Pulled this from the HARM #3 discussion, figured better to be in the more current thread:
from Stoney74
Couple of recommendations:
--Also, I know it is difficult since you don't know how many or who is going to show, but create a template for bomber formations and escort (close, high, roving) and assign folks to the different positions during those last few minutes before the roll. Diagrams here You could also template the salvo, delay, and TAS for drop in the post on the HARM message board, instead of calling it in the air.
--Maybe try separate bomber and fighter VOX channels and do bomber to escort coordination on Range.
--Assign interception duties to the fighters by group--i.e. "Close (or High, Roving, etc.) cover intercept the 4 contacts (or "bandits" (as a known enemy aircraft) at 9 o'clock". This preserves the other fighters to pick up the next group of bad guys while the first group is tangled up. A little economy of force, so to speak.
--Use a bomber route of approach that is relatively perpendicular to the "front" so that the penetration into enemy territory is perpendicular and the climbout is safe from early interception.
As to a template for formations, this was the one posted in the postings on FiLtH's first Bomb Wing mission:
* Having Escorts and Bombers on seperate VOX channels, and using Local for Bogie Alerts makes sense.
* Having escorts run by separate CO who knows the drill (winging up, assigning pilots to cover areas, not having all escorts chase after a single plane....) from the bomber groups leaders also makes managing the mission easier. Fighter pilot discipline is important to chase off enemy, but stay with the formation, and not all gang on one enemy plane.
* Having Escorts lift from a separate runway, or even a separate field to help limit frame rate problems.
* Having each bomber group as a separate mission with 1 minute launch times can also help with maintaining formations. Lead group will need to run at 75 to 80% of full power once airborne to close up the formations. High, Lead, and Low Groups can be determined by whichever altitude each group manages on the initial climb out, and assigned by Mission Leader.
* recommend 80% of maximum MAN be upper limit of speed settings during the mission. More important to have a good close formation on a bomber run, than trying to run close to maximum MAN.
*Route should be kept simple. The fewer, and the more shallow, the turns, the easier to keep the formation together. KISS principle. A large number of the participants in these missions go AFK at times, or don't have the skills to maintain a formation through many, or sharp, turns. Better to climb out from further back, rather than paralleling the front.
