Manual

CARRIER OPERATIONSIn a way, FLEET DEFENDER is as mucha simulation about air/sea combat as it isabout air-to-air dogfighting. The centrepiece of this campaign environment is theaircraft carrier. It is in your best interest tohelp protect the carrier because aftereach mission, you are required to returnto the ship and land, whether you win,lose, or draw.FLEET DEFENDER revolves around yourability to successfully operate off anaircraft carrier at sea. You can be the topgun in your squadron, averaging three orfour kills per sortie. You can be the bestaviator aboard ship, always catching a“three-wire”. None of that matters if yourcarrier is sunk. It doesn’t matter howgood you are, nobody really cares. If amulti-billion dollar ship is destroyed takingthousands of servicemen to the bottom inthe process, don’t expect people to shedtears over your career coming to an end.Fortunately, every precaution is taken toensure the carrier remains in one piece.Your and your wing-man are just one partof these precautions. A minimum of six F-14s are stationed around the carrier at alltimes. Known as CAPs (Combat AirPatrols), pairs of F-14s are positionedaround the carrier so that they are able tointercept enemy aircraft approaching fromany direction.An additional pair of Tomcats is kept onthe deck of the carrier in case a CAPwould need immediate assistance.Known as the Ready-Five, these aircraftare ready and waiting to go. They can belaunched in well under five minutesshould the need arise. In addition to F-14s, all manner of friendly aircraft arecontinuously taking-off and landing.THE CARRIER AIR WINGE-2C “HAWKEYE”Next to the F-14, the E-2C “Hawkeye” isperhaps the most important aircraftaboard ship. It is an Airborne EarlyWarning (AEW) aircraft, distinguishableby a large radome which houses apowerful radar used to scan the sky. Itthis respect it is much like its land-basedcousin- the AWACS. Despite itsimportance, there are only a few of theseaircraft on board a carrier. They arejealously guarded by at least one CAP atall times.The E-2C Hawkeye is the Navy’s principle eye-inthe-sky.THE HAWKEYE “PICTURE”In FLEET DEFENDER, the E-2CHawkeye orbits the carrier keeping aconstant close watch on anything movingwithin 200 miles. It sends out frequenttactical reports to the various F-14 CAPsso that nothing sneaks up on the carrier.These reports are known as Hawkeye“pictures”. You may request a Hawkeye“picture” at any time during a mission bypressing the Hawkeye Picture (shift PKey).The Hawkeye controller responds byreporting on the enemy aircraft nearest to