159th Combat Aviation Brigade

JTAC: Calling for CAS

159th Combat Aviation Brigade

JTAC: Calling for CAS

Types of Close Air Support (CAS):

Immediate CAS

Pre-Planned CAS

Push CAS

Types of CAS explained:

Immediate CAS: Used for missions when a target has not been preplanned and close air support is needed to suppress the enemy. Requested by sending CAS request in the 9-line format to JTAC. Typically used to quickly destroy a previously unknown superior force, or piece of equipment that was contacted by ground forces at any time.

Pre-Planned CAS: Used for air support missions that have had targets identified and put into the air support paragraph of the operations order. Can be requested as a scheduled mission, performed at a specified time, or as an alert mission, performed upon request of ground unit commander. Used to engage concentrations of troops, or equipment that has been discovered during recon, upon the commanders discretion.

Push CAS: Method of CAS where the Aircraft are placed in a Holding Area or Battle Position, and will be constantly flying over a specified area. Requested by sending CAS request in the 9-line format to JTAC. Typically used to engage and destroy threats who's type and number are known, but specific whereabouts are unknown until contact is made. Similar to Immediate CAS, except aircraft are staged nearby the targets suspected location.

Control Measures:

IP – Initial Point

PUP – Pull up Point

HOLDING AREA

BATTLE POSITION

Control Measures Explained:

IP: Initial point that attack aircraft begin their run on the target (high energy attack). Designated by the JTAC requesting CAS.

PUP: Pull up Point is the position that the aircraft will climb into the air in order to get a visual ID of the target and begin its engagement of the target.

Holding Area: A position used to stage Attack Aircraft for CAS. Usually provides cover and concealment for the aircraft, and provides covered routes of advance towards battle positions or the Area of Ground Operations. Aircraft in the Holding Area may be called upon for any of the 3 types of CAS. Defined in the OPORD.

Battle Position: Positions designated for aircraft to attack preplanned targets, or targets of opportunity. Provide aircraft cover and concealment from the enemy, but allow the aircraft open lanes of fire. Usually multiple positions designated for individual aircraft, or a larger Battle Position Area may be designated to allow for free maneuver of the aircraft between multiple firing positions in a general area used for low energy attacks. Aircraft in battle positions are only to be tasked for Immediate CAS if no other aircraft are available. Battle Positions will be designated in the Mission's OPORD.

CAS 9-Line Request

• Line 1- Initial Point (IP)

• Line 2 - Heading / Azimuth (IP to Target)

• Line 3 - Distance (IP to Target)

• Line 4 - Target elevation

• Line 5 - Target Description

• Line 6 - Target Location

• Line 7- Type Mark

• Line 8 - Location of Friendlies

• Line 9 - Egress route (Remarks)

9-Line Request Explained:

IP: The Initial point of an attack run (IP can also be the location of a battle position), this is given in a Map Grid Format ie: FE45769524 or a pre-determined code-name for an area ie: "BP X-Ray" which must have been previously designated in the Mission's OPORD.

Heading / Azimuth: The heading from the IP to the Target's location.

Distance: The distance from the IP to the target.

Target elevation: In reality this is given in feet above mean sea level, however for arma this is somewhat useless. Meters above MSL, will be used for simplicity.

Target Description: Identify the target to the best of your ability.

Target Location: Various methods can be used for this, however the most relevant to arma would be a Map Grid, given in the same format as the IP.

Type Mark: This is the type of marking to be used to ID the target. This can be one of four methods. Laser, Smoke, WP (white phosphorus), or Ground Burst Illumination (tracer fire). We do not have WP in arma, so we will only use the 3 other methods for marking.

Location of Friendlies: This is a cardinal direction and distance given FROM the target's position. ie: South-West 700m. This position is NEVER given in a Map Grid format.

Egress route (Remarks): Direction aircraft will fly upon completion of CAS Mission.

Special considerations in regards to a 9-line CAS Request.

Determining the IP: The location of the IP should be set on or around some type of identifiable terrain feature, such as a patch of woods, a river, road, etc. Aircraft will fly a generally straight path from the IP onto the target for high speed engagements. Depending on the weapons to be employed, and the type of enemy, you should take into consideration the terrain between the IP and the Target Location. Provide for more cover to be utilized on the run onto the target if engaging high threat targets, and less cover is needed if attacking low threat targets. A special consideration can be made in High Threat attacks, when using guided missiles; A PUP may be designated. Just like the IP, this should be marked at some form of a recognizable terrain feature, and should lay on the imaginary line drawn between the IP and the Target Location. The IP should be set far enough away from the target in order to allow for all the control measures such as communication between the JTAC and pilots, and the JTAC and the troops who will mark the target if so necessary, as well as time needed to signal a wave off if the situation deems it necessary.

Determining the Azimuth: If SPON Map ever gets released, this will be made much simpler. However until then, you will have to attempt to use the on map compass to help you draw a line from the marked IP, to the TL then record the direction you are facing once you have aligned the edge of your compass to the two points on your map.

Determining the Distance to Target: Again, SPON Map has a very nice tool for this, but until then, this will require a little guesswork mixed with some skill. Referencing the Map Grid and understanding the size of each box made by the grid is your best guide to determining the distance from the IP. Draw an imaginary line from your IP to the TL and attempt to measure it to the closest 100m, rounding down or up to the closest increment of 100 in meters.

Determining the elevation: Reference the nearest hilltop or other feature of the map which gives an elevation number. Depending on the zoom of the map, the contour lines will depict the incline or decline of elevation in a specific number of meters. once you know what each line represents, you need to count how many lines are between your elevation reference point and your target, and multiply that by the number of meters each line represents. take that number and subtract or add it based on the location of your target from the reference point. NOTE: if the elevation drops and then climbs again, you need to cancel out contour lines of equal value in order to get the proper elevation from your reference.

Describing your target: This needs to be done in a concise manner, but as accurately as possible. "Squad of Troops", "4 Tanks", BMP with Troops", are all acceptable target descriptions. You do not need to add such things as "troops in the open", 4 Tanks in woodline", BMP with Troops on a road". The location will let the pilots know where the target is, simply describe what the target is, in as few words as possible.

Determining the Target Location: This can be done by LAT/LNG, visual description, or by Map Grid. the last method is preferable in most instances. Lat/Lng is not useable in Arma so disregard that method. Visual description may be used, when the pilot is familiar with the target area and there are visible landmarks nearby that you can use as reference points. To do so you would give a cardinal direction and distance from the known location near the target.

Type of Mark: This can be either a Laser, Smoke, or Tracer Fire in Arma. For aircraft that have weapons systems that can lock onto lasers, even if the weapon to be used is not laser guided, this can be used quite effectively to get the aircraft onto target quickly. When using a laser, there are two ways of deciding when to illuminate the target. Firstly, the aircraft calls the command "illuminate," or when the aircraft reaches the PUP if one has been determined. The aircraft should notify the JTAC when they can see the laser by stating "SPOT." If the aircraft is not using laser guided munitions, the command "terminate" may be given by the aircraft. this means that the pilot has eyes on the target and needs no further guidance onto the target, and the laser may be terminated so that the soldier deploying the laser may take cover. If laser guided munitions are being used, the laser may only be terminated after the attack is completed.

If smoke is to be used to mark the target, the color of the smoke must be designated. when the smoke is deployed, it should fall behind the target, in reference to the IP. this way the smoke will not obscure the target from the pilots view. If the smoke cannot accurately be placed behind the target, it should be placed to the side at least 50m away from the target itself. This should be communicated to the pilot.

If Tracer fire is to be used, doctrine says it should begin 20 seconds before the expected attack, and continue until the attack is complete. In Arma 20 seconds of shooting at a target will either destroy, or disable the target anyway, and the CAS isn't needed, or the soldier firing the tracers will have been spotted and killed by enemies well before the attack could be commenced. 7-10 seconds would be a more realistic time to begin engaging the target due to the smaller engagement distances and distance at which tracers can be seen in game. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this method, the more weapons able to fire tracers onto the target, the better. This will help ensure the pilot is able to see tracers falling upon the target in the shorter time given to designate the target.

Location of Friendlies: This is always given in a cardinal direction and distance from the target. there are two reasons for this; firstly, in reality radio traffic can be intercepted, and transmitting exact locations of friendly positions during combat could attract enemy artillery to those locations. Secondly, if the pilot already knows where the target is, it's much faster to state a direction and distance from the known point to form the mental picture of where the troops are, than to give another grid co-ordinate that the pilot must take time to plot on his map to understand where you are. Lastly, hearing the distance from the target to friendly troops in meters lets the pilot know quickly if it's a danger close mission or not.

Determining Egress Route: This can be a simple cardinal direction, or a specific azimuth. This is used when other aircraft are in the area and on approach to the target from a different IP, or when artillery fire is also being used on the target, a specific egress is used in order to prevent the aircraft from flying into those rounds. this does not need to be designated if no other aircraft, or artillery is being used.

Remarks: The remarks section includes briefing information not found in the first nine lines. This

section is not standardized, so these are some suggested items to include in the remarks section. Keep in mind that this list is not all-inclusive, nor mandatory. The following information should be included, if applicable: (1) Laser to target line (in degrees magnetic), (2) Ordnance delivery, (3) Threat and location, (4) Final attack heading, (5) Hazards, (6) ACAs, (7) Weather, (8) Restrictions, (9) Additional target information, (10) SEAD and location, (11) Laser, illumination, and night vision capability, (12) Troops in contact or Danger close (with commander’s initials), (13) Other time considerations.

NOTE: as shown on the example picture at the bottom, any lines not needed may be omitted, line numbers are not transmitted. all units of measure are standard when done in reality, however all measurements we use in game are typically in meters, or kilometers, therefore disregard that note, and give all measurements using the metric system.

Danger Close Missions.

What is a danger close mission: a danger close mission is any request of CAS in which munitions will land near friendly troops and is within the distance determined to have at least a 0.1% probability of incapacitation (PI).

Special instructions for Danger Close CAS: Any Danger Close mission must be approved by the commander of the unit who is requesting the CAS mission, and must provide his initials in the remarks section of the CAS 9-line immediately following the "Danger Close" identifier. Missions in which the PI is 10% or greater cannot be conducted unless friendly troops are being overrun.

consult the chart on the following page for the PI% ranges for each munitions/weapon system.

Steps after the 9-line has been given.

Readback: The JTAC will request a readback of all important information in the 9 line. According to the book, it is mandatory for all aircrews to readback lines 4, 6, and all restrictions regardless of control measures. the JTAC may also state specific lines to be read back, to ensure confirmation of that information. For us, knowing the elevation of the target will most times be damn near impossible to figure out in a short amount of time, but also one of the most useless pieces of information that could be transmitted as far as the game goes. In all but the rarest occasion i could see that line 4 would actually be omitted rather than required information. so disregard the mandatory transmission of line 4, and instead consider line 5 mandatory to transmit, as well as line 6.

Clear the Aircraft for Attack: Once the Aircraft reaches the IP, they will notify the JTAC, this is basically the "point of no return," save an emergency. If the JTAC has no circumstances for why the aircraft should not continue the attack, he will state "You are cleared hot." Letting the aircrew know that they are free to drop munitions on target. this is especially important in danger close missions, in order to ensure that all friendly troops have pulled back into cover already. If for any circumstance the JTAC determines that the aircraft should no longer drop munitions on the target at any time during or before the attack run, he will wave off the aircraft by signaling the aircrew with "Wave Off, Wave off, Wave off." This will let the aircrew know it is unsafe, or unnecessary to drop munitions on the target. If the JTAC plans on using the aircraft for follow on attacks, the signal "Fence Closed" should be given upon the aircraft reaching the IP. an example of this would be:

Aircrew; "This is Ironman 1, we are at the IP now, Over."

JTAC; "Roger Ironman 1, Fence Closed, you are cleared hot, Over."

Order Target Marking: Once the aircraft has reached the IP and signaled the JTAC that they are beginning their run, the JTAC must time the marking of the target so that the aircrew can see the mark at the target. If the JTAC orders tracer fire to mark the target as soon as the aircraft reaches the IP, the aircrew may be too far, or the target too obscured for them to see the tracer fire, and it would therefore be an ineffective mark. On the other hand, waiting too long to deploy smoke rounds as the method of marking could result in the aircrew overflying the target before the smoke began to billow.

Order Follow-on Attacks: Once CAS has been called in on a target area, the JTAC may informally send further orders to the aircraft to attack more targets in the immediate area of the initial CAS request. If a major terrain feature or building was used to orientate the pilot on the first attack run, the same object may be used. Sometimes it may be simpler to make

adjustments from the previously destroyed target, either way adjustments will be given as the location given by a cardinal direction and distance then the target ID. An example of this would be, "From the previously destroyed tank, North-West, 300m, I have a t-72." You could also add in a description of the terrain nearby the new target to help orient the pilots. Any follow on attack that is danger close will require the commanders approval, and the commanders initials must be transmitted as any danger close mission. An example of this would be, "From the church on the hill, South 400m, I have 1 Squad of Troops in the woodline. Danger Close - Echo Foxtrot."

Release the Aircraft: If the "Fence Closed" signal was given, the JTAC needs to release the aircraft from his control once all targets have been destroyed, or the aircraft is unable to further attack the target. the JTAC will release the aircraft by signaling to them "Fence Open." this signal officially releases the aircraft from the JTAC.