AGM-88C

Air-to-Surface High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). Anti-radiation guidance homes in on radiowave emissions from a radar, allowing it to attack surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. Uses the HTS (HARM Targeting System) pod.

HARM Tables

Master Mode A-G

DED HARM Page LIST > 0: MISC > 0: HARM

DED Rocker Dobber Up/Down

Radar Code ENTR

Dobber RTN

TMS Up Handoff Threat

TMS Up Long Cycle Submodes

TMS Down

TMS Left Cycle Tables

TMS Right Cycle Threat

HARM Range Table

Altitude Airspeed Range

40.000ft 380 40nm

30.000ft 400 35nm

20.000ft 400 25nm

10.000ft 400 20nm

01.000ft 550 15nm

Position Lock-On

POS (LoAL) Position Known After Launch

HAS (LoBL) Harm as Sensor Unknown Before Launch

DL

Stations 3 4 6 7

The HARM missile warhead is designed to damage a radar

Magnum

If exact location known POS / PB or EOM

PB Greater distances but head on 

EOM Shorter distances but offset

1. SOI: HAD

2. Lock Target on HAD

3. SOI: TGP

4. Locate & Designate Target

5. Set Markpoint > STPT

6. SOI: HAD

7. Unlock Target from HAD to use Weapon [?]

8. SOI: WPN > POS - EOM/PB

9. Loft & Fire

EOM The most exact

PB Longer Ranges

Change from POS-PB to POS-EOM for HAD footprint

POS Position

Radar Within 20nm & 120o from STPT

. Fire from longer range 

. At 20nm from STPT AGM-88 will open its own pasive seaker

. To fire HARM is not necessary the SAM to emit

. To hit the SAM it must emit

Mode POS

Submode EOM/RUK/PB

TBL1/2/3 Select Appropriate Table

UFC Edit Tables (or List > 0 > 0: HARM)

Select Specific Radar

Fire When 80-90% within Dynamic Launch Zone (DLZ)

Submode Precise STPT Distance Seeker FOV Loft Angle Max Deviation Shot

EOM Location 5nm 8nm Narrow Min/Max 180o Off-Axis Near Active SAM/AAA

RUK Type 20nm 30nm Wide 120o Off-Axis

PB Location & Type 13nm Wide Min/Opt/Max10o On-Axis Long Range

Dynamic Launch Zone

• AMZ (Aircraft Manoeuver Zone) range/zone where the missile can reach the tgt if the launching aircraft lofts or turns towards the tgt first

• MMZ (Missile Manoeuver Zone)  range/zone where the missile can reach the target by doing entirely its own maneuvering

UFC

• Rocker Toggle Tables

• Dobber Toggle Radars

The specific radar for the specific position has to be selected (clicked) on the left side of WPN MFD

HAS Harm as Sensor

A Aquisition ie 3A

T Track ie 3T

TMS Left Toggle Tables

Mode HAS

TBL1/2/3 Select Appropriate Table

UFC Edit Tables if necessary (or List > 0 > 0: HARM)

CTR/LT/RT Search: Center / Left Bias / Right Bias

SRCH Choose Radar Types

RS Reset Scan

WPN ie 3T (T = Track)

Slew Cursor TMS Up: Lock >  Fire

AN/ASQ-213 HTS HARM Targering System with HAS / POS

HAD Harm Attack Display

Mode DEP / CEN

View NORM / ZOOM

THRT Treat Selection

Magnum Wait for PGM2 for good solution

CNTL

. MEM (Not Functional)

. NO (Not Functional)

. FR ON / FL ON / FR OFF

. GS OF (Not Functional) Restricts HARM to Region. Overrides other Modes.

. TI (Not Functional)

. TI Glide and Flex

. TI (Highlight) Glide / No Flex

. NC No Glide / Flex

. SD No Glide / No Flex

Green Radar not emitting or outside HTS footprint

Yellow Search Mode

Red Track Mode

Red Flashing Guiding Missile

Box Empty Threat Selected, handoff in progress

Box Filled Red Handoff complete

TMS Left Display SEAD DED page (GPS Coordinates: Varries with PGM Accuracy)

TMS Right Cycle Emitters

TMS Aft Return DED to CNI

PGM1-5 Target Position Quality (1=Best-5=Worst)

FR ON Filter: On  (Τα φίλια radar δεν εμφανίζονται)

FR OFF Filter: Off (Τα φίλια radar εμφανίζονται)

Lock Emitter POI (TGP) (Varies with PGM)

In order to determine the location of a radar emitter, make sure you do not fly directly towards it try to fly perpendicularly instead. A position quality accurate enough for a good shot should be either PGM 2 (great) or PGM 1 (best).

If desired, you can turn on the HMCS (Helmet Mounted Cueing System) and see on the helmet overlay the position of the designated target.

Employment with HTS Pod (POS/EOM Sub Mode)

Το HTS έχει νόημα με Position Mode

To HAS Mode χρησιμοποιεί τους αισθητήρες του HARM

Triangulation!

1. HARM

2. HTS

3. RWR

Position Known (POS) mode is a pre planned employment mode that relies on a steerpoint being placed at or near the target radar emitter The radar type will be downloaded to the ALIC, and the HARM will fly towards the target steerpoint until the radar is detected, at which point it will home on the radar signal.

Pre-Briefed (PB) sub mode is the most effective profile at longer ranges but requires an on bearing attack. By default, PB uses an existing steerpoint as a target reference. To launch with PB selected, the pilot must first turn the aircraft to point at the target, then fly to the AMZ (Aircraft Manoeuver Zone), then loft and launch once within the MMZ (Missile Manoeuver Zone). When in Pre Briefed mode, you must be within 10 deg of bearing to the target.

Range Unknown (RUK) sub mode is the most versatile profile when working with degraded target data, mainly in situations where you have a general idea of where the target is but with a significant uncertainty about its location. The HARM in RUK mode can look for targets within 20nm of the selected steerpoint used for reference. To launch with RUK selected, the pilot must fly the aircraft into the MMZ (Missile Manoeuvering Zone), where the missile can make all required maneuvering to reach the target. RUK is much more tolerant of inaccurate target steerpoints or when fighting threats where only bearing information is available. When in RUK mode, you must be within 120 deg of bearing to the target. Take note that once aircraft enters the MMZ (Missile Manoeuver Zone) range on the HLS (HARM Launch Scale), no predicted time to impact nor impact time are computed on the WPN page.

In Equation of Motion (EOM) sub mode, you can launch from any relative bearing (even targets that are behind you!), as long as you follow the cues to the MMZ (Missile Manoeuver Zone). First fly towards the target until the HLS (HARM Launch Scale) range caret indicates that you are within the AMZ (Aircraft Manoeuver Zone). If a required turn is indicated on the datablock below the HLS, turn as indicated until it reads 00. You do not necessarily need to be facing the target, as long as there is no required turn. Then, pull up until the VVI (Velocity Vector Indicator) is between the minimum and maximum loft cues on the ASL (Azimuth Steering Line). When the FOV box is flashing, you can launch. This mode should only be used when the location of the emitter is well known (ie near a known steerpoint).

We will be attacking a target that is directly on a steerpoint that is already in our flight plan (ie Steerpoint No 4). Another option would be to designate a markpoint and use it as a reference.

PB is prebriefed mode and has the longest range, because it assumes that the coordinates that were entered are very close to where the SAM's radar actually is. You will have to follow the cue on the HUD for the missile to be able to reach the target if you're firing at maximum range.

RUK is range unknown mode, works pretty much like prebriefed, but due to the larger search area, the indicated range is smaller than with PB.

EOM is equations of motion mode and allows you to fire off-boresight (e.g. you can fire while flanking the SAM site), and the range indicated is calculated depending on your aircraft's attitude, and obviously even less than in range-unknown mode if you're e.g. flanking the SAM site, because the missile will have to turn towards the site first, which costs energy, and as a result, reduces range. 

EOM: The most exact mode. Primarily used when we have a steerpoint on the exact location of the SAM. HARM missile lofts for greater range.

PB: A little less exact than EOM. Primarily used when we have a steerpoint in the vicinity of the SAM. HARM missile lofts for greater range. Lofting cues are also shown on HUD in this mode to increase range by aircraft pitch up.

RUK: Used when we only know the general direction of the SAM and not the range. HARM does not loft, and goes active shortly after launch to search for targets with a 120 degree FOV. 

• Is there any real benefit of using EOM over PB?

Yes, EOM mode is very useful when you are trying to get inactive radar to activate and start pinging you, you can pas the site close, for example on your left side, ready to bank and run, and fire the missile at the same time, you don't have to point your nose at the radar.

PB has greater range (range depends on altitude and speed of the aircraft that fires the missile) but nose needs to be pointed towards the radar, it is great to use against radars that are already emitting and you don't want to get close and risk getting shot. PB only permits a very few degrees off. Its mostly for long shots. 

• Even though lacking HUD lofting cues, lofting before launch seems to work fine in EOM too.

Yes Viper has slightly different launch rules than Hornet, as for lofting, you can loft any missile, or bomb all of them will have benefit from vertical velocity. 

PB: EOM and PB are similar in a lot of ways. Historically PB was a mode of launch in the F-4 (and other planes) involving a loft. The PB mode in the F-16 is the only one which inhibits launch outside of a certain azimuth of bearing directly to the target point. It has a relatively early and wide search program which is good for making sure it hits something. The downside is you can hit the wrong thing is a busy environment and off-axis attacks aren't supported.

RUK is a degraded mode with the widest footprint which is terrible for being selective and worse energy management than PB. It is the true "to whom it may concern".

EOM has a precise footprint for when you know exactly where the emitter is and you don't want it to home in outside this area. For absolute standoff range I don't expect that EOM is dramatically worse than PB. Maybe the math going on in EOM is harder which taxes the processor more, I don't know.

No reason for RUK to be not viable for targets with the exception that they are probably not emitting all the time as required for a POS attack. A HAS attack is different in that you genuinely detect threat emissions before firing. Lofting POS shots at a SA-19 or similar probably won't kill one because they aren't constantly emitting like a strategic SAM might (and even then strategic SAMs tend to rely on other radars for alerts.) A big part of the SEAD mission is firing HARMs which never kill a target because the SAM radars never switched on which was the few minutes the striker airplanes needed to get in and out of the target area unmolested.

Adding to what's mentioned about EOM being more precise, it has a narrower seeker field of view once activated, so the steerpoint must be extremely close to the target. PB has a wider seeker field of view, so the steerpoint doesn't have to be as precise. IIRC PB mode also has a 120-second self-destruct timer that must be taken into account. No idea if this is in DCS but it was in "that other" Viper sim.

HAD (HTS) shots are not POS shots, they aren't EOM/PB/RUK but their own thing. I think they're closest to EOM but it probably depends on the FOM of the target location. It should be relatively narrow compared to some of the wider POS shots.

In DCS all of the POS modes are fully wide search for the entire flight. A POS-EOM will find something a good 90 degrees off axis a few seconds after shooting and ignore its assigned target area. I think realistically EOM is a late-game search of maybe a 1nm patch, PB a mid-game search of ~5nm patch, RUK an early-game lane of about ~10nm either side of axis.

Wait if they're not POS shots then why does switching between POS modes in Wags' video change the HARM footprint displayed in the HAD (and also the POS mode is displayed in the bottom right corner of the HAD page)?

My understanding is if you have HAD and WPN up at the same time (left/right MFDs) the WPN page will be forced to the HAS-POS-DL menu because HAD is overriding all other modes. I see in the video HAD and WPN are open at the same time and WPN isn't forced to menu. According to the latest video HAD is acting like just another SPI source (with TGP even slaved to SPI). I don't know which is correct but obviously use the DCS reference for DCS behavior.

There is a confusion about "footprint". Footprint can refer to the area the missile can maneuver to. This maneuver footprint is what is shown as the white bordered area on the HAD format. The search footprint is the region which is searched when the missile seeker is activated and is not displayed in any mode as far as I know. The shape of the maneuver footprint and search footprint are quite different. It makes sense that the maneuver footprint 

How do you know that in DCS all POS shots are seeking right off the rail?

Because I've tested it. Put a waypoint that's your EOM target and an emitter many miles away but within detection region of the HARM. Firing an EOM shot against the waypoint (without an emitter there to track) will show the missile very quickly finding the distant emitter and flying to that. I'm not saying that all modes are identical (although I haven't seen any particular post-launch difference in seeker behavior) but in a crowded environment missiles aren't waiting to search or narrowing their search to the vicinity of the assigned target point. 

SEAD vs DEAD

There is a subtlety between SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences) and DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defences). In the grand scheme of things the primary intent when launching a HARM is to force radar emitters to turn off their radar in order to not get detected then destroyed by the missile. This is what suppression of air defenses missions are supposed to do. However there are weapons better suited to destroy SAM sites such as cluster munitions, which are great for DEAD missions. One useful aspect of the HTS (HARM Targeting System) pod is that not only does it allow the triangulation of the radar emitter positions, but it also allows the pilot to slave other sensors to these triangulated positions. As an example if you fired a HARM missile at an enemy SAM site, you can select other weapons re-designate the target on the HAD (HARM Attack Display), then use the targeting pod to observe the target and perform BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment). In this situation, we have just fired a HARM missile to the target and we want to finish it off with CBU-105 cluster munitions.

ToT and SEAD synchronized ie οι βολές SEAD γίνονται ώστε να χτυπήσουν το στόχο τους την ίδια στιγμή που θα βρίσκουν το στόχο τους και οι βολές των strike.

Με skynet για να μη κλείσει radar διατηρούμε πορεία 90o προς το στόχο (radar) και κάνουμε βολή έτσι.

When DED = 7. MARK, it's not possible to lock targets with HTS