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Terrain-following radar - does it matter?

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 2:19 am
by erichswafford
I saw an old thread on the subject of TFR and its in-game effects, but what I don't understand is how, for instance, an F-111F can engage in terrain-following without activating its TFR.

Specifically:
1) Order the TFR-equipped a/c to Min Altitude and check the terrain-following checkbox.
2) The a/c goes to min alt but doesn't actually activate its TFR (due to EMCON).
3) Manually turning on TFR doesn't seem to make any difference (ie it doesn't grant the a/c any extra ability to fly super low).

So, what am I missing? Seems like you'd need to actually activate the TFR in order to gain the benefit from its use.

Or is there any benefit?

Re: Terrain-following radar - does it matter?

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 2:02 pm
by Kushan04
erichswafford wrote: Thu Jun 05, 2025 2:19 am I saw an old thread on the subject of TFR and its in-game effects, but what I don't understand is how, for instance, an F-111F can engage in terrain-following without activating its TFR.

Specifically:
1) Order the TFR-equipped a/c to Min Altitude and check the terrain-following checkbox.
2) The a/c goes to min alt but doesn't actually activate its TFR (due to EMCON).
3) Manually turning on TFR doesn't seem to make any difference (ie it doesn't grant the a/c any extra ability to fly super low).

So, what am I missing? Seems like you'd need to actually activate the TFR in order to gain the benefit from its use.

Or is there any benefit?
We don't currently model activating TFR's in order to allow low level fling. The "Terrain Following" aircraft/weapon capability codes are what allow flying down to 200ft AGL / 100 ft ASL.

We may do in the future, as it has some ESM implications (e.g. one vehicle per SA-13 battery was/is fitted with a receiver tuned to NATO TFRs, to give early cuing vs F-111s, Tornados, etc.)