¶ Intro
The Air Intercept Controller (AIC) Exam is intended to validate that prospective controllers have a sufficient understanding of doctrine and terminology, which will allow them to contribute positively to the group in regular operations. It is not intended to create a particularly high barrier to entry for new controllers, but more to guide self-study and reduce hand-holding needed from more experienced controllers.
Unlike most other training topics in the DCS community, AIC is communication-centric. Being able to analyze the airspace and communicate what you see to the other players is core to the role, and our objective by creating this exam program is to build controller confidence - both individually and from the community.
The exam is open-book; sucess will come from understanding of the reference material.
¶ Method of Taking
This exam is proctored only, and may take place on a hosted server or self hosted. The miz file used is available at the bottom. Except the qual to take about an hour. The proctor will start with memory items and AIC theory, before moving onto the practical portion in the miz.
| Available Proctors |
|---|
| E. "Wiki" Crouch |
| Marauder "Flatline" |
| Z. "D20" Shepard |
¶ Rubric
- Understand the role of AIC working with 4th generation tactical aircraft.
- Understand the difference between broadcast, tactical, and close control, and when you would typically use each.
- Understand how to express vectors in BRAA and Bullseye format.
- Understand in a general sense what the timeline of an air intercept looks like, including:
- Pre-commit
- Commit
- Correlation
- Targeting
- BVR Employment
- Transition to WVR
- Understand the concept of picture labeling in Tactical control.
- Understand the concept of Leading Edge and how it can be used to simplify a complex picture.
¶ Memory Items
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What are the types of air intercept control?
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Broadcast control is used to communicate information about detected contacts within the controller area of responsibility.
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Since these groups are typically separated from one another by large distances, it is typical to individually describe the exact position of each group.
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In cases where there are large formations of groups, Leading Edge format should be considered.
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Broadcast control will exclusively use Bullseye format.
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Tactical control is used to communicate information about a particular group or set of groups to one particular fighter flight. Since the fighters will typically be trying to correlate the information with their own sensors, it is a good practice to use picture labeling and to include all groups that the fighters will be expected to see when training their radars toward the picture.
- Tactical control is normally used after fighters have committed.
- Depending on factors such as the distance involved and the aircraft capabilities, either BRAA or Bullseye vector formats may be used. The criteria for switching to BRAA format should be worked out in briefing when possible, but by default the conversion should take place at 25NM for the Hornet/Viper and 40NM for the Tomcat.
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Close Control is used to directly command fighters to set heading, altitude, and other flight parameters. While close control is often a preferred mode of control for 3rd generation fighter aircraft, it drains SA from both the controller and other fighters and inhibits communication within the flight under control. Usage of close control should be considered an emergency measure in CSG-8 and rarely used.
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What are the steps of the air intercept timeline?
- Pre-commit is when tactical aircraft are ready for action, but are currently waiting at a position or proceeding along their flight plan without actively responding to any particular airborne threat.
- COMMIT is a descriptive/directive brevity term meaning to deviate from the assigned flight plan to respond to an airborne threat from one or more unfriendly groups. The decision to commit is typically reserved to flight leads, but controllers may recommend commits to groups that are well within established commit criteria.
- Correlation refers to the steps required for the controlled aircraft to make sure they see the groups that triggered the commit, as well as other relevant groups on the picture.
- TARGET is a descriptive/directive brevity term meaning to allocate aircraft to intercept specific GROUPS. Typically a fighter flight will target one group at a time, but more complex pictures may require them to target multiple groups on the picture.
- Controller intervention may be needed in some cases to ensure all BANDIT groups are properly targeted, but usually the controller takes a back-seat from this point.
- BVR Employment is more or less self-explanatory - the fighters will self-assign individual tracks within their targeted groups for weapons, launch weapons, and then optionally crank to reduce closure rate and minimize the effectiveness of return fire. Depending on doctrine and situation, the fighters may then choose to press to WVR or turn OUT to abort the engagement.
The controller should be ready to respond to requests for additional information, and to correlate weapon TIMEOUTs with VANISHED tracks. Otherwise, the controller should leave the channel clear for the fighters. - If fighters choose to transition to WVR, the controller should prepare to guide them to any follow-on groups, but should otherwise leave the channel clear for use by the fighters.
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What is picture labeling?
Picture labeling is the practice of describing a set of multiple groups has having a particular shape, anchoring the position of a single group in that shape, and then filling in additional details as needed. For example, two groups separated in azimuth by 10 miles would be described as "two groups, azimuth ten". For echelons or other diagonal shapes, give separation in azimuth, then range, i.e. "two groups, azimuth five, range ten". See below excerpt from CNATRA P-825.
It is important to use the standard group labels which labelling, since they help communicate the shape of the picture as well.
As a best practice, controllers should label the highest-threat group first and in the most detail, to give fighters the best chance of successfully targeting them.
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What is Leading Edge?
Leading Edge is a variation of picture labeling used in Broadcast Control to describe a set of groups moving in one particular direction. The picture is anchored on the center of the "leading edge" of the formation, giving friendly fighters an idea of where the "front" of the bogey formation is. -
What areas can tactical aircraft see best with their radar?
- Within ~60 degrees of their nose
- Out to 40NM (Hornet/Viper) or 80NM (Tomcat)
- At the same altitude
- HOT aspect
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What areas will tactical aircraft be unable to see with their radar?
- More than ~60 degrees away from their nose
- Beyond detection range
- Aircraft almost directly above or below (within 10 miles with more than 15,000 feet of altitude difference)
- Extreme altitude differences
- BEAM aspect at longer ranges
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What areas can an E-2 or E-3 AEW&C aircraft see?
- Out to 220 NM for HOT aspect contacts
- OUT to 60 NM for BEAMING or COLD aspect contacts
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When a fighter requests PICTURE, what should you reply with?
Identify all groups that are a factor for that fighter. -
When a fighter requests BOGEY DOPE without specifying a group label, what should you reply with?
Identify the closest bogey/bandit/hostile group. -
When a fighter requests BOGEY DOPE and specifies a group label, what should you reply with?
Identify the requested group. -
When giving broadcast picture updates, which groups should you identify?
- Groups that are a factor for friendly units
- Friendly aircraft that may pose a hazard to targeting for fighters
¶ Standard Language
¶ Broadcast Control
AIC should announce the beginning of AIC service with the following transmission:
OWN_CALLSIGN, sunrise.
Where OWN_CALLSIGN is the AIC callsign.
A basic broadcast picture call should start with an initial transmission taking the following format:
OWN_CALLSIGN, picture update, GROUP_COUNT group(s).
Where OWN_CALLSIGN is the AIC callsign, and GROUP_COUNT is either the number of groups to be included, or the word "multiple". For example:
Closeout, picture update, three groups.
Then, each individual group should be described as follows:
GROUP_INDEX group, bullseye BE_BEARING, BE_RANGE, GROUP_ALTITUDE, track GROUP_TRACK, STRENGTH_MOD, OTHER_MODS, DECLARATION_MOD.
Where GROUP_INDEX is of the form "first", "second", "third",
BE_BEARING is the group bullseye bearing read as three digits, i.e. "one-three-zero",
BE_RANGE is the group range from bullseye read as a number, i.e. "forty-four",
GROUP_ALTITUDE is the group altitude, usually read in thousands i.e. "twenty-two thousand",
GROUP_TRACK is the group cardinal or subcardinal heading, i.e. "southwest",
STRENGTH_MOD is a plain english or brevity descriptor of how many individuals are in the group, i.e. "strength two", "two-ship", or for a larger group, "heavy",
OTHER_MODS are additional information that might be relevant,
DECLARATION_MOD is the assessed hostility of the group, i.e. "bogey", "bandit", or "hostile".
A full example of the above might sound like:
First group, bullseye one-three-zero, forty-four, twenty-two thousand, track southwest, heavy, bandit.
Occasionally a group might appear on scope already as a factor to friendly forces. This is referred to as a "pop-up group". A pop-up group would be announced in a manner like the following example:
Pop-up group, bullseye two-seven-three, twenty, twenty-three thousand, track south, bandit.
A group may meet commit criteria for a friendly fighter section without them having awareness of the group. In such a case, the controller may recommend their commit per this example:
Ripper one-one, Closeout, group bullseye one-seven-five, fifteen, eighteen thousand, track north, hostile, recommend commit.
When AIC services are being terminated, the controller should announce it like follows:
Closeout, midnight.
¶ Tactical Control
If there are other groups (friendly or otherwise) near the group that triggered a commit, AIC should give a labelled picture update to help clarify what the fighters are seeing on their radars.
The first option AIC has is to individually describe the position of each group, such as follows:
Ripper one-one, Closeout, two groups, azimuth ten. East group, bullseye three-six-zero, thirty, twenty-one thousand, hot, hostile.
Followed by a 3-5 second pause, then:
West group, bullseye three-five-zero, thirty, twenty thousand, hot, hostile.
Note that instead of a track heading, an aspect ("hot" for nose-on) was given to the fighter being controlled.
An alternative is to rely just on the picture shape. The controller can anchor the highest-priority group, then give only the altitude and aspect for additional groups. For example:
Spartan three-one, Closeout, three groups, range twenty-five. Southwest group, bullseye three-zero-zero, twenty, twenty thousand, hot, hostile. Center group, twenty-one thousand, hot, hostile. Northeast group, thirty thousand, hot, hostile.
¶ Study Materials
This presentation from Marauder covers all the key compontents of this exam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AemEL2q8wxo
This presentation from the Fighter Pilot Podcast covers some additional examples of picture calls, and how they should be verbalized on the radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLOPCtJD-kE
This recording of a real-world training exercise showcases communications between AIC "Thumper" and fighter section "Fang".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk0D-Vwm11M
¶ Exam Instructions
In version 1 of the exam, the proctor will either host the AIC Picture Test mission or load it onto a server.
The proctor will first interview the examinee to gauge their understanding of the rubric and memory items. They should spawn different pictures using the F10 menu controls and gauge the examinees ability to successfully label each type of picture.
If the examinee is found to have sufficient understanding to proceed to the next phase, the proctor will then take an aircraft slot and spawn an easy picture. The examinee will communicate information about the targets using first broadcast and then tactical control types, to assist the proctor in identifying and engaging the drones.
Key elements of the interception exercise include:
- AIC should properly cadence their radio calls with significant (3-5 second) pauses between transmissions.
- AIC should make proper use of picture labeling
- AIC should prioritize getting the fighter correlated onto the picture, then allowing the fighter to assume control of the intercept (this means shutting up unless you see a contingency)
¶ Miz File
This is a link to the first release of the AIC Picture Test mission.