The complete guide to JTACs

[Guilty_Stalker]

Welcome to my guide for would be all aspiring JTACs. Here I am going to set out my preferred method for setting up an air support squad, the required kits, the tactics used, and other hopefully handy tips. This guide will use Muttrah City v2 for its references. All these are my own opinion, so you may have other strategies. Feel free to post them below, and I'll try and add them to the guide.

The Squad

First off, you will need at least the following;

1x Officer
2x Pilots w/ Cobra
1 x Pilot w/ Attack Huey (opt)

All members of this squad should have VOIP with microphones, for obvious reasons regarding spotting targets, and relaying CAS grids. Having the JTAC, and optionally the pilot and gunner in the SL channel of mumble also helps, reducing the need for typed messages, and speeding up the arrival of CAS.

You want to try and have minimum amount of people in your squad. This helps to eliminate unnecessary radio chatter or text. It also helps to streamline the communications between pilots and JTAC. I use an officer kit in this case, instead of a sniper, because if you take the sniper kit, you are doing the following;

-Removing a valuable kit from you teams requestable pool.

-Making yourself a higher priority target. If a random MEC grunt sees an officer ontop of the crane, he may just let it slide. If he sees a sniper, he's more likely to try and kill you, and claim your kit.

-Tempting yourself with kills. With the officer kit, you only have an ACOG, with pretty limited zoom, so you are less likely to try for kills. With sniper, this situation is reversed, and with attempts at kills comes increased chances of detection.

As a JTAC, your primary objective is to stay hidden, in order to direct the CAS to its targets. If you are off getting kills, and being killed, you are disrupting that spotting process, consequently making it more dangerous for your pilots.

Getting in Position

Choosing a good position is often one of the most difficult choices for a JTAC.

The location does not always need to be at high altitude, with unobstructed views over the map. That may be beneficial in most cases, but there are times, especially when you have two JTACs in the squad, when it is better to follow squads on the ground. This gives you a better sense of enemy positions, and so you are more able to give accurate target fixes for the CAS. You are also able to prioritise targets that are most harmful to the infantry, and have them taken out. This method does have many drawbacks though. One of the prime reasons for a JTAC, is to guide CAS in safely, and help it locate and evade AA position. When on the ground, especially on Muttrah, you can lose sight of the bigger picture, and you are giving your pilots a higher risk of running into AA, or APCs.

The best location for a JTAC is usually on a high, yet concealed vantage point, with good views of the surrounding area. Notable locations on Muttrah include the crane, the mountain ranges along A1 and A8, and the hotels. Any location that you choose should be safe, to avoid enemy attention, with good views over the rooftops, where AA is most likely to be located. A view of the streets is also recommended, in order to spot APCs, an other potentially deadly threat to the pilots. You must take care to conceal yourself in these locations, so as not to attract unwanted attention. i.e no random shooting, or helicopters hovering just above you.

Calling in the strike

The GLTD (Ground Laser Target Designator), will be your primary tool as a JTAC. It is located in position, “9”, of your equipment slots. It works just like binoculars, except it has two levels of zoom, and, when you press fire, it emits a green box, which attaches to any vehicles you are aiming and, or, if there are no vehicles, the ground. The box does not travel instantaneously to the target. It travels at around 300m/s, and so you must fire it like a normal weapon, as if shooting to kill a target. Also remember to only click once. That is all it takes to fire the box, and more will just keep resetting it, annoying both yourself, and the pilots. For a more detailed guide about the GLTD, I recommend reading Spuz36's excellent guide here.

When you have spotted the target, the process of calling in the strike begins. First off, is to scan the area for AA. This will be the most dire threat to your Cobra. If the area is clear, proceed with calling in the strike. First, place an attack marker on the target. This will let your pilots know the general location of the target. Describe to them the nature of the target. For example, “multiple infantry on mosque roof, including one HAT”, or, “APC travelling along shore road heading north”. Pieces of information such as this are vital for a safe attack run. It is also advisable to recommend an attack vector, if the target is, for example, hidden in an alley way. It may be shield by buildings to its north and east, so you would advise the Cobra to proceed from South – North, or West – East, to ensure a good hit on the target. Once the Cobra is advised of the target, and is inbound, lase the target. One click will do, but ensure that, if it is a moving vehicle, the lase has, “stuck”, on it. Also be ready to update your attack marker with locations of moving targets.

Hopefully the Cobra will arrive and eliminate the target. You must then be alert for any AA trails attempting to fire upon it, and mark them for later strikes. Report back to the Cobra on the effects fo their strike, and if necessary, and if it is safe, recall them for another strike.


Still to come;

Strikes on AA positions.
CAS for Infantry SLs.
CAS, Mumble, and you.
Other tips.


This is NOT the finally version of the guide. I have been working on this for a few days now, and with another few CAS guide being posted, I thought I had better post this one for early criticism and comments.

[Megagoth1702]

That's the basics, good enough for everybody to start off as a good air strike commander. Great job summing this up and writing down mate, really appreciated.

[Rudd]

Guilty is very good at this, using mumble he was able to stay with the infantry, to defend them with air power and be defended at the same time.

[cyberzomby]

Nice one Guilty! If a proper map comes along this evenint I will most certainly try this out!