TO-BMS-ANAPG 68-1

AN/APG 66 and AN/APG 68 Fire Control Radar Manual

TO-BMS-ANAPG 68-1

For use Falcon 4.0 BMS 4.33 U1

RMAX 2016

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List of Effective Changes

Change 0

(V0.1 draft)

Acknowledgements
Firstly thank-you to Stephen HotDogOne French who compiled the first radar manual, and was the
inspiration of this update.

Thanks to Red Dog and Darkman for the excellent dash one and dash 34 manuals. Unsung heroes,
my respect only got greater after attempting to write this manual.

Thank-you to the BMS developers for their continued dedication to this simulator.

Finally someone who never seems to get the acknowledgement he deserves. Louis Gilman who gave
those of us who would never get to experience flying a jet fighter some idea of what it might be like.

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Contents
AN/APG 66 and AN/APG 68 Fire Control Radar Manual ........................................................................ 1
List of Effective Changes ..................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................. 2
Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Specification ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Radar Overview and Activation .......................................................................................................... 6
Radar System Components ............................................................................................................. 6
Modes Overview ................................................................................................................................. 7
FCR Activation and BIT .................................................................................................................... 8
Air-to-Air ........................................................................................................................................... 10
Bar Scans ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Azimuth Gates ............................................................................................................................... 10
Elevation ....................................................................................................................................... 10
FCR Video Display used in the F-16 ............................................................................................... 11
Radar Screen Key components ..................................................................................................... 12
Radar Options ............................................................................................................................... 14
Combined Radar Modes ............................................................................................................... 15
Air Combat Manoeuvring Modes.................................................................................................. 24
Ground Radar .................................................................................................................................... 29
Ground Moving Target .................................................................................................................. 31
Snow Plow Mode .......................................................................................................................... 31
Freeze Mode ................................................................................................................................. 31
NORM EXP, DBS1,2 ....................................................................................................................... 32
Glossary ............................................................................................................................................. 33
Links ...................................................................................................................................................... 33
Picture Credits....................................................................................................................................... 33

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Overview
The AN/APG-68 radar is a long range (up to 296 km) Pulse-doppler Fire Control Radar (FCR) designed
by Westinghouse (now Northrop-Grumman) to replace AN/APG66 for the F-16 Fight Falcon.

The FCR is a coherent, multimode, digital fire control sensor designed to provide all-weather air-to-
air and air-to-surface modes with advanced dogfight and weapon delivery capabilities. The air-to-air
modes provide the capability to detect and track targets at all aspect angles and at all altitudes both
in the clear and in the presence of ground clutter. Target information in the air-to-air modes is
presented as synthetic video on a "clean scope" display, both on a head-up display (HUD) and a
head-down display, the Radar/Electro-Optical Display. Air-to-surface modes provide extensive
mapping, target detection and location, and navigational capabilities.

The radar consists of six functional line replaceable units

(LRUs) which are organized for autonomy, logical function, Designation
minimum interconnection, ease of maintenance, and co-
AN = Antenna/Aerial or Army Navy
production potential.
A = Airborne
A digital multiplex bus system provides a "party line"
interface between the radar computer and the other line- P = Radar
replaceable units, with the exception of the digital signal
processor. A separate high-speed data bus connects the G = Fire Control
radar computer with the digital signal processor. All radar
Figure 1 Designation
LRUs are mounted in the nose of the F-16 aircraft and are
accessible from ground level, except for the radar control
panel installed in the cockpit. The primary means of communication with the other F-16 avionic
systems is by use of MIL-STD-1553B Multiplex System.

This manual has been designed as a supplementary manual to TO BMS 1F-16CM-1TO BMS 1F-16CM-
34-1-1

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Specification

Range: 296.32km, 184 miles

Range for 5m2 aerial target 105km[4]

Search cone: 120 degrees 120 degrees

Azimuth angular coverage: 10 degrees / 30 degrees / 60 degrees

Volume 3-6 FT3 (0.102 m3)

Weight 295 lb (134.3 Kg)

Frequency X Band Pulse Doppler.

Starting Envelope frequency around 9.86 GHz. as high as 26 GHz

Air Cooling 12 lb/min

Peak Transmit power 17.5 kW at low duty (0.03 max) 1.75 kW at high duty (0.45 max)

Beam width 3.25 deg azimuth, 4.55 deg elevation

Maximum scan rate 65 deg/s for RWS (horizontal scan) 84.6 deg/s for ACM 10x40 (vertical scan)

Noise figure 3.25 dB

Power 5,600 VA Transmitter Gridded, multiple peak power traveling wave tube Antenna Planar
array, 740 480 mm

Azimuth scan 10 deg, 25 deg, 30 deg, 60 deg

Elevation coverage 1, 2, 3 or 4 bar

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Radar Overview and Activation

Radar System Components

Antenna Transmitter RCP

TWT
Array

Power Supply Power Supply

Uniphasor Protection
Pulser HVPS
Driver & Control Mode Freq.

Servo LVPS I/O Range PRF

Antenna Scan Computer

Power DC Inputs
CPU a/c inter
Supply
Digi Bus Syncho Inputs
Missile
I/O Mem
Inter F-16 MUX Bus

DSP Bus Analog to SMS (AIM 9)

LPRF
Processor
Controller Staio
Video & Power Supply
A/D Conv
Rec Triggers and Timing
Power Synchroniser
Supply
IQ Bus
Scan
I/O Proc Video
Conv

Figure 2 AN/APG68 Components

The AN/APG 68 radar consists of the following major componetnts

ANTENNA The planar array antenna, provides high gain and low sidelobes over all scan
angles. It includes a lightweight balanced electric drive system to drive the two axes gimbals
between +/- 60 degrees. The transmitted and received pulses are controlled in time by the
PMW (Pulse Modulated Wave) radar design, and the waveguide duplexer assembly.
Internal to the antenna are Uniphaser Assemblies (used for quadrature phase control),
Phase Shifters (used of quadrature I/Q data).
TRANSMITTER The transmitter contains an air-cooled traveling wave-tube (TWT), a solid-
state grid pulser, high voltage power supplies and regulators, and protection and control
circuitry. The entire transmitter is solid state, except for the final TWT output tube. The pilot
may select among four of the 16 available APG-66 operating frequencies in any given F-16
aircraft (N/I).
LOW POWER RF The low-power radio frequency unit contains a receiver protector, low-
noise amplifier, receiver, analogue/digital converters, stable local oscillator (STALO), and the
system clock generator. All needed analogue processing of the radar return signal is
performed in this LRU. The LPRF also provides frequency agility for certain air-to-surface
modes.
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR Clutter rejection and other radar signal processing is
performed by the digital signal processor. Digital radar techniques have been used
extensively to replace contemporary analogue hardware. The digital signal processor uses
standard integrated circuits mounted in dual-in-line packages.
COMPUTER The radar computer configures the radar system for the various operating
modes, directs the digital signal processor to embed symbols in the video output, makes
calculations, routes data to the fire control computer, interfaces with other F-16 avionic
systems as well as other radar LRUs and controls all of the self-test and built-in-test
functions of the radar. The computer is equipped with 48,000 16-bit words of
programmable, semiconductor read-only memory.

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o Temporary scratchpad memory requirements are met using volatile, semi-conductor

random access memory.
o Memory reserve exists for introduction of new features and modes.

Information from the radar returns is initially placed into a storage area called the bin, this
information is kept until the radar has enough information to be sure that the return is actually a
target. Target classification and screening is also accomplished at this stage, screening to remove
ground targets and other unwanted returns. The system then passes the information to the PSP,
where it is interpreted and passed onto the Fire Control Computer (FCC). The FCC in the F-16
receives this information, and displays the appropriate information in the Radar MFD, and the HUD if
required.

The radar uses a filter to remove ground clutter and enable lookdown operation. The filter is centred
in velocity at the F-16 ground speed and covers a band of velocities. The velocities filtered
constitute a Doppler notch. When a contacts is tracked manoeuvres so its closure rate on the F-16 is
within this velocity band it is said to have entered the notch. The FCR has a number of techniques it
uses to reduce the impact of targets entering the notch, described further in the Single Track Target
Mode of the radar (STT).

Modes Overview
The FCR has a number of different modes and sub modes dependent on the detection requirements.
Modes can generally be switched through either using the TMS on the side-stick or through
operation of the FCR page on the MFD.

The two major modes of the Air-to-Air radar are Combined Radar Modes (CRM), or Air Combat
Manoeuvring (ACM). Each of these modes have further sub modes shown diagrammatically below.

AN/APG 68
Air-to-Air

Combined Radar Air Combat

Mode (CRM) Manoeuvre (ACM)

Range While Scan

30x20
(RWS) Situation Awareness
Mode (SAM)

Track While Scan

10x60
(TWS)

Ultra Long Scan (ULS) BORE

Single Track Target

Velocity Scan (VS) SLEW
(STT)

Figure 3 Available A/A Radar Modes and Sub Modes

All Air-to-Air radar display a B-Scope video of the detection.

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Ground radar has a number of master modes:

GM Ground Mapping Radar

GMT Ground Moving Target
SEA (Sea)

There are two further sub modes: SP Snow Plow and FZ Freeze.

Ground Radar are all Pie Scope.

FCR Activation and BIT

To ensure that the Fire Control Radar is powered by the Main Generator through the Non Essential
bus and will not function unless the Main Generator is operating. Input power of the FCR is 5.6kW.

The radar generates a significant amount of heat. The F-16 removes the heat through an air cooling
at a rate of 12lb/minute. This is achieved when the AIR SOURCE on the AIR COND PANEL is turned to
NORM. Failure to set the AIR SOURCE correctly will result in the radar automatically shutting down.
TEMP AIR SOURCE
MED DUMP RAM
COOL WARM
AC NORM
I O TEMP
OFF
RN
D WARM OFF
COOL
MED +

Figure 4 Air Condition Panel (Starboard Console)

The video output of the FCR is shown on the MFD Multi Function Displays, that must be turned on
using the AVIONICS POWER panel.

MMC ST STA MFD UFC

A
V P OFF OFF OFF OFF
I O
O INS
W +
N E NORM NAV
I R IN FLT GPS DL
STOR
C HDG ALIGN
S
ATT
OFF
OFF OFF

Figure 5 Avionics Power (Starboard Console)

To feed power to the FCR, the SNSR PWR switch must be set to ON. This will initiate the FCR BIT
(described below).

S LEFT RIGHT RDR

P HDPT HDPT FCR ALT +
N
W
S
R STBY
R
OFF OFF OFF OFF

Figure 6 Sensor Power (Starboard Console)

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Fire Control Radar Built in Test

The Fire control radar will initial a built in test (BIT). The test ensures that all line replaceable units
are operating, that the buses are connected and that the array can gimbal through the 60 both in
Azimuth and Elevation.

The following are the BIT error codes:

BIT Code Description

Antenna digibus wraparound test
FCR 004
failed
FCR 005 System waveguide pressure failed
FCR 007 Azimuth and elevation motor
FCR 008 Antenna ARC- computer count
FCR 020 MLPRF digibus wraparound test
FCR 021 Receiver protector fail
FCR 024 Reference oscillator lock bit
FCR 084 DMT digibus wraparound test
FCR 085 Low voltage power supply fault
FCR 088 Hi voltage power supply fault
FCR 089 Transmitter OK on
FCR 095 Hi voltage wraparound test
FCR 214 PSP digibus external wraparound test

The Radar will enter a Non Radiation condition and NO RAD is displayed in the HUD on one of the
following conditions:

Weight on Wheels (WOW) to prevent ground personnel being injured

Entry to Air Combat Manoeuvre Mode (ACM)
Entry to Silent or quiet Emissions

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Air-to-Air
The radar cannot scan the entire volume of space in front of the air-craft at the sametime. Hence to
enable the detection the antenna will scan the volume in front of the aircraft.

To gimbal the array and scan a large volume of space takes time. Hence the pilot has a number of
options to alter the volume. These are described below.

Bar Scans
The radar scans the volume through a number of bars. These can either be adjusted through the
pilot, or will be adjust automatically dependent on sub mode.

The scan patterns are described below.

1 bar

2 bar 2.2

2.2

4 bar
2.2

60

Figure 7 Bar scans

Azimuth Gates
It takes time to move the radar across the scan zone of 60. This can be reduced by setting up
azimuth gates. The reduce the length of time for the radar to traverse the azimuth and increase
refresh time of contact.

The azimuth gates can be set from 10, 30 or 60 and are either pilot controlled, or the gate will
be set dependent on modes and submodes of the radar.

Elevation
In normal operation the phase array will be gimballed around the boresight by 60. This however
means that any target that is outside the scan volume of the radar will not be detected.

Figure 8 Boresighted Radar and Contact out of scan area (not to scale)

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To pick up targets that are outside the scan pattern of the radar, the pilot can adjust the radar
antenna through the antenna knob on the throttle.

Moving this has the effect of pointing the radar at the area of sky that the pilot wishes to search for
contacts.

Figure 9 Decreased Antenna elevation (not to scale)

The radar can be moved through 60

FCR Video Display used in the F-16

Through the era of radar there have been a variety of displays, depending on the antenna and
technology available. The traditional display is a pie display where the angle of the contact is
represented by the angle on the display, and the range is represented by the distance from the
origin.

The display for the Air-to-air modes of the radar, uses a B-scope display. The difference is that the
nose of the aircraft is stretched along the bottom axis of the display. This can assist with determining
threats, however it can take a little practice to be able to use the display well. The key point to
remember is that contacts moving directly down the B-scope display are coming straight towards
you.

An example of a pie scope and B-scope display are below for the following contacts:

Contacts
Bearing Range
45 50 nm
-30 50 nm
0 60 nm
The contacts are displayed as B scope below:

Figure 10 B-scope display of contacts

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However as a pie scope the contacts would be displayed as below:

Figure 11 Pie scope display of contacts

Radar Screen Key components

The radar MFD has a number of key components. Figure 12 depicts an MFD showing the key
elements of the display

Bullseye Active Steerpoint

Radar Gain

Radar Range Radar Cursor

20 Horizon Line
40 -01
Antenna Elevation
Radar Contact

Radar Cursor Bullseye ECM Detection

Ownship Bullseye
Antenna Azimuth
020 40

30
045

Figure 12 Key components of the A/A Radar MFD

Radar Gain cannot be adjusted in A/A

Radar ranged scale. It can be altered through using OSB 20 (up arrow) and OSB 19 (down
arrow). The figure shows 40 which means the number of miles from the bottom of the
display to the top of the display
The Antenna Elevation is represented by the T symbol
The Bullseye Position of the Radar Cursor
Ownship Bullseye will be displayed only if set through the relevant LIST page in the Up front
Controls. If the Bullseye is not shown, the steerpoint steering cue is displayed showing the
direction to steer for the next steerpoint.

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The Radar Cursors are the two vertical lines and can be slewed through the TQS slewable
control. The Cursors have two numbers which display the altitude (Search Altitude Display)
that the radar can detect at the cursor location. If the radar is beam would take it below
ground the number is displayed in red and has a negative sign
Contacts are shown as white squares.
o The contact position is approximately 18 miles from the aircraft.
o The line from the contact indicates the direction of the contact.
o The light square shows the history of the contact, where the contact was on any
prior sweeps. The number of history squares can be updated through the radar
control page.
Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) will mean that the radar cannot display nor lock onto
the contact until the radar is powerful enough to burn through the ECM. Although the
Radar will not be able to lock on to contact, the video will display chevrons at the azimuth
where the ECM is being shown
The bottom of the radar screen shows the current antenna azimuth. The bottom of the radar
display represents the nose of the aircraft

The FCR can be controlled through various options on the MFD.

Select Master Mode Sub Mode Select View
Override Mode Display Control Page
select

CRM RWS NORM OVRD CNTRL

20 ASGN
40 -01
Select Azimuth Gate 1

2 Data Link Control

Bar Scan Select
A
3
6

4 4
B 020 10

20
045 SWAP FCR
FCR DCLT
Declutter display

Multi Functional Display Options

Figure 13 MFD Options

Master Mode Select: will select between CRM (Combined Rader Modes) and Air Combat
Model (ACM)
Sub Mode select. Example shows Range While Scan. For full details below.
View will enable the radar to expand the area around the cursor. This can also be
completed through use of the Stick pinky switch
OVRD will turn the radar to Standby
CNTRL shows Radar control page
Data Link controls enables the FCR to send data via the data link
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DCLT Declutter removes symbology from the MFD display

The bottom MFD buttons are the same as all MFD screens in the F-16 and will not be
covered here.

Radar Options
Depressing the CNTL option on the MFD (OSB 5) the display will show the Control options for the
Radar.

CRM RWS NORM OVRD CNTL

MTR 20 CHAN
HIGH 1
-01
ALT TRK
MK INT
OFF
1
TGR HIS BAND
2 WIDE
LVL
BCN DLY
1
0.00
PM
020 10 OFF
20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

The Radar Options are as follows:

CHAN 1 changes the radar channel to avoid interference from other aircraft (NI)

MK INT 1 is the Marker intensity button and ranges from 1 to 4. This allows a different intensity for
the range markers than the overall symbol intensity set through the SYM rocker (NI).

BAND WIDE is used to select the radar band from narrow to wide (NI)

BCN DLY is an option to set the beacon delay from 0.00 to 99.9 through the data entry display (NI).
PM OFF is the Power management and alternates between PM ON & PM OFF (NI).

LVL 1 toggles between ECCM level 1 and level 2 (NI).

TGR HIS 1 toggles between the target history and is the option working for A-A FCR. History can be
set from 1 - 4 providing a trail for radar targets in A-A.

ALT TRK is Altitude Liner blanker option ON or OFF (NI).

MTR 1 is the declutter option on A-G & A-A radar, rejecting targets below certain radial velocities
(NI).

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Combined Radar Modes

Range While Search
Range While Search is a general purpose Air-to-Air search mode. It is designed to scan the largest
volume possible however this is at the expense of time it takes to complete the update for
information. However RWS will paint a target for a brief period of time, and hence there is a reduced
change to be detected by any Radar Warning Receiver equipment.

Generally the information provided is limited. Each contact is displayed a square which corresponds
to its azimuth and range.

CRM RWS NORM OVRD CNTRL

Azimuth Gate 20 ASGN Altitude of bugged

40 target
15 -01
1
Non bugged target
2

A
3
3

4 4
B 020 10

20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Further information can be gained on the contact by slewing the radar cursors to bug the contact
contacts. The radar will then display the altitude of the contact.

The Radar can be moved to Spotlight scan through TMS FORWARD. This will place Azimuth Gates
and reduce the gimbal scan of the radar.

The elevation and bar scans coverage are summarised below:

Elevation Scan (RWS / LRS) thousands feet

Range 1 bar 2 bar 4 bar
10 nm 5 10 20
20 nm 10 14 24
40 nm 20 28 48
80 nm 40 56 96
160 nm 80 112 192

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Azimuth coverage is summarised in the following table:

Azimuth Scan (RWS / LRS) nm

Range 10 25 30 60
10 nm 3.5 8.8 10.2 17.3
20 nm 7.0 17.5 20.0 34.6
40 nm 13.9 34.8 40.0 69.3
80 nm 27.8 69.5 80.0 138.6
160 nm 55.6 139.0 160.0 272.2

TMS Forward over a bugged target will change the Radar mode to Range While Search Situation
Awareness Mode (see below).

<1s SAM (Cursors on target)

>1s SPOTLIGHT SCAN

Nothing >1s Enter TWS

Nothing

Figure 14 TMS Controls in RWS

Ultra Long Range Scan

This is the same as RWS but is optimised for finding targets at long range.

Track While Scan

TWS tracks multiple targets while searching for others. It is limited to tracking 10 targets. Targets are
detected in TWS as they are in RWS, and contact symbols are displayed at the target range and
azimuth.

TWS can acquire and track contacts either manually or automatically. Automatic acquisition will take
place if the contact is above the speed gate. This is prevents the use of a track slot for a low threat
target or a potential false alarm. Contacts whose ground speed along the radar line of sight is
greater than 200 knots will automatically be acquired and tracked by the radar as described above.
Targets whose speed is slower than 200 knots can be acquired manually by placing the acquisition
cursor over the target and designating.

It will begin to form track files automatically from RWS radar returns. Radar returns from RWS is
placed into a bin, if the radar detects something twice within 6.5 seconds the track files are
formed automatically. Tracks are prioritized by range and the order in which they were detected.

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CRM TWS NORM OVRD CNTRL

A tracked target
Azimuth Gate
09 20 ASGN
Non Tracked Target
40 -01
(Red) Extrapolated
1 Track File
08
1

A 18 18
15 3
3
15
4 4
B 020 10
13
12 11
20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Figure 15 Track While Scan

TWS is limited to tracking 10 targets simultaneously. As the radar does not dwell on a target to
continue to track a return (compare with STT mode) contact track positions are extrapolated in
between radar paints.

TWS will dump a track file if:

If a target is not updated, within 13 seconds

The target moves out of the radars current scan, (azimuth scan, and/or elevation scan)
If the pilot is tracking 10 targets and decides to designate on a search target, the radar will
dump the lowest priority track and automatically upgrade the search target into a track file.
If the radar has not received a hit on a track on its return scan, if the contact is not where
the radar has predicted the contact to be (calculated from the targets last heading and
speed)

If a contact is no longer detected then:

The contact will turn red and extrapolate for the position for a further 13 seconds total.
The last 5 seconds before the radar dumps the track, the track will begin to flash.

If the track is detected again, the contact will turn back to yellow.

TWS. Support three scan patterns:

60, 2 bar

25, 3 bar

10, 4 bar

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Elevation Scan (RWS / LRS) thousands feet

Range 3 bar 4 bar
10 nm 12 15
20 nm 24 30
40 nm 48 60
80 nm 96 60
160 nm n/a n/a

There are two ways to bug targets.

Slew the cursors over to a track file (or a search target) and designate using TMS forward
TMS-right to bug the closest track file.
o Further TMS-rights will step the bug to the next highest priority track file.
o The pilot may enter Single Target Track (STT) by slewing the cursors over the bug
and pressing TMS-forward.
o This will erase all search targets and tracks from the radar, although the tracks will
extrapolate for 13 seconds.

If the pilot returns to search (TMS-aft) to return to TWS, the extrapolated tracks will reappear and
the target will be bugged. If TMS-aft is commanded again, the pilot will drop the bug and the radar
will continue to TWS. If TMS-aft is commanded a third time, the radar will dump all tracks and begin
rebuilding tracks automatically. If TMS aft is commanded a fourth time, the radar will go back into
CRM-RWS.

Without a bugged target, the azimuth scan centres on the cursors and elevation is controlled
manually. When a target is bugged, the azimuth is biased to keep the bugged target in the scan and
the elevation is centred on the bugged target. If the antenna elevation is tilted while the pilot has a
bugged target, upon dropping the bug, the elevation scan will move according to what the pilot
commanded to reflect the position set by the antenna elevation controls.

<1s SAM (Cursors on target)

>1s SPOTLIGHT SCAN

Nothing Bug highest priority target then Step Bug

>1s return to RWS

Erase tracks (rebuild track file)

Figure 16 TMS controls TWS

Velocity Search
Velocity search interleaves a high PRF mode with a mediuam PRF mode to extend the ranging
capabilities and provide a lower false alarm rate. VS is designed to detect contacts with a head-on
aspect displays contacts are displayed based on their relative speed. Note tis mode will only display
contacts that are closing, contacts that are moving away are not displayed.

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CRM VSR NORM OVRD CNTRL

Contact

20 ASGN
40 -01
1 Contact

A
3
3

4 4
B 020 10

20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Figure 17 VRS Display

Contact detection and display in VS is a two-step process consisting of a high PRF scan followed by a
medium PRF scan. The first scan is called the Alert scan during which a contact is first detected and
its azimuth and velocity are stored. Immediately after a Confirm scan is initiated with which the
range is determined. After the contact has been detected in both Alert and Confirm scans, the target
is displayed. No new search targets are displayed in the alert scan.

The display shows fast contacts at the top of the display (representing 1500 knots closure rate), and
slower contacts at the bottom of the display.

Situation Awareness Mode

The Situation Awareness Mode (SAM) provides the capability to track a single target, while
simultaneously continuing to search for other targets. The search volume is controlled by the pilot
through the MFD or the through the antenna controls.

The azimuth may be reduced to maintain the track on the selected contact. SAM is a RWS sub mode
and is entered:

From RWS or LRS when the target acquisition cursor is over a contact and the contact is
designated by TMS forward
Mode transitions from TWS (single or multiple track), the bugged target becomes the SAM,
and other TWS are extrapolated for 13 seconds
Transition from RWS or LRS from ACM or VSR from single target track through return to
search via TMS aft

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The HUD changes its symbology to assist the pilot in visually acquiring the target:

Target Designation Box

1.0

45 5 5 13,5
40 13,0
C
35 12,5
30
ARM
0.82 32 33 34 AR 13,0200
3.7 5 5
AL 100
NAV B006.2
000:29
006>02

Figure 18 Target Designation in FOV STT Mode

1.0

Target Designation 45 5 13,5

5
Outside Field of View
40 13,0
C
35 12,5
30
ARM
0.82 32 33 34 AR 13,0200
3.7 5 5
AL 100
NAV B006.2
000:29
006>02

Figure 19 Target Designation Outside Field of View STT Mode

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Target Calibrated
Air Speed
Target Magnetic
Heading
Closure Rate

CRM RWS NORM OVRD CNTRL

305 350 +120K
Target Elevation
Indicator ASGN Bugged Target
40
09 1
Intercept Steering
Cue
2 Search Contact

A
3
3

4 4 Target Azimuth
B 020 10
Indicator
20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Figure 20 SAM Mode

Further information is displayed on the MFD display including:

Intercept Steering Cue that provides the Steering Cue to the pilot for a pure pursuit course
to intercept the bugged target (horizontal cue only)
Target Azimuth and Elevation Indicator, this assists the pilot in requiring the bugged target if
the target tracking is lost. When tracking is lost, the target last known Azimuth and Elevation
are displayed to enable the pilot to slew the antenna to require acquire the lock
Target heading, Speed and closure rate are displayed

Note that the MFD will automatically change display settings to keep the target in the upper the
portion of the MFD and in the centre.

Locked targets may be one of many of symbols and are described below.

The antenna may be slewed through the antenna controls to ensure that the radar can maintain the
track.

SAM can be exited in one of the following ways:

Transition to single target track (TMS forward) with the acquisition over the contact. The
SAM bugged contact then becomes the STT target
Mode transition to TWS. The SAM target becomes the bugged target n TWS. If SAM was
originally entered from TWS multiple target track and the extrapolated files have not expired
they are restored as system targets
Return to search while in SAM (TMS aft)
The Intercept Steering Cue gives a heading cue to the pilot so that a pure intercept course
can be flown

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Dual Target Track (SAM sub mode)

Two targets can be tracked simultaneously within SAM. Once a single contact has been bugged in
RWS, the radar wil go to SAM mode. To bug another target move the target acquisition cursors over
the new contact and designate through TMS forward.

The radar will now attempt to gimbal to keep both targets illuminated simultaneously.

Enter STT Mode

Nothing Swap Target

Return to SAM
Figure 21 TMS Actions

Single Target Track

Other target is blanked from the MFD to assist the pilot in planning and executing the intercept.

Target Calibrated
Air Speed
Target Magnetic
Heading
Closure Rate

CRM RWS NORM OVRD CNTRL

305 350 +120K
Target Elevation
Indicator ASGN Bugged Target
40
09 1
Intercept Steering
Cue
2

A
3
3

4 4 Target Azimuth
B 020 10
Indicator
20
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Figure 22 Single Track Target Display

In STT mode, the radar will run Non Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) algorithms to identify
the aircraft locked. The NCTR analyses the returns and compares them to a stored profiles. The NCTR
relies on the turbine blade return from each aircraft, and hence will only work if the radar can gain a
return from the air-intakes.

The radar filters ground clutter to enable lookdown operation. The filter is centred in velocity at the
F-16 ground speed and hence constitute a Doppler notch. When a tracked contact tracked

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manoeuvres so its closure rate on the F-16 is within this velocity band it is said to have entered the
notch.

When this occurs the radar may not see the target, as those signals in the notch are filtered out and
incorrectly rejected as clutter. At this point the radar initiates a memory track operation called
COAST. However if the contact is determined to be able to compete against the clutter, the main
beam clutter notch is shifted in frequency and the contact is tracked normally (track through notch).
If the contact cannot compete against the clutter the radar will enter COAST. In COAST the contact
position is extrapolated from the last known information. The radar remains in COAST for 4 seconds.
If the target is reacquired in this time, period the normal track will resume.

Contact and Target Symbols Summary

Below are the various symbols that are displayed in the radar scope:

(White) Search Contact

(Yellow) System Track File Red Extrapolated Track File

09 09

(Yellow) Bugged/Priority Target

09

(Purple) Bugged Track File (BTF) with (inactive) AMRAAM in flight (Purple) Track File (TF) with (inactive) AMRAAM in flight
09 09

(Red) BTF with active MPRF (HPRF no \) AMRAAM in flight (Red) TF with active MPRF (HPRF no \) AMRAAM in flight
09 09

(Red) BTF at AMRAAM predicted time of impact (Red) TF at AMRAAM predicted time of impact
09 09

(Red) BTF with Lose AMRAAM in flight (Red) with Lose AMRAAM in flight
LOSE LOSE

Figure 23 Radar Track File Symbology

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Air Combat Manoeuvring Modes

Air Combat Mode can be entered through either positioning the DOGFIGHT/missile override switch
on the TQS, or through selecting OSB 1 and select ACM.

ACM is ranged to 10 nm, and no target information is displayed on the MFD prior to lock on. The
ACM mode will automatically lock onto the first target that is illuminated. If two targets are detected
in the same area, the closest target will be acquired.

When ACM is first selected the radar will automatically go to the 30x20 mode with the radar non
radiating. Radiation then commences upon a selecting a specific scan pattern.

Scan patterns can be selected through the use of the TMS switch, and SLEW can be enabled through
the slewing of the cursors.

Figure 24 TMS Switch options ACM mode

ACM 30x20
This radar scan pattern is designed to match the view from through the HUD. The can pattern is set
to 30 azimuth and 20 elevation.

+4

-10
30

Figure 25 30x20 Scan Pattern

The scan pattern is as follows:

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30x20 20

30

Figure 26 30x20 Bar scan

ACM 10x60
The 10 degree by 60 degree scan pattern may be entered into directly from the 30x30 pattern. On
selection a cue will be shown in the HUD from the gunsight cross to the bottom of the HUD

10
+53

+4
0

-7

Figure 27 10x60 Scan Pattern

The bar scan is as follows:

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+52

60

-6

10

Figure 28 10x60 Bar scan

ACM BORE
The boresight scan pattern can be entered from any scan patter by moving the TMS switch forward.
The boresight is the width of the beam out to 10 nm.

Figure 29 BORE Scan Pattern

The beam shape is as follows:

-3 elevation
0 azimuth
4.6

3.3

Figure 30 BORE Beam

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ACM SLEW
Slew can be entered from any of the ACM submodes by slewing the acquisition cursor controls. On
selection a body stabilised cue it presented in the HUD with MIN/MAX altitudes shown on the HUD
out to 5 nm.
0 (Slewable)
30 30
+10

-10

+40
+40
+60

Slewable Cue

+30 (left)

Figure 31 Slewable Scan Pattern

1.0

45 5 5 13,5
20
40 13,0
C 10
35 12,5
30
ARM
0.82 32 33 34 AR 13,0200
3.7 5 5
AL 100
NAV B006.2
000:29
006>02

Figure 32 HUD Slewable ACM Mode

The bar scan is as follows:

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Slewable ACM 20

60

Figure 33 SLEW bar scan

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Ground Radar
The Ground Radar offers three modes for weapon delivery:

GM Ground Mapping Mode

GMT Ground Moving Target Mode
SEA Ship mode

The radar has a further sub-modes: Snow Plow and freeze.

The major features of any display are shown below:

Radar Gain

GM AUTO NORM OVRD CNTL

Radar Return Artificial Horizon
B
(clutter)
A
R
40 O
Contact F Radar Cursors
Z
S
P

A C
6 Z
S
T
SPI flight time
P
20
000:33
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Ground Radar modes are all displayed as a pie-scope. The Ground Radar modes are generally
ground stabilised over the Sensor Point of Interest (SPI). This will mean that the radar will gimbal to
keep the radar picture consistent, regardless of the position of the radar.

If the radar gimbals do not allow the full radar picture to be shown, the radar will become blank. If
the radar cannot gimbal to illuminate the steerpoint, the radar display will be blank.

Key features of the display are as follows:

Radar Gain enables control of the radar gain, and increases the amount of energy used to
detect the surface
Radar return is general clutter, however more features of the terrain can be viewed by
increasing the radar gain either through the OSB, or through use of the Range knob on the
TQS
Contacts are shown as brighter returns,
An artificial horizon is displayed to assist in situation awareness when pilots are heads down
The Radar Cursors show the SPI. The cross shows the area that will be displayed when the
FOV is expanded. The cursors can be slewed, however not when the cursor is slewed it
enters a delta into the SPI
SPI flight time shows the flight time to reach the Sensor Point of Interest
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The radar controls are below

Ranging Expand Override Control Page

Radar Mode
Radar Gain

GM AUTO NORM OVRD CNTL Back-up

Range bombing sensor
B
A
R Freeze
40 O
F
Z Snow plow
Azimuth select
S
P Cursor Zero
A C
6 Z
Sighting Mode
S
T
P
20
000:33
045 SWAP FCR DCLT

Multi Functional Display Options

Key features of the display are as follows:

Radar Mode enables radar mode selecton

AUTO automatic ranging of the display
NORM selects expansion options (described below in detail)
OVRD puts the radar to stand-by
CNTL shows the control page (same as for AA mode)
BARO back-up bombing sensor (N/I)
FZ freezes the radar display and turns the radar to a non-radiating state, however the radar
view will be updated through the inertial navigation system
CZ returns the SPI to current steerpoint and removes any SPI deltas
STP is the sighting point rotary.
o STP in NAV mode
o TGT in A-G Master Mode,
o OA1 or OA2 if data has been entered for the applicable SPI,
o RP if VRP is mode selected
o IP if VIP mode has been selected.
o Note: TMS right changes the sighting point rotary selection as well.
Multi function display options direct access etc remain as per each MFD.
Azmuth Select enables the pilot to reduce the scan azimuth of the radar
Range enables the pilot to change the display range of the radar
Radar gain increases/decreases the gain of the radar (useful for picking out additional
terrain features)

Target designation is through TMS forward. To undesignated the target use TMS aft.
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Sea mode is

Ground Moving Target

The Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMT) mode is used to detect targets that are moving >5 knots
<100 knots. Detected targets are displayed as small synthetic video squares. Since the radar must
accomplish moving target detection and produce a video map as well, the GMT display is produced
using multiple scans. For example, in all expanded modes and +/- 10 degree scan unexpanded mode,
the radar uses the first scan to produce the background map and the next three scans to detect
moving targets. Only two scans are needed for the remaining unexpanded modes. The first scan is
used to produce the background map and the second scan produces the moving target detections.

Snow Plow Mode

Snowplow mode is entered though selecting SP. Snow plow removes the ground stabilisation, and
commands the radar to scan the terrain in front of the pilot. The focus of the radar beam will be the
location of the cursors.

TMS forward, will ground stablise the current location of the cursors. A further TMS forward will
designate a target.

Freeze Mode
Map video can be frozen to assist in cursor positioning or to improve SA when a silent (non-
radiating) radar mode of operation has been selected. Freeze mode can only be selected when the
FZ mnemonic is displayed at OSB 7. Freeze can be exited using OSB 7 or by changing the FCR mode
or field of view.

When in freeze mode, the present position indicator moves about the display format depicting
aircraft position and heading relative to the video map. A continuously updated magnetic course
and ground range from present position to cursor position is displayed in the lower left corner of the
MFD. A continuously updated cursor latitude and longitude is displayed in the upper right corner of
the MFD.

Depressing and holding TMS-aft blanks the cursor lat/long for as long as it is held. The sighting point
option cannot be changed while freeze mode is selected.

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NORM EXP, DBS1,2

The radar video can be expanded by selection of the OSB 3NORM. The initial expansion will provide
a more detailed view at the cursor location. The MFD will show a quarter mile bar bottom left to
assist with SA.

GM Radar mode has two further expansion modes for Doppler Beam Sharpening. This improves the
radar return at the location of the radar by making use of the radar antenna as a Synthetic Aperture.

DBS1 level of expansion is identical to the expansion mode but with increased resolution. DBS2
increases the level of view.

In general DBS2 is double the magnification of DBS1.

The summary of the expansion areas are displayed below:

Range EXP/DBS1 (x2) DBS2 (x4)

10 nm 2.5nm x 2.5 nm 1.25 nm x 1.25 nm
20nm 5 nm x 5 nm 2.5nm x 2.5 nm
40 nm 10 nm x 10 nm 5nm x 5 nm
80 nm 20 nm x 20 nm 10 nm 10 nm

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Glossary
AA Air to Air
ACM Air Combat Manoeuvring
AG Air to Ground
BTF Bugged Track File
DBS Doppler Beam Sharpening
DTT Dual Track Target
FCR Fire Control Radar
FOV Field of View
FZ Freeze
GHz Giga Hertz (cycles per second)
HUD Head Up Display
Hz Hertz (cycles per second)
Km Kilometre
MFD Multi Function Display
Nm Nautical mile
OSB Option Soft Button
PRF
RF Radio Frequency
RWS Range While Scan
SAM Situation Awareness Mode
SP Snow plow
SPI System Point of Interest
STT Single Track Target
TF Track File
TMS Target Management Switch
TQS Throttle Quadrant System
TWS Track While Scan (pronounced TWIZ)
VS Velocity Search
WOW Weight in Wheels

Links
http://duotechservices.com/apg-66-and-apg-68-support

http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/electronics.html

Picture Credits
Front page Northrop-Grumman website

Line drawing of F-16,Wikicommons

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