トレーニング/Training-Maverick

[1] Welcome to the training lesson on the employment of the AGM-65 Maverick. In this lesson, we'll practice targeting and firing live Mavericks against a number of targets on the weapons range.


[2] The AGM-65 Maverick is a precision-guided, stand-off air-to-ground missile that is best suited against armored, air defense, and fortified targets. The Maverick can only be loaded on stations 3 and 9 and either from the LAU-117 single rail launcher or the LAU-88 triple rail launcher. The Maverick family of missiles includes several versions that differ in seeker and warhead types.


The Maverick is a fire-and-forget weapon, meaning, once launched you no longer need to guide the weapon. Practical engagement range of the Maverick is generally restricted by seeker lock on range, and this generally happens between 3 and 7 nm. When entering a combat area, you may wish to use Maverick to eliminate any air defense units prior to approaching the target.


[3] Combat Maverick versions carried by the A-10C include:

- AGM-65D. Imaging infrared seeker with a 125 lb shaped warhead. Can be loaded on LAU-117 or up to three on a LAU-88.

- AGM-65G. Imaging infrared seeker with a 300 lb heavyweight penetrator warhead. Can only be loaded on LAU-117.

- AGM-65H. Electro-optical seeker with a 125 lb shaped warhead. Can be loaded on LAU-117 or up to three on a LAU-88.

- AGM-65K. Electro-optical seeker with a 300 lb heavyweight penetrator warhead. Can only be loaded on LAU-117.


[4] Let's review our payload on the DSMS page. Press OSB-14.


[5] Today, we are carrying two AGM-65D's on station 3 and two AGM-65H's on station 9.


Press OSB-2 to access the Missile Control page.


[6] All Maverick types require approximately 3 minutes to align the seeker gyroscope before being available for use or displaying a video signal from the seeker. As discussed in the DSMS lesson, you can use this page to set automatic seeker power on at a specific clock time or the aircraft's location relative to a specific waypoint. However, because the weapons range is nearby, let's go ahead and start the alignment process now.


Press OSB-4 to engage EO (electro-optical) Power ON.


[7] The EO timer at the bottom-right corner of the left MFCD now indicates time since EO Power was applied.


Now set the right MFCD to the MAV page with OSB-14.


[8] The MAV page is indicating ALIGN while the missile seekers are aligning. Once the alignment process is complete, it will begin to display video from the priority missile.


The "SENSOR" indication along the left side of the display means that no Maverick profile is selected for fire and the missile is being used as an EO sensor.


To make the Maverick easier to control, let's slow down the slew rate. Enter "2" into the UFC scratchpad, followed by OSB-8 on the MAV page. You can adjust the slew rate as desired throughout this mission.


Press the Space bar key to proceed.


[9] Set your steerpoint for waypoint-2 and proceed with the takeoff. Climb to 6,000 ft. Maintain runway heading.


[10] Set the Master Arm switch to ON.


[11] To employ the Maverick most effectively, it's best to first designate a Sensor Point of Interest (SPI) in the target area and then use the Slave All Sensors to SPI command on the HOTAS to slave the Maverick to the SPI. You can then slew the seeker closer to the target and once the missile is tracking, fire away.


[12] Waypoint-3 marks the target range. Set your steerpoint for waypoint-3 ("RANGE") and turn right to put the target range at your 12 o'clock.


[13] The MAV page is now displaying video from the AGM-65H loaded on station 9. Note, this version of the missile uses a CCD (Charged-Coupled Device) camera, which is not suitable for low-light visibility operations, unlike the AGM-65D on station 3, which uses an IR (infra-red) camera.


Keep your airspeed around 200 kts so we have enough time to prepare for the attack.


With the HUD set as SOI, press the HOTAS DMS RIGHT command to select the AGM-65H profile on station-9.


[14] A Dynamic Launch Zone (DLZ) has replaced the SENSOR indication on the left side of the MAV page. The DLZ consist of a collection of indicators that display the Maverick's maximum and minimum range, allowable launch window, the current target range and the estimated time of flight at the bottom of the DLZ.


On the HUD, the "wagon wheel" indicates the missile line of sight (LOS) and will move as you slew the seeker.
Make the Maverick SOI by pressing the HOTAS Coolie Switch RIGHT (long) command or holding the K key on the keyboard.


[15] Your first target will be a pair of T-72s on the SW corner of the array. The target is now marked with RED smoke.


Waypoint-3 ("RANGE") is set directly over the target array. Because the current steerpoint is set by default as the SPI, we can quickly slew the Maverick to the target location by pressing the HOTAS China Hat FORWARD (long) command or holding V on the keyboard.


[16] The four field of view (FOV) corner markers around the center of the display indicate the visible area of the narrow FOV setting.


Zoom in on the target by changing the MAV FOV to NARROW by pressing the HOTAS China Hat FORWARD (short) command or the V key on the keyboard.


[17] The pointing cross below the center of the crosshairs indicates the seeker LOS relative to the nose of the aircraft.
To target using the Maverick, we need to slew the seeker LOS toward the target using the HOTAS Slew Control switch or the ";" "," "." "/" keys on the keyboard. The seeker will attempt to automatically lock onto a contrasting target whenever the slew control switch is released. Because lock on range is highly variable, it may take some time and a few attempts before the seeker is able to find a target. To prevent you from having to constantly slew the seeker to maintain LOS to the target, you can ground-stabilize the missile in the target vicinity by pressing the HOTAS TMS DOWN command or L.CTRL and DOWN arrow keys on the keyboard.


Try now to lock one of the two T-72s marked as your target. Once the target is acquired, the crosshairs will clamp on it and the pointing cross will begin to flash. At this point, you can fire the missile.


[18] Rifle!


[19] Good hit on that target!


Let's come off the target now and fly a few miles out for a second pass with the AGM-65H.


Maintain 6,000 ft.


[20] Break off and try another pass. Get some separation first, so you have time to acquire the target.


[21] Employment of the AGM-65D will be identical, except the video will be in imaging infra-red (IIR). You can use the HOTAS Boat Switch FORWARD and AFT commands to select between white and black MAV indication on the MFCD. Setting the boat switch in the center position will engage the Maverick Force Correlate mode, which can be used to track a specific point of a larger target, such as a building.


[22] Before we roll in for the second pass, let's review the targeting procedure:

- Select the AGM-65D using either the SEL rocker key on the UFC or by making the HUD SOI and pressing the HOTAS DMS LEFT/RIGHT commands or PAGE DOWN/DELETE keys on the keyboard.

- Slave all sensors to SPI by pressing the HOTAS China Hat FORWARD (long) command or hold the V key on the keyboard.

- Select Narrow FOV for the Maverick by pressing the HOTAS China Hat FORWARD (short) command or the V key on the keyboard.

- Slew the seeker toward the target until it acquires a lock. Ground stabilize if necessary by pressing the HOTAS TMS DOWN command or L.CTRL and DOWN arrow keys on the keyboard.

- Fire once in range.


If you need to reset the Maverick to boresight (HUD center), press the HOTAS China Hat AFT (short) command or the C on the keyboard.


Press the Space bar key to proceed.


[23] Your second target will be a pair of air defense vehicles on the NE corner of the array. The target is now marked with RED smoke.


Make sure you have waypoint-3 ("RANGE") selected as the steerpoint and turn back toward the target array.


[24] Rifle!


[25] Good hit on that second target!


[26] Break off! Try another pass.


[27] This concludes the training lesson on the employment of the AGM-65 Maverick missile. You've got another two shots remaining to practice against the remaining targets.