a little beyond what the missile itself can see. Near the edge of its reach, close in a little before you fire.
• If he's beyond its reach (much farther from behind than from in front), it simply won't growl.
• After launch the missile follows him while he's within 75° (R-73) or 55° (R-27T/ET) of its nose and within its seeker's reach. If it loses him for more than half a second, it can only pick him up again if he's nearly straight ahead of it.

#Radar missiles (R-27R, R-27ER)

1. Radar on (R), BVR (2). The R-27ER is selected first.
2. Find him on the radar display and lock him: designator on the contact, Enter. See Radar.
3. Watch the caret on the HUD's range scale come inside the launch zone. LA flashes.
4. Press Space.
5. Keep the lock until it hits. The HUD shows T and the seconds to impact. Fly so he stays within 60° of your nose, ideally less.

The R-27R and R-27ER home on your radar's reflections from the target. The moment your lock goes, they have about 4 seconds of flying towards where he was heading, then they're lost. These all end the lock, and with it the missile's guidance:

• locking a different target, or unlocking;
• changing the radar mode, or going from BVR to WVR (the radar switches to VS);
• switching the radar off;
• the target notching you, hiding behind terrain, or getting more than 60° off your nose.

GUN, NAV and GND keep the lock, so you can switch to the gunsight while a missile is still flying.

If you lock him again while the missile can still see him (within 60° of its nose), it picks him up again.

#The R-77

#With a lock

1. Load R-77s on the ground (WPN page, stations 3 to 8).
2. BVR, radar locked, Z until R-77 shows on the HUD.
3. Fire inside the zone.
4. Keep the lock while the missile is far from the target. Once it's within about 15 km of him, its own radar takes over: you can turn away, unlock or lock someone else.

The SPO-15 of the target warns him: from launch through your lock, and again in the last 15 km from the missile's own radar, even if you've dropped your lock. If you lose the lock early, the R-77 flies on towards where he was going and switches on its radar when it gets close: if he's still within 60° of its nose, it takes him.

#Blind ("maddog")

Press Space with an R-77 selected and no lock, or while the radar is still acquiring (ACQ), and it goes anyway. It flies straight on and takes the first aircraft within 20° of its nose and 15 km, whoever it is. Online, everyone is fair game to it: be careful with friends ahead.

#Watching your missile

• Each missile leaves a dense white smoke trail while its motor burns, then flies on as a dark dart. The smoke hangs in the air for about half a minute, and other pilots can see it.
• T on the HUD counts the seconds until your first missile in flight reaches its target. It disappears if the missile stops closing.
• The red LAUNCH lamp lights for 2 seconds each time one leaves.
• You'll see and hear the burst: a flash, a puff of smoke, and a bang that reaches you later the farther away it is. A hit jet trails fire and smoke, loses parts and falls.

#Why missiles miss

#Good habits

• Fire inside the no-escape range when you can, especially at a jet that can see you coming.
• Head-on, use radar missiles; from behind, heat-seekers. Heat-seekers can't see far into the front of a jet.
• Two shots are better than one, a few seconds apart. Each guides on its own.
• After firing a radar missile, don't touch the radar until it hits.
• In a turning fight, ease the G for a moment to get the shot off: 5 G for an R-27, 8 G for an R-73.