DCS: F/A-18C Hornet | AA Radar Use

Perhaps one of the most complex and confusing aspects of operating the Hornet is correct use of the air-to-air radar. The APG-73 is a mechanically scanned, pulse Doppler radar that is not a magic sensor that detects anything in front of it. Rather, there are several factors that determine what it can detect. In this video, I’ll go over many of these factors, and in the end, I hope you’ll better understand how to best to use the radar and understand its limitations. Many of these same principles will also apply to the F-16 radar. RANGE It probably goes without saying, but the range setting simply sets the scale of the radar format, it does not affect the actual range at which the radar can detect a contact. If you wish to display a target at 40 nm for instance, you will need to have the scale of the radar set to at least 40 nm. AZIMUTH Because the radar searches in front of your aircraft in a cone pattern, with you at the pointy end, contacts left or right of the cone will not be detected. To detect such c