Fixed-wing Weapons Systems Operator Handbook

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The FM outlines our core skills, policies and guides to ensure every member stands ready for the mission ahead.

Your role access is determined by your skills, experience with those skills, and the specific roles that utilize them. With over 100 roles in UNITAF, creating detailed skill breakdowns for every role is a substantial undertaking that cannot be completed overnight. 

Estimated Role Cards

To ensure the entire unit can transition to the new system immediately, some roles are tagged as **"Estimated"**. These roles use a transitional approach:

• Temporary skill blocks simulate role-specific experience
• Estimated access levels are calculated based on these placeholder blocks
• Similar to LTS functionality but with improved accuracy and fewer limitations

Current State: Estimated roles provide functional access levels that closely mirror the previous LTS system while addressing many of its shortcomings. As development progresses, estimated role cards will be upgraded to the full FTS3 standard with detailed, role-specific skill requirements.

Important Note: When roles transition from "Estimated" to "Verified" status, your access level may change (either increase or decrease) as the requirements become more precise and role-specific.

This approach allows UNITAF to:

• Maintain operations during the transition period
• Provide immediate access to the improved FTS3 system
• Ensure continuity while detailed role cards are developed
• Gradually improve role accuracy over time

The estimated system serves as a bridge, ensuring no disruption to unit operations while we build toward the comprehensive FTS3 vision.

This is a temporary skill block, the skill block is being used to accumulate SP for time spent as Fixed-wing Aircrew until it's role card is completed.

Small arms can penetrate unarmoured cockpits at close range but are less effective beyond 500 meters. Indicators include muzzle flashes, tracers, and sounds of hits. React by performing break turns, jinking, and changing altitude to use terrain for cover.

These weapons have high accuracy and heavy rounds that cause significant damage. Look for large tracers, muzzle flashes, and stable fire from vehicles or emplacements. Use break turns, jinking, and altitude changes to evade.

Effective at short range against slow, low helicopters. Watch for back blast and smoke trails. Immediately deploy flares and break turn perpendicular to the launch site. Stop flaring once confirmed as an unguided rocket.

Long-range, guided missiles are deadly and hard to evade. Look for smoke trails and launch warnings. Deploy flares and chaff, fly perpendicular to the missile, and use terrain to mask until out of danger.

Effective aircrew limit risk by applying tactical movement and minimizing exposure. Terrain masking, speed, and irregular flight paths reduce vulnerability. Avoid flying directly toward or away from enemy infantry to complicate their aim.

Altitude is key when facing gun-based anti-air. Flying higher makes it harder for gunners to lead shots, especially when combined with speed and unpredictable flight paths.

Against infrared-guided threats, flare/chaff deployment before and after an attack run disrupts missile lock. Expect rear-aspect engagements post-run, and dispense flares to confuse in-flight missiles. For radar-guided threats, deploy chaff when locked up or upon missile launch.

Flares target infrared-guided missiles by presenting false heat sources, either preventing lock-on or diverting launched missiles. Chaff confuses radar-guided threats by reflecting radar signals and creating false targets. In Arma 3, flares and chaff may deploy together unless modified systems allow separate use.

• Jinking: The act of making sharp, sudden, and unpredictable evasive manoeuvres. Jinking makes it difficult to track and lead an aerial target. It is most effective against unguided weapons such as machineguns, cannons, rockets, etc.   
• Break Turn: A sudden, sharp turn typically of 90 degrees or more. This is often used to attempt to evade a rocket or missile system, or when a heavy machinegun or anti-aircraft artillery piece has engaged the aircraft.   
• Emergency Climb/Dive: The aircraft gains or loses altitude rapidly in an attempt to evade a threat.  
• Defensive Roll: The aircraft rolls so that the bottom of it is between the threat weapon (typically machineguns) and the crew. A roll is usually accompanied by pulling the aircraft in the rolled direction, resulting in the aircraft pulling away from the threat.

All crew members must continuously share threat intelligence, friendly positions, and ammunition status. Critical threats such as missile launches or tracers must be reported immediately to prevent loss of aircraft or crew.

Pilots must communicate planned or ongoing maneuvers, especially when turreted systems are in use, allowing gunners to compensate for movement. They must also monitor and share updates on fuel levels and the aircraft’s airworthiness following any damage to ensure coordinated decisions on engagement and return-to-base timing.

Gunners must communicate weapon employment activities and targeting status so the pilot can adjust aircraft behaviour. If specific attack vectors or flight stability are required for effective weapon use, the gunner must clearly communicate these to the pilot.

Brevity words are essential for clear, fast, and unambiguous communication between aircrew during dynamic combat situations.

• Steady: Request to hold current heading to provide a stable firing platform.
• Rotate (left/right): Instruction to turn aircraft for optimal weapon employment.
• Popping up / Pop up: Aircraft is rising to clear an obstruction or take a shot.
• Dropping down / Drop down: Aircraft is descending behind cover, typically after engagement.
• Firing / Engaging: Gunner is actively firing weapons.
• Launched / Missile away: Gunner has launched a missile; aircraft may manoeuvre freely.
• Running in: Aircraft is beginning an attack run on a known target.
• Breaking (left/right/etc.): Aircraft is making a sharp turn in the indicated direction.

Quick threat callouts enable timely countermeasures and coordinated evasive action. 

• Missile, missile: Suspected or confirmed missile launch; triggers missile evasion protocol.
• Taking SAF: Aircraft is under small arms fire; evasive manoeuvres may be needed. Often shortened to “SAF, SAF.”
• Taking heavy: Aircraft is under heavy weapon fire such as vehicle-mounted guns. Often shortened to "Heavy, heavy."

Effective target and friendly identification depends on consistent use of contact brevity terms.

• Visual: Friendly forces have been sighted.
• Blind: Friendly forces cannot be seen.
• Tally: Hostile forces have been spotted.
• No joy: Hostile forces not seen.
• Tracers (direction): Enemy tracer fire seen, direction specified.
• Flashes (direction): Muzzle flashes spotted, direction specified.

Status terms inform the crew and controllers of critical conditions requiring resupply or immediate action.

• Winchester: Out of ammunition; unable to continue attack.
• Bingo: Low fuel; must return to base to avoid forced landing.

Fixed-wing aircrew support ground forces and are often a small part of the ORBAT. Missions are built around infantry, not aircraft. Seeing enemy units early (such as game master-spawned threats) doesn’t mean they should be engaged. Only act if the threat is imminent to ground forces or on instruction. Early action can disrupt mission pacing.

If an AO isn’t populated, simulate using radio communications with mission support. Ask what would realistically be seen, then report accordingly. This preserves immersion and supports the scenario. Good pilots enhance the mission by staying in sync with the bigger picture, not exposing technical boundaries.

Game masters may divert aircraft to other areas to maintain mission flow or populate areas without interference. This is due to Arma’s performance limits. Pilots should avoid unprompted engagement and work with mission staff to simulate realistic behaviour instead of acting on everything they see.

Dive attacks improve accuracy for rockets, bombs, and cannon fire by tightening the impact pattern and reducing timing errors.

Two primary dive attack profiles are used:

• A high-altitude dive begins with a run-in at altitude, followed by a nose-down dive onto the target.
• A pop-up attack uses a low-altitude terrain-following approach to mask the aircraft, then a sharp pull-up into a steep climb and immediate dive onto the target.

Steeper dives increase accuracy but reduce reaction time. Balance dive angle, speed, and weapon type for safe, effective strikes. Laser-guided bombs benefit from altitude; cannon fire spreads more at longer ranges.

Used when enemy anti-air threats are minimal or absent. The aircraft flies directly at the target, fires forward-facing weapons like rockets or cannons, and exits by flying over or near the target. Other ordnance such as bombs may be dropped using this method.

Used when anti-air threats are possible. The aircraft approaches, fires ordnance (typically rockets), then immediately turns away before crossing over the target. The distance of the break depends on enemy threat range, reducing exposure to return fire.