My dear Tuc, what a fascinating insight into the Blue Fox. I do not think any of us had an inkling of those facts; we just got on with using the kit as best we could.
The main drawback was the high workload looking down over land, where the ground returns could obliterate the target. This meant that we had to "dangle the lobe" just above ground at the desired range to have any chance of getting a discrete return. At medium and high level, the kit worked well but the lack of automation meant that the workload was still high.
The Falklands engagements (stand fast day one and a few other exceptions) were mainly fought at extremely low level (below 100') where the radar was of no use at all. There was definitely more expertise on 801 NAS and my personal training never did get completed and I am afraid that I used the radar as a mark 3 eyeball! I am sure that this is how the Blue Fox acquired its derogatory nick-name of Cloth C*ck - as in as much use as....
When Blue Vixen came along it was a complete game-changer. A JP was sent to act as Red air for a tornado AWI course and he wiped the floor against an attack package at low level. So embarrassed were they, that he was sent home before the debrief!
The boys used to jest that you could fire against 4 discrete targets and be back in the coffee bar before you heard the bangs. At its untimely demise, the FA2 was regarded as possibly the best weapons system in the air.
Mog