Radio Chatter Glossary (1.10)

[Huntarr]

A couple of ya'll Devilpups was askin for some trainin on the new Radio Chatter protocols. Hope this'll get ya'll grab-tastic slackers squared away and ed-jama-cated.

CAS Missions:

Fixed Wing ex.(Fast Mover)

FO: “Standby for CAS request” (hey we need air support)

Platform: “Roger, Enroute to IP” (ok, platform headed to Initial Point x# minutes)

Platform: “Ingressing to target” (platform is entering battle space)

Platform: “Inbound to attack, 30 secs, Out” (hang in there we’re almost there)

Platform: “Dash # is in the POP” (Fast mover, heads up cause here it comes)

FO: “Roger, Cleared hot” (ok, you can open up cause we have our cameras out)

Platform: “Egressing from target, I am Winchester/All ordinance released/Guns are dry” (platform is exiting battle space, having completed the mission)

Rotary ex. (Helos)

FO: “Standby for CAS request” (hey we need air support)

Platform: "Roger, Enroute to Attack position" (Now we can go NOE)

Platform: "At attack position Ingressing to target" (Helo behind a hill or group of trees)

Platform: "Ready to engage" (have you got your onboard camera rolling?)

FO: "Roger, Cleared hot" (man this’ll look good on you Shock & Awe/youtube)

Platform: "Egressing from target, I am Winchester/All ordinance released/Guns are dry” (platform is exiting battle space)

CAS Cease Fire:

FO: “Break, Break, Break, Abort, Abort, Abort” (Radio interrupt, Radio interrupt, Radio interrupt, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa)

Platform: “Roger Aborting” (damn it, we have to go back to our air conditioned bunks)

Fire Mission:

ex.

FO: "Request Fire Mission, Over"

FDC: "Roger Fire Mission Request, Out"

FDC: "Shot, Over" (round has left tube and is in flight)

FO: "Shot, Out" (round is still in the air, and FO acknowledges that he is looking for it to land)

FDC: "Splash, Over" (round is going to detonate, in a matter of seconds)

FO: "Splash, Out" (FO looks for round to detonate, so he can make corrections).

FO: (sees splash and makes corrections) or states "Fire for Effect, Over"

FDC: “Roger, Fire for Effect, Out"

FDC: “End of mission, Out”

Adjust Fire Mission:

FO: “Adjust Fire, Over”

FDC: “Adjust Fire, Out”

Fire Mission Cease Fire:

FO: "Check Fire, Check Fire, Check Fire" (there’s a dog in the impact zone) (Stop Firing)

FDC: “Roger, Check Fire, End of mission”

Glossary of terms

• Abort..................To terminate a mission for any reason other than enemy action. It may occur at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion. 2. To discontinue aircraft takeoff or missile launch.
  
• Break…………..........Radio interruption
  
• CAS.....................Close Air Support, Air action by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and that require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces
  
• Egress.................exiting area
  
• FAC.....................Forward Air Controller, an officer (aviator/pilot) member of the tactical air control party who, from a forward ground or airborne position, controls aircraft in close air support of ground troops
  
• FDC.....................Fire Direction Center, that element of a command post, consisting of gunnery and communications personnel and equipment, by means of which the commander exercises fire direction and/or fire control. The fire direction center receives target intelligence and requests for fire, and translates them into appropriate fire direction. The fire direction center provides timely and effective tactical and technical fire control in support of current operations
  
• FO.......................Forward Observer operating with front line troops and trained to adjust ground or naval gunfire and pass back battlefield information. In the absence of a forward air controller, the observer may control close air support strikes
  
• Ingress................entering area
  
• IP.......................Initial Point, well-defined point, easily distinguishable visually and/or electronically, used as a starting point for the bomb run to the target.
  
• JTAC……………........Joint Terminal Attack Controller, a qualified (certified) Service member who, from a forward position, directs the action of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive air operations. A qualified and current joint terminal attack controller will be recognized across the Department of Defense as capable and authorized to perform terminal attack control
  
• NOE....................Nap of Earth, flight close to the Earth's surface during which airspeed, height, and/or altitude are adapted to the contours and cover of the ground in order to avoid enemy detection and fire
  
• Out......................I have finished talking to you and do not expect a reply
  
• Over....................I have finished talking and I am listening for your reply
  
• Platform..............Any air unit, rotary or fixed wing aircraft
  
• Roger..................Information received
  
• CC……………...........Chain of Command is the chain I go get and beat you with till you understand who’s in frickin command here, so start getting those CAS missions up and cover those Digital Devildogs
  

Any questions feel free to ask

Semper Fi

Carry On

[Elmar Bijlsma]

FO: “Roger, Cleared hot” (ok, you can open up cause we have our cameras out)

LOL, because it's true.

[Darkmage]

Cheers Huntarr

[stikkypixie]

So, what does POP stand for?

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Excellent glossary and commentary!

[John Kettler]

Huntarr,

Regret to inform you that an error (source unknown) of 10,000 in the Pit proportions has slipped into your sublime list. Under "Platform" a municipal offense (ordinance) has somehow supplanted the exploding variety that gladdens Marines when delivered on the foe (ordnance).

Regards,

John Kettler

[panzermartin]

Except for fire missions is there any other radio chatter from troops..."armor sighted', "taking fire" etc?

[Lethaface]

AH!

There it is finally, already tought the gunny juice was too strong for the stomach today

[Huntarr]

Kettler, Outstanding observation Devilpup, I was hoping one of you excuses for pond scum would spot that obvious plant, meant to keep you on your toes. The scribe was using his civy spell checker and not the standard issue DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. He’ll do “The Pit” for that.

Ali-Baba, there is also the “break squelch” when reinforcements arrive.

[Sgt Joch]

"stick forward, people get bigger/stick back, people get smaller"

classic...jet jockeys must luv you!

[Clevinger]

I was looking for that since I haven't understood all thein-game sentences.

Now I can translate the whole thing in French for my numerous non-english speaking friends

[Clevinger]

"Dash is in the POP" : what does that means?

"I'm winchester" : I know that mean, but where does it come from?

[Lanzfeld]

"stick forward, people get bigger/stick back, people get smaller"

classic...jet jockeys must luv you!

Actually...it is "stick forward and HOUSES get bigger, stick back and houses get smaller".

No biggy

[John Kettler]

Clevinger,

I believe the decrypt goes something like this.

"Dash #" is the call sign for the inbound strike aircraft, e.g., Dash 7. "In the POP" (no idea why it's capitalized, unless it's being shouted or something) refers, I think, to the fact that the strike aircraft has popped up from low level flight to deliver ordnance. There's a sweet spot at around 200' AGL where the SAMs have trouble hitting you but you're high enough to avoid the dread cumulo granitus (hitting a ground obstacle, like a cliff) encounter. This is for ingress through heavy enemy defenses. As soon as you pop up or unmask, every radar and threat on the battlefield can see you, rather than the handful you just whizzed past. The object of the game is to minimize exposure time (their opportunity to engage and kill you) to AAA and SAMs, so you only pop up when you're delivering ordnance. As soon as it's gone, you remask and egress.

Regards,

John Kettler

[SD Smack]

Are you guys sure that he isn't saying "In the box"? Hard for me to tell. But pop makes no since to me. Just a guess!

steve-o

[Yair Iny]

Clevinger,

I believe the decrypt goes something like this.

"Dash #" is the call sign for the inbound strike aircraft, e.g., Dash 7. "In the POP" (no idea why it's capitalized, unless it's being shouted or something) refers, I think, to the fact that the strike aircraft has popped up from low level flight to deliver ordnance. There's a sweet spot at around 200' AGL where the SAMs have trouble hitting you but you're high enough to avoid the dread cumulo granitus (hitting a ground obstacle, like a cliff) encounter. This is for ingress through heavy enemy defenses. As soon as you pop up or unmask, every radar and threat on the battlefield can see you, rather than the handful you just whizzed past. The object of the game is to minimize exposure time (their opportunity to engage and kill you) to AAA and SAMs, so you only pop up when you're delivering ordnance. As soon as it's gone, you remask and egress.

Regards,

John Kettler

I actually don't think they would be using a pop-up profile much. Going down low exposes them to small arms fire, and to the odd AAA vehicle, while dropping guided munitions from 12,000' is very safe in most environments (given the USAF dominance in the ECM/ECCM battle). A pop-up profile is used to drop iron bombs without guidance as you roll out directly in a dive profile to the target and line up the pipper within one or two seconds. Guided laser bombs (at least if the plane is lasing) require a much longer engagement time to locate and lock the target before releasing munitions. Coupled with winglets, high altitude and a toss profile, they can also achieve quite a stand-off range from the target. In the first gulf war, IIRC, US planes had a 12,000' floor imposed on them, while the British tornadoes started out doing low level runs and after taking heavy losses, also switched to medium level runs.

Cheers

[John Kettler]

Yair Iny,

Fair points, but I'd remind you this was against a pretty thoroughly shattered and decapitated air defense system, built chiefly around well-understood Russian static SAMs, with an odd mix of mobile SAMs, to include Roland, thrown in. A single TOR TELAR, by contrast, has more real firepower than a battery of the earlier weapons. Thus, more shooters, with higher engagement capability, against targets very hard to hit before. The SEAD/DEAD problem is thus much tougher. Also, your argument fails to take into consideration that Maverick was delivered via pop up maneuver. When I was at Hughes, we developed and tested a way to get multiple missiles away in a single pop up. IIR versions were fire and forget, recall. Also, there's nothing that says the shooter has to self-designate for laser guided weapon delivery.

As for the British Tornadoes (and Jaguars/Buccaneers), I follow your argument, but would point out they were going after heavily defended bases, on the deck, for JP-233 runway buster cluster munition laydown attacks. IOW, they were literally flying directly over the runways. This is what they trained to do in NATO, but the tactics had to be modified because the ground was so flat in Iraq, allowing many engagement opportunities which terrain masking would've prevented in Europe. Since this was how they trained, this was how they fought, until a reassessment was made and new tactics were ordered.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Yair Iny]

Just thought about it a bit more and realised we are talking about how they would be doing it in a fictional what if scenario, and implying in the meantime that the comms reflect this, which they probably don't. Don't want to hijack this thread, though it is an interesting discussion. I wonder, though, if the IADS in Syria would be less dismantled than the Iraqi one, but that is of course hypothetical.

As to the Tornadoes, that is a fair point, I can't see how they could have used the runway denial munition from anything but a low-alt run. I guess the USAF just used different munitions or just went after different targets.

Cheers

[Yskonyn]

"stick forward, people get bigger/stick back, people get smaller"

classic...jet jockeys must luv you!

I got an advanced lesson to add to the fray as well:

"keep pulling the stick backwards though and people will get bigger again."

[John Kettler]

Yair Iny,

There's a ton of footage on YouTube and LiveLeak, for range work, firepower demos and in battle, showing A-10s whizzing in on the deck, then popping up to engage. And this is for a plane armored and redundantly designed to survive multiple hits from AAA. The altitude ceilings you cite make sense in a benign air defense environment, but I doubt this would be the case in Syria. Not only are the weapons nastier and more mobile, but the terrain offers much more concealment and cover than does Iraq, making it harder to suppress or kill the air defenses. Note also that in 1.10, fast movers no longer strafe with cannon. Why? Not survivable according to the pilots!

By definition, that's not a benign air defense environment.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Clevinger]

"fast movers no longer strafe with cannon"

Does this apply only to Air Force planes? Because my Harriers use it when their bomb payload is over.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

The Harrier can hardly be called a fast mover.

It's used in a CAS role, and as such should be allowed to fire its cannons. The A-10 still does too.

[Lethaface]

@Elmar,

I believe the manual states that the Harrier is able to do strafing runs with their 25mm gun pods. I haven't been in the position to use m myself untill now though. However I replayed the training campaign just to check out the A-10 strafing sounds

[Huntarr]

Courtesy of Imperial Grunt off another secure channel...

"In the pop" means that the aircraft is inverted, the pilot is looking down at the ground, to spot the marking round, usually WP. It is impossible to see the mark on the deck with the aircraft level. The jet thus has to gain altitude, roll so the pilot can see the ground and the target mark, and the roll back level. At this point the pilot says "wings level", and the FAC says "cleared hot" or "abort". "Wings level means that the pilot spotted the mark and is on the final leg of his attack run. The FAC on the ground is looking for the aircraft, making sure its pointed at the target and not something else, and then clears the aircraft to drop bombs, or "cleared hot".

Dash-1 is the lead aircraft, Dash-2 is the second aircraft. They always fly and attack in pairs. Once Dash-1's bombs hit the deck, the FAC gives corrections to Dash-2, from the hits. If Dash-1 was close enough for government work, the FAC would say "hit lead's hits", if there was a correction, he would say it in meters, just like artillery.

Dash-2 would then go in the pop so the pilot can see the target, and the FAC looks for the bird. Same procedure.

That entire process is for dumb bombs though. When the target is being lased for GBUs, then no popping is necessary, the aircraft targeting pod finds the frequency for the marking laser and the pilot releases while never having to ID the target with his mark-1 eyeballs and invert the aircraft "in the pop". GPS guided bombs are even easier to use, since there is no laser beam to get degraded by weather, sand, etc...

Dumb bombs are in the minority now, precision munitions are much more effective. We might need to adjust the CAS verbage to eliminate the "in the pop" and "wings level" part.

Its not an ancronym or anything. "I'm in the pop" means that the aircraft is popping up, gaining altitude to that the pilot can best see the mark. It also keys the FAC, who has the ultimate responsibility for the release of the bombs, to be looking for the aircraft, which will be going upwards and turning on its side or even inverting. If the FAC cannot see the bird, and cannot see that it is on a vector that is towards the mark and not towards friendly troops on the ground, then the mission is aborted and a re-attack is requested. But since the FAC knows which direction the aircraft is coming from and is warned when to look, the upwards movement of the bird also helps the FAC see it. It is also when any suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) rounds need to be landing on target.

So, its really simple. "Im in the pop" means just that. The aircraft is popping up so the pilot can see things.

[MikeyD]

Seems to deserve a bump