Part I

Introduction

Falcon 4 is a high end sim unlike any other. The passage of time has demonstrated that many of the problems people are having are the result of insufficient training and practice. Many of the so-called "bugs" are not bugs at all, but a lack of knowledge of how the various systems, weapons and interfaces operate.

Part of this difficulty relates to tremendous complexity and fidelity of Falcon 4. The Catch 22 is that realism demands realistic responses, responses that require years of training in the real world.

The Campaign: the Challenge

The Falcon 4 Campaign is focused as much on the realism of the F-16 as it is on the replication of real warfare. It burdens you not only with the heavy workload of the real pilot, but all the responsibilities of an officer managing a war. Furthermore, player interface is equally complex, with insufficient help provided by the manual.

The war that F4 replicates is more like Vietnam than Desert Storm, a strategic and tactical battle that many analysts concluded was impossible to win. The Vietnamese conflict was a long, messy, and extremely ugly struggle against an adversary that was both intelligent and well-trained, an enemy that understood how to defeat modern technology with rifles and sheer determination. Add to that the fact that our leaders grossly and consistently underestimated the enemy and the calamity was inevitable.

Now consider Falcon 4. It has high fidelity to the environment of real war, including that dimension called the "fog of war." Is part of our difficulty with this simulated conflict in Korea that we are we underestimating the enemy? Are those weapons that refuse to lock up on the target really displaying issues with bugs? Or is this the way it plays out in real life?

With Falcon 4 the people who wanted a realistic simulation got one. Real war is hell, and so is this sim. In real war, equipment failures are as common as rifle jams. If you expect to win, you will have to learn to master your aircraft, as well as the skills of a War College General Officer.

SEAD Tactics

This essay, which appears in three parts, examines a single SEAD mission (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) flown three times, each time with different tactics. It first illustrates for you what happens when you simply fly the Frag Orders, and why ultimately the sim burdens you with having to think like a general Officer rather merely a pilot. To succeed in Falcon 4 you must learn to think creatively and not merely follow the beaten path. Too often the next war gets lost because it was fought just like the last war.

In order to accomplish my goals we will begin by following a single SEAD mission very early in the campaign when force levels are equal. The objective here is to explore means of improving mission success by examining tactics and results more closely.

As I fly the mission I will discuss the events as they occur, followed by a summary of what went right or wrong. This discussion is keyed to the screen shots that appear with the text. Pay close attention to them, including the avionics, because they are an integral part of the story.

The Mission

At the beginning of the campaign, the Intel report describes conditions as "bleak." We are flying mission number 4116 in Tiger Spirit. Note that the artificial intelligence (AI) will never repeat the same mission exactly, even though you fly the same mission more than once. Therefore this discussion can only serve as an illustration. In this case the frag order targets a couple of AAA guns on the outskirts of P'yongyang.

What! Triple A guns? P'yongyang? We take a look at the Planning Map and see that the brass wants us to fly into a meat grinder just to take out a couple of guns? That's nuts, and we're not going to do it. Insubordination be damned.

MAP-1

This is the original fragged mission. My God, how do they expect us to fly into the heart of enemy air defenses and come out alive? It can't be done with the early warning radars (EW) in place. Down on the peninsula south of Haeju and Ongjin, we see a nice juicy Early Warning radar site that needs to be dealt with FIRST, plus another at P'yongyang. Are the brass so brain dead that they don't know you must take out the EW radar first?

So we take matters into our own hands and reroute the mission to take it out. That's tough enough, but at least we can find a route that isn't filled with enemy interceptors and SAM's. That EW radar is going to see us coming, but fortunately, the distance is short. We can't rely on surprise but at least we've got speed on our side and hopefully we can outrun the intercepts.

[Special note: Since this writing Mr. Rosenshein confirmed that EW radars are networked to the SAM sites. Take the EW's out and the individual Fire Control Radars will have a much harder time finding you, if at all. Some of you may remember that the North Vietnamese often relayed info by telephone and land lines very effectively. The noted interview follows:]

Leon: Yes, the GCI network is modeled. The network breaks down like this: there are a handful of long-range search radars. These are the ones that will normally track you [relaying your vector and speed], and then local SAMs can have their search radars off.

The SAM fire control radars will, however, pop on to get your attention. The long-range radars tell the SAMs where to look. If you manage to take out enough long-range radars then the SAM sites will use their fire control radars. But these small FCRs are not as effective for detection.

Communication is two way. If you are not picked up by a long-range radar but are picked up by a local radar, your position is then known to the entire network. You will also find that the ground stations play radar games; they will take turns, turning their radars on and off. (See the extract below for a description of what this looks like in Falcon 4).

MAP-2

In the map above you can see how I have rerouted the mission out over the Gulf of Korea about 20 miles offshore. I don't want to go too far out because that would increase my exposure to interception.

Way point 5 is the alternate target. AWACS shows interceptor and cargo aircraft over the water closing in on our push point. While that is still threatening, it's a whole lot less to contend with than the scheduled mission.

Since we are not in a support role, we don't have to worry about time on station and all that. We're doing our own thing here: Jake Grafton in his A6 Intruder on his way to Hanoi. It looks like a cake walk, but we know better. There are no cake walks in Falcon 4.

The original load out has us carrying two external tanks and 2 HARMS. I will opt to keep the HARMs and the extra fuel. Since I have previously reconned this radar site I know that it shuts down as soon as I lock it up. If this occurs the mission will be a waste of time, so I've planned an alternate target composed of several SA-2 sites fifteen miles to the north, close enough to be a good alternative.

EW-1

Play by Play

Taking off in a 4 ship flight, we're not to the push point when a flight of Tupolov transports shows up directly ahead at 40 miles range. At first they appear unescorted, but experience tells me it's unlikely.

Carrying extra fuel I go to afterburners up to 600 knots, knowing that the escorts will soon appear or the enemy will scramble or divert interceptors to meet my flight. Suddenly, off my 9 o'clock, a big air battle materializes. F15's and MiG29's are duking it out. Radar says they're 30 miles distant, too close for comfort. I swing left out to sea a bit for some extra cushion.

EW-2

As expected, the TU's escort of 3 MiG29's show up off my nose only minutes later. My attention was diverted to the battle off my beam, and as a result I'm slow to pick up the MiGs. This nearly proves fatal. I'm going to try to avoid them but I doubt we can; these Charlies have been known to shoot at anything that moves. We are at the IP now and can't possibly make the run-in as planned.

What to do -- fight or flight? Well, its 4 vs 3. Because we're relying on speed rather than stealth, I don't want to drop tanks just yet. We'll be burning tons of fuel, besides which I've still got Plan B in mind -- we are desperate to eliminate air defenses.

We do have an advantage with this encounter: we get first shot at Rmax. I decide that we'll go for it. I lock up the MiGs and order the second element to attack, holding my wingman in reserve. I'm cutting it close so I let one of my own AIM's fly. A little insurance never hurts.

EW-3

Incredily, all these missiles produce not a single hit. Two F16's nearby (not mine) go down. I'm shocked, but the MiG's are inexplicably backing off.

No, wait! There's a couple more F16's closing from the east at their 3:00 o'clock. Damn, all that adrenaline and I'm not paying attention to my speed, nearly overshooting the target. I get lucky, the EW radar is emitting and I lock up fast. Almost below Rmin for the HARM and a bad over-shoulder shot. I start a turn and let her fly anyway, but I don't feel good about this. I bank away to the right, push buttons like mad and refocus on the MiG's.

EW-4

Holy Guacamole! Haven't our guys graduated from flight school yet? Those same three MiG's are still out there, joined by two more. An F16 goes up in smoke, and an F4E is trailing smoke. They haven't hit a single MiG.

Sweet Petunia, we have a bunch of fresh pansies out there. I lock one MiG up fast and send the second element after them. The enemy is now headed east to deal with another two-ship flight of F16's coming after them from about 20 miles away. The odds are looking better.

I feel comfortable enough to make another pass at the radar station but I should have known better: it shut down and I'm out of luck. Screwed and blued. It's not going to light up again.

Plan B

Turning around and heading inland (north), I order the element to rejoin. One seems to be MIA although the screwy voice comms indicates he's still alive when I know he isn't. AWACS still thinks there are two Python8 flights out there, so I have to listen carefully and sort out the calls. Fifteen miles ahead are a bunch of SA-2's (which are harmful to the health of B-52's nearby) and I want to go home with something to my credit.

Ahead a pair of MiG 21's roar skyward from behind a small hill. Geez, are they going fast! These old fingers gotta work fast; the SA-2's are lit up like a Christmas tree on the RWR. I love SA-2's because they can't touch me down low.

I let the last HARM go. Then I order my wingman weapons free for AG and cover for him, going after the 21's myself. It's drop tank time. I am hitting 600 knots and they are in a steep climb and slowing fast. I get the drop on one with my last AMRAAM and let a Sidewinder go to increase their attention span.

My wingie is fire and smoke. The MiG21 that I failed to hit got him. It's far too hot out here; time to RTB. But its no surprise that there are now 5 MiG29's on my nose as I turn around, the one's that were formerly behind us at the EW site. It looks like they nailed at least 5 of our guys. Are these MiGs invincible?

Two MiG29s are closing on me as a pair of F-16's break off their B52 escort, and an F5E is engaging the other three. Checking around, only Python 84 of my element is left. I decide to sacrifice him, ordering him to engage while I get out of Dodge.

The MiGs make quick work of the Falcons, but while they are engaged, I have time to give them a wide berth. I hit the deck and beat feet in afterburner, wringing the Falcon out for all it's worth.

Summary Analysis

A lot of unexpected things happened out there, like our guys getting mauled without scoring a single hit. Cavalry comes to the rescue and then falls in a ditch. As with any Lead who manages to get his flight wiped out, I'm pissed off and looking for something to blame other than my own bad decisions. Never mind; let's look at what really happened out there.

The briefing shows that while we missed our primary target, we got two SA-2's, a ground vehicle and a couple of KRaz something or others. But I was the only survivor. The price was far too high even for Falcon 4.0 where getting slaughtered early-on is routine.

While this mission reveals that having a Plan B can be a good idea, staying on station that long brings the interceptors in a hurry, further reducing the chances of success. In hindsight, a 15 mile separation between targets was too short. Escaping from the defenders at the primary site, they simply followed us. Only by sacrificing my element did I escape.

Carrying HARMs alone on a single target strike is a bad idea. When target radar shuts down, or starts playing games with you, it's game over.

In Fast, Out Fast

When enemy air defenses are strong, the key to success is a lightning strike, getting in and getting out fast. If you have to make multiple passes, chances for survival, let alone success, are about nil. Had I been carrying a couple of Mavericks (having adequate time for a good line up with bombs is doubtful; I'm not a hotshot bomber) that EW radar would have been history. Instead, it's still operating.

I've yet to fly an uncontested SEAD mission in F4. On every mission there comes a time to make the decision on whether to abort. The opposition was not overwhelming, but it proved that I was over-confident and then made a bad decision. Good luck is the exception rather than the rule. When it comes to decision making under marginal conditions one should always plan on things getting worse, not better. Miraculous escapes are for the movies.

The Best Laid Plans..

Probably my biggest mistake was in not following my own advice. My planning itself was flawed. We intended to take the EW radar out because that was vectoring in the interceptors so that we couldn't take individual SAM's out further to the north. Plan B was in direct contradiction to the purpose of Plan A. In other words, how could I take out any other SAM's when the EW system was still operating? This was strategic stupidity in action!

I also made tactical blunders. AIM120's at Rmax in this sim have a slim kill ratio. While I used my wingmen with a moderate degree of skill, using the AIM120 to try to hold off the enemy didn't work. I hoped they would try to beam and scatter, letting my guys pick them off. The MiG's didn't scatter and my guys didn't score a single hit.

Another mistake was in failing to take account of the time it takes the AMRAAM to go autonomous. Under these conditions, at Rmax, that's about 17 seconds and is far too long to hold the enemy in my radar cone. With the enemy on my nose the closure rate was extremely high, yet under those conditions I sent my guys into a shooting match with arguably superior MiG 29s. I miscalculated the odds.

Detection and Avoidance

Could we have avoided detection by flying further out to sea, and then going well beyond my IP and doubling back? Since all the interceptors were to the north and east of the target, would this have worked? No, because they would have found me anyway. They could and they did.

The DPRK has no AWACS, but we discovered the hard way that the EW radar can easily pick up targets at 200 feet over open water. On the other hand, taking out a primary EW radar is of critical importance that may well have warranted the sacrifice, at least in a simulation. I tried but failed, and these are some of the reasons why.

Now that we know there are AAA guns at this site, bombing is out of the question. Next time we come in low and fast with Mavericks.

Confused by any terms in this article? See our Glossary

Part II

Introduction

In part one of SEAD Briefing we flew a reconfigured SEAD mission to take out the Early Warning Radar near Ongjin on the coast. Bad decision making resulted in a failure of the mission and the loss of three aircraft.

A subsequent mission was run in which we went feet wet at 300 feet, 600 knots and stayed there all the way to IP. The EW radar picked us up, and 20 miles after the push point interceptors decimated the flight once again. Caught low, we didn't have a chance, pretty much proving that if there aren't any mountains to hide behind, the EW radars are going to find us.

SEAD III

In this next attempt, we're determined to get it right. Now we think we know what works (after losing seven aircraft.) We forego the extra fuel this time and load up with Mavericks and AMRAAMs. That heavy load in the first missions proved fatal to our ability to defend ourselves. Tom Basham confirmed this in his recent article on the Falcon 4 website:

Don't be a hero. Engage the necessary targets, drop your weapons and go home. Every time I've been shot down on a SEAD mission, it was the result of loitering over the target too long. By the time the you hear the ZSU-23s open fire, it's too late. With extra ordnance under the wing, the temptation is great to stick around and keep engaging targets, but doing so almost always results in simulated death. So above all else, I suggest you plan to take just enough ordnance for the assigned target--don't load your jet to max gross weight--and then drop it all on your target. You're more likely to kill the target in question and you'll spend less time in the combat area.

Loaded up, we'll go to the divert air base, which is closer, in the event we reach bingo fuel. Going feet wet at 2500, we enter a slow climb at high speed, determined not to get caught down on the deck again.

The AI never runs the same mission twice. Although the mission started out looking much the same, it didn't last long. All seemed quiet on this run right past the push point when trouble was heard via the radio. Trouble is behind us and I had to turn and make a radar sweep to find the pesky MiG29's again escorting a flight of Tupelovs. As in the earlier flights they were not content to ignore us and broke off from their escort position. Had I ignored the radio warning, we would have been in big trouble. Instead, we shot first, splashed 'em and asked questions later.

Only a hint of things to come, this is not exactly what I had hoped to see as we reached the IP. The radar and sky filled with yet another Cluster Foxtrot at 2 o'clock. One moment the sky was nearly empty, the next it was thick with aircraft. Do these guys scramble fast or what?

Play by Play

This time I do not hesitate, making an instant decision to designate and send my whole package after the threats. A quick radar sweep shows that five MiG29's are approaching the 40 mile range to the left but closing fast. Two F-15's are engaged, with one scoring a splash. Locking on, I call for the second element to attack. Another three MiG's are in range but moving to the right. I separate and bracket left, quickly lock up and light off an AIMer at the three to the right.

At the same time, I'm keeping an eye on the target location. Clearly the odds are against us and any sensible lead would abort. However, our strategy from the start was to keep any interceptors sufficiently engaged to allow me to break out of the fight, swoop down and nail the target radar.

In order to do this, my timing is critical; I must be positioned so that I can launch missiles at the attackers, wait for them to go autonomous, break off and be properly aligned with the target. If this fails, the mission will fail.

Not waiting to see the results of my shot, I brake, turn 90 degrees and head on in to the target, now within optimal range with a good line up. The three in-range MiG's have to contend with my guys on the attack, but I keep my wingman for cover. Calling him to clear six keeps him with me. Having checked the threat ranges carefully, I estimate closure rates and figure I have at least a minute to get in and out. That's adequate.

I never did actually see the radar antenna at the site. There's something that looks like a water tower - I suppose they could conceal it as a water tower -- but since I've got six Mavs, I'm going to spray the whole compound. There won't be much left after that.

Life is lovely. Mav #1 is off, the sky looks good around me and I have time to pickle four more Mavericks. The explosions are pretty substantial and I'm feeling confident that either the radar antenna or the support systems are now smoking rubble. It later turned out that the thing that looked like an old, wooden water tower was indeed the radar, same as the one at T'aesong. If all my radio commands worked, I would have told wingie to go ladder, but they don't.

Clearing the target at low altitude, I don't see the AAA guns anymore, but off to my right at nine o'clock another enemy flight is closing fast, now within range for radar missiles. No problem, I'm still at 560 knots from the dive and I can outrun them. The good news is that I bank hard and they never get off a shot.

The bad news is that as I pull G's, I'm headed smack into more converging interceptors, altogether too close aboard. Incredibly, my package is intact and blowing off bandits admirably. Equally incredible are another four MiG29's that are on us in a heartbeat. No time to designate, I call "clear six " again.

"What the . . . . ?" A MiG 29 pulls one of his Paris air show stunts right in front of my nose, setting himself up for the fall. Never mind, push those damn buttons fast! Gulp, no need for buttons; guns, guns, gun!

"Break high," comes the call, and I do. Now I see several Charlies closing on me from on high. "Energy, energy!" and thank God I've got it. They're coming down and I'm going up. Looks like I've got the advantage. Short version of the Immelman, roll inverted and I might get on his six.

Now I'm overshooting badly. Jam on the brakes and roll once, down to 280 knots, darn near corner speed at the right time. I almost collide with that MiG coming nearly head-on, as big as a poster of Kim Il in P'yong Square (or whatever they call it.) Another MiG is head-on 500 yards on my 11 o'clock but he's not even close to a line up on me. Fortunately, Python 83 is on his tail, soon to relieve him of his overconfidence.

Hallelujah! My gun shot on the stuntman couldn't have lined up any better. He's flying straight into my sights; the first short burst scores. The only thing I have to worry about now are airplane parts coming through my canopy. I strafe him up the length of his starboard side and I've time to turn away before he blows very nicely, thank you. Bye-bye, MiG. Here are the shots:

Mash the throttle forward, get the speed up, look around to see where my buddies are. Tighter than a miniskirt on Cher, they're on the six of the three other MiG's. The sky is thick with aircraft, missiles, smoke and explosions from my 3 to 12 o'clock. But there, just as nice as can be, is my little 45 degree escape window from 12 to 3 o'clock.

Four of four MiG's get splashed. I smell a big victory here, so frantically I call my guys home. No answer, so I keep commanding, "Rejoin, RTB, formation," whatever. Just get the heck out of this mess! NOW!

They never did answer those calls, but slowly they begin forming up when I'm 20 miles out.

Counting heads . . . one, two, three . . . all safe and accounted for. It's hard to say what the odds were, even with labels on. It's impossible to count all those noses and measure those distances, but my guys sure did a bang-up job. Not until we RTB and hear the briefing do I know how good. An incredible dleven kills including my own two, meaning that the three of them got three apiece, plus my lucky gun shot. That would rate a medal in any man's air force. But since we didn't complete the assigned mission, we got a "horrible" rating anyway. Never mind, the dreaded EW radar is rubble, along with a few other assets.

SUMMARY

In the real world a pilot has only one life to lose, and a lead would have aborted this mission based on highly unfavorable odds. It's a little different in a sim. To take out a vital target may be worth an aircraft or two.

Again, it's impossible to ignore the huge role luck plays in battle, as true in real war as it is in this sim. We were plagued in this mission with nearly as many attacks as the prior missions, yet this time around it played out just right. I can't say I did a wonderful job directing my package, but the nature of the AI dictates that I give my element directions, not merely order them to unloose their weapons.

After designating, I sent them off to do their job while I did mine. All elements accomplished their tasks with flying colors. Maybe a year from now I'll understand how the AI plays this game. Perhaps it does such a good job producing random circumstances that it really does create the fog and luck of war. Yes, good planning played a big role in this mission, but so did good flying.

Understanding the Enemy

There is no mystery about why veterans are so rude to "greenies." Experience equates to survival. Our success is relative to the amount of effort we make in understanding how the enemy operates. In all strategy games, it's you against the AI.

Learning how the AI works is the same thing as analyzing the enemy in a real war. Our real enemy here is a computer program and our job is to defeat it. You shouldn't let this reality affect your believability quotient. It is no different in real war in which great efforts are made to understand how the enemy thinks, his tactics, and how he employs his assets.

Why my package flew so well still remains something of a mystery. Is it keyed to how well I fly? Or does the AI randomly have them perform differently on every mission? Did the downing of the EW radar give us the edge in that battle on egress? Under attack, of course, the radar would shut down. Did the inability of radar operators to vector interceptors on us play a role? No doubt it did.

It is also clear that how well a lead manages his flight plays an enormous role. If a lead can find time to designate targets for each of his wings, success will increase proportionately.

Know your weapons and their limits. Choosing the right weapon for the job can make a huge difference. The ability to launch five Mavericks quickly at individual targets was critical. Note that the Mav's did the job because the field of fire was completely open. Cluster bombs could have done the job, but bombing while we are under attack poses the risk of failure. In such a case, stand off weapons are the right choice.

Another good choice was choosing a medium altitude to initiate the attack. Without the higher altitude, there was no possibility of escape when attacked; I'd end up low and trapped. My decision to attack only when I had an open egress window was equally critical. Previously, I egressed the target straight into the oncoming enemy. That's not healthy.

Also note that on a strike mission, it is possible to use your flight members as cover while you take on the target. This turned out to be a very good decision. To keep them from attacking the target, all you have to do is bug the interceptors and order ALL of them, element and wing, to attack the AIR targets. This is a good tactic for any 4 ship flight without an escort. Hold your own wing man back to cover you personally.

Who makes the attack? For single, very high value targets such as this SEAD mission, it's better to do it yourself. Basically, the decision as to whether you assign your wings, or yourself, should depend on how much cover you need. On targets of lesser importance, and especially where few, if any, intercepts are involved, it usually works out better to send your wings in first while you fly cover and then do the clean up, if necessary.

Don't delay decisions to attack or flee. While it may only be fifteen seconds, the advantage can be lost during the wait. Time is precious. If you are uncertain about what to do, the correct decision is to abort.

Good decisions are based on experience; experience is gained by repeating the same missions until what works is thoroughly understood. Ultimately, if a pilot practices a variety of missions at least three times such as we have done here, he will learn how to make fast, intuitive decisions, as well as improve his mission planning.

There is no time for sightseeing when flying the route. I now notice that my attention was previously scattered instead of being fixed on the never-ending search for the enemy. It's very easy to become distracted. There is only one time to relax, and that is in the debriefing room.

Another critical and stupid error in prior missions was to get impatient and advance the speed to 2X prior to IP, allowing the enemy to get the jump on me because I couldn't react fast enough to turn time advance off. In the time it took me to react, I could easily lose 15 seconds and 5 miles, enough to kill me.

The same applies to the failure to be constantly monitoring the horizons in all directions, and with all available means, including listening to the radio using the bullseye and AWACS. You are at an acute disadvantage if you don't know how to monitor COMMS. It is difficult to learn because you have to train yourself to visualize enemy positions using reported bearings and distances. Learning to visualize the battlefield dramatically improves your survival rate, though it will also cause more frequent abortion of missions.

Hopefully you will be able to profit from my little exercise here. There isn't only one right way to run a mission, but at the same time your responses must be appropriate to the circumstances. Initially, I had my doubts about the caliber of the Falcon 4 campaign and some of its modeling. Those doubts have now been put to rest. This is one amazing piece of work that will certainly keep me entertained for a long time to come.

The degree of difficulty of this sim can be daunting, even to a mid-level player, yet alone a novice. Just like a real world jet jockey, a lot of practice and training is required to create a competent pilot. With time and a little persistence, eventually the jet jockey's tricks of the trade will be revealed.