F4J Phantom losing radar lock for no reason

[Ivan]

Hi, im losing radar lock in f4j phantom all the time for no reason? Literally just locked onto a guy and fired my sparrow and radar just decides to turn off why is that? Also sometimes i cant lock onto a guy 2 km infront of me again for no reason like 1-2km altitude, my friend in f4ej kai also has this problem

[Zeno]

Originally posted by Ronix97:

Hi, im losing radar lock in f4j phantom all the time for no reason? Literally just locked onto a guy and fired my sparrow and radar just decides to turn off why is that? Also sometimes i cant lock onto a guy 2 km infront of me again for no reason like 1-2km altitude, my friend in f4ej kai also has this problem

I don't know about the Phantom, but I know that radars are fairly unreliable in this game.

[Ivan]

Originally posted by WildWeasel:

Originally posted by Ronix97:

Hi, im losing radar lock in f4j phantom all the time for no reason? Literally just locked onto a guy and fired my sparrow and radar just decides to turn off why is that? Also sometimes i cant lock onto a guy 2 km infront of me again for no reason like 1-2km altitude, my friend in f4ej kai also has this problem

I don't know about the Phantom, but I know that radars are fairly unreliable in this game.

They are unreliable when im in the case but when enemy fires its radar missile it wont lock out lol

[Jaes]

Radar doesn't just "Turn off." There are a multitude of factors that can cause a radar lock to break ranging from the map (environmental effects, you'll especially notice it on icy/snow maps), the angle at which the radar energy is bouncing off the target, and ground clutter.

I won't go over those because that would be too much of a wall of text to bother with, so I'll just point out some tips on best case usage for radar.

1. The best radar lock is a target moving towards you. Targets moving away from you return poorer signals and cause unreliable locks to occur. This directly affects SARH's being able to get a good launch tone and can even be disrupted if the target decides to match your heading. SARHs are not good for chasing another aircraft that's running away from you. You generally need to close the distance to the point you might as well just use a Sidewinder.

2. Do not use PD unless you're targeting an aircraft in ground clutter It's very easy to defeat a PD lock if you're paying attention and have altitude to burn. Your standard Search and ACM radar bands are fine for every other situation.

3. Know your radar sweep coverage! F-4J has three different radar modes that narrows and refreshes the radar pulse faster or shortens its elevation/depression to obtain better locks against radar clutter outside of straight up using PD. Knowing when to use these modes produce better locks.

Originally posted by Ronix97:

Also sometimes i cant lock onto a guy 2 km infront of me again for no reason like 1-2km altitude, my friend in f4ej kai also has this problem

This was touched upon a bit on Point 1, but this is a quirk with how radar systems work and is completely normal. If you're in close distances, use the appropriate tool, the AIM-9. Shooting at a target that's 2km away with any SARH is likely to be trashed. They're just not meant for that kind of engagement and while the AIM-7E-2 for instance was tweaked for closer engagement distances in mind, radar systems just don't work for chase scenarios.

Remember, targets moving away from you = bad. Targets moving towards you = good.

You can take advantage of Radar slaving your AIM-9 at that kind of distance however and use the pretty nutty gimble lock angles of the AIM-9G. If you get good at it, you can send an AIM-9G outside of the target's flare dispersal zone and still hit them.

[chicks99]

If it makes you feel any better, I launched 2 sparrows head on at 10,000m high and they failed to track. No ground clutter, just me a F4C and a AV8. The missiles gave chase for a bit then decided to explode.

Aim9E did a better job than Aim7D.

Phantom radars are just garbage in this game. I also struggle to lock someone up with clear skies when they're above me from 5-6km away, doesn't lock until 2km which is too late to use a sparrow.

[Ivan]

Originally posted by chicks99:

If it makes you feel any better, I launched 2 sparrows head on at 10,000m high and they failed to track. No ground clutter, just me a F4C and a AV8. The missiles gave chase for a bit then decided to explode.

Aim9E did a better job than Aim7D.

Phantom radars are just garbage in this game. I also struggle to lock someone up with clear skies when they're above me from 5-6km away, doesn't lock until 2km which is too late to use a sparrow.

exactly this its ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ impossible to lock onto someone unless they are going towards you and are 3 km away