Originally Posted by
Timelord
Does anyone understand how a CAS would work during air combat training? ........ there is not much challenge in acquiring and identifying the opposition if they are appearing on your CAS display.
While not a FJJ, you'd never use this in planned ACT for the reasons you cited – so there is always a risk in that activity which will only ever be mitigated with "knock it off" bands or similar should one jet lose SA on the other/rest. It will never be risk-free for participants. But the training should be in NOTAMed airspace with the equivalent of a Range Safety Officer with radar cover in case of intrusion by other non-participatory traffic bimbling along. But often I’d suspect the RSO cannot even separate the actual participants – let alone deconflict them it is such a dynamic environment!
The real risks we are addressing here are simple transits or LL transit training etc and conflicts with GA or, even worse, airline traffic. As I mentioned earlier, transiting the Lakes with FJs whizzing below me really focused my mind. I'd have been far happier had the Mil traffic had TCAS. If one had pulled up following a bird strike and then got a TCAS TA, at least they could have booted in some rudder or released a bit of backpressure and altered the climb trajectory. It would have made their day a bit worse (“Ahhhg, NOW what?!!!”) but they would at least have “seen” me. So, why didn’t I go round the Lakes? Risk assessment vs commercial expediency! My judgement call. I decided to fly the route …. but I would have been far happier had I known TCAS was there in the FJ cockpits. And as a flying bod and a tax payer and having had several decades in the Mil ….. before "cost" is mentioned, I can have my say!
Sadly what may have happened in Germany is probably one of the “costs” to realistic training. For decades tho, the Mil have been having “events” in the open FIR in transits etc – and that’s really where we are talking I guess. But that is just my view…….. FWIW! I’ll bug out here – before I’m banned for Thread Drift!
Cheers,
H ‘n’ H