RADIO COMMUNICATIONS AND
MESSAGES
In the early days of air combat, communication between pilots was difficult, and often impossible.
Lacking radios, early pilots were basically limited to hand signals. Coordination between pilots,
especially during a dogfight, was generally impractical.
Although modern electronics have greatly improved communications capability, communications still
faces some frustrating limitations. There may be dozens, if not hundreds, of combatants using any
given radio frequency. When those people all try to talk at once in the heat of battle, the resulting
conversations generally become jumbled, cut-off, and unintelligible. Pilots, therefore, strive to adhere
to a strict radio discipline with each message, conforming to a standard Callsign, Directive,
Descriptive. The "callsign" indicates who the message is intended for and who it is from, the
"directive" contains brief instructions for the recipient, and the "descriptive" specifies additional
information. For example:
Chevy 22, Chevy 21, hard right, bandits low 4 o’clock
This message was sent by #1 of Chevy flight to #2 of "Chevy" flight. Chevy 21 has instructed Chevy
22 to execute a hard right turn. The descriptive portion of the message explains why… there are
bandits at Chevy 22’s four o’clock low position.
RADIO MESSAGES SHOULD BE BRIEF AND TO THE POINT
There are three types of radio communications in game:
• Radio commands that the player issues to other aircraft.
• Radio messages sent to the player from other aircraft, ground controllers, etc.
• Voice messages and warnings from the player’s own aircraft.
Radio Commands
The following table describes the kinds of messages that the player may send and lists the key
strokes needed to send each message. Depending on the type of command, it will take either two or
three keystrokes to issue the desired message. There are also hot keys that allow the sending of a
complex message as a single keystroke.
• Message target – This column indicates who the message is intended for, and may be the
entire flight, a specific wingman, an AWACS/GCI controller, or an air traffic controller.
• Command – The command indicates the type of message you intend to send (such as an
"Engage" command, or a "Formation" command, etc.)
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