DCS Airspace Unit Visibility and Detection Logic
In DCS Airspace, the visibility of units and contacts on the tactical map follows a defined detection and display logic designed to balance tactical realism with the current technical limitations of DCS World. The system distinguishes between friendly units, detected hostile contacts, threat information, and user interface filters.
This means that map visibility does not represent an independent external radar model. For hostile contacts, DCS Airspace follows the detection information provided by the DCS World simulation and its available sensors, preserving the simulator's fog of war and sensor-driven tactical picture.
1. Air Unit Visibility
Air units are displayed according to their coalition and current detection state.
Friendly Units
- Persistent Visibility: Friendly units are always visible on the map. Due to current simulator limitations and API constraints, all assets belonging to your coalition, including human players, AI aircraft, and ground units, are tracked at all times.
- Tactical Awareness: This provides Tower, Ground, and Tactical controllers with a persistent and reliable picture of friendly assets, simulating an integrated Data Link and IFF network.
- Operational Consistency: Whether an aircraft is parked, taxiing, or airborne, it remains visible to support continuous Command and Control (C2) operations.
Enemy Units
- Detection-Based Visibility: Enemy units are only visible when they are actively detected by a friendly sensor, preserving the fog of war.
- Sensor Detection: An enemy unit becomes visible when a friendly asset, whether AI or human-controlled, detects it through an available radar sensor.
- Data Link Sharing: Once a friendly unit such as an AWACS aircraft or fighter establishes a sensor track on an enemy, the contact can be shared across the network and rendered on the DCS Airspace tactical map.
- Loss of Contact: If no friendly asset maintains the relevant sensor detection or Line of Sight (LOS) to the enemy unit, the contact disappears from the tactical display.
2. Threat Circles and Engagement Zones
Threat circles represent the operational range of a unit's sensors or weapons. Their visibility is dynamic and depends on the mission source, the available .miz mission data, and the operational status of the Integrated Air Defense System (IADS).
Friendly Threat Circles
- Persistent Visibility: Threat circles for friendly units are normally visible to provide controllers with a clear representation of the defensive umbrella.
- Operational State: Threat circles automatically hide or change their visual state when the associated unit is no longer operational.
- Destroyed Units: If the unit is destroyed, it is no longer functional and its threat representation is removed or updated accordingly.
- IADS Disabled Units: If a unit is toggled OFF or suppressed through IADS Management, its threat representation is updated accordingly.
- Radar-Dependent Systems: If a threat requires an operational radar, such as a SAM battery, and the associated radar is destroyed or unavailable, its threat circle is removed.
Hostile and Neutral Threat Intelligence
The visibility of hostile and neutral threat circles depends on whether the mission has been processed through DCS AOC Tools.
- With DCS AOC Tools (.miz) Integration:
- Known Threats: If a unit is configured as Visible in the mission file, its threat circle is displayed from the beginning of the session.
- Hidden Threats: If a unit is configured as Hidden in the mission file, its threat circle remains hidden until the unit is actively detected by a friendly asset.
- Without MIZ Integration (Standalone):
- Detection-Based Threat Display: When no mission file is loaded to provide predefined intelligence, hostile threat circles remain hidden by default and appear only when the associated unit is detected by a friendly sensor, including Radar, Data Link, Visual detection, or other supported detection sources.
3. User Display Filters
Even when a unit is visible according to the detection and visibility logic above, it can still be hidden from an individual operator's view by active DCS Airspace display filters. These filters change what is presented to the operator without changing the underlying tactical detection state.
For airborne units, the display filters can use three parameters:
- Altitude: Units must fall within the configured minimum and maximum altitude range.
- Speed: Units must fall within the configured minimum and maximum Ground Speed (GS) range.
- Category and Type: If specific categories such as Interceptors, Tankers, or Helicopters are disabled, the corresponding units are hidden from the operator's view.
Filter Overrides for Priority Contacts
Some contacts have priority over the standard display filters. A unit designated as a Track of Interest or assigned to a Group of Responsibility remains visible even when it would normally be excluded by the active filters.
These priority contacts use dedicated dashed tactical symbology to distinguish them from standard filtered contacts. This allows controllers to focus on their assigned area of responsibility while maintaining visual awareness of important tactical tracks.
In summary: DCS Airspace separates the simulation's detection state from the operator's display preferences. Friendly assets provide persistent awareness, hostile contacts follow the sensor-driven tactical picture of DCS World, threat information reflects the operational state of relevant systems, and display filters control only what each individual controller sees on the workstation.