Radar Contact Visibility Logic DCS Airspace
Last updated: Mar 28, 2026

In DCS Airspace, the visibility of units on the map follows a specific logic to balance tactical realism with the current technical limitations of the simulator.

1. Air Units

• Friendly Units: 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, and units on the ground) are tracked at all times.
  • Tactical Awareness: This ensures that Tower, Ground, and Tactical controllers have a persistent and reliable picture of all friendly assets, simulating a fully integrated Data Link and IFF network.
  • Operational Consistency: Whether an aircraft is parked, taxiing, or airborne, it will remain visible to ensure seamless Command and Control (C2) operations.
• Enemy Units: Enemy units are only visible when actively detected. To simulate the "Fog of War," an enemy asset will only appear on the map if it is being tracked by a friendly sensor.
  • Sensor Detection: An enemy unit becomes visible only when a friendly asset (AI or Human) detects it via Radar sensor.
  • Data Link Sharing: Once a friendly unit (such as an AWACS or a fighter) gains a sensor track on an enemy, the contact is shared across the network and rendered on the map.
  • Loss of Contact: If no friendly asset maintains a sensor lock or Line of Sight (LOS) on the enemy unit, it will disappear from the map.

 2. Threat Circles (Engagement & Detection Zones)

Threat circles represent the operational range of a unit's sensors or weapons. Their visibility is dynamic and depends on the mission source (MIZ) and the operational status of the IADS (Integrated Air Defense System).

A. Friendly Units

• Visibility: Threat circles for all friendly units are always visible to provide controllers with a clear understanding of the defensive umbrella.
• Operational State: These circles will automatically hide or change color/style if the unit is:
  • Destroyed: The unit is no longer functional.
  • Disabled via IADS Management: The unit has been toggled "OFF" or suppressed by the system's IADS controllers.
  • Radar Requirement: If a threat specifically requires a radar to function (e.g., a SAM battery) and the group's radar is destroyed or missing, the circle is removed.

B. Hostile & Neutral Units (Threat Intelligence)

The visibility of non-friendly threat circles depends on whether a mission file (.miz) was processed via DCS AOC Tools:

• With DCS AOC Tools (.miz) Integration:
  • Known Threats: If a unit is pre-set as "Visible" in the mission file, its threat circle is displayed on the map from the start of the session.
  • Hidden Threats: If a unit is set as "Hidden" in the mission file, its threat circle remains invisible until the unit is actively detected by a friendly asset.
• Without MIZ Integration (Standalone):
  • Detection-Based: If no mission file is loaded to provide intelligence, all hostile threat circles remain hidden by default. They will only appear on the map once the parent unit is detected by a friendly sensor (Radar, DLink, Visual, etc.).

3. User Display Filters
Even if a unit is "visible" according to the logic above, it may be hidden from your specific view by active UI filters. The system checks three parameters for airborne units:

• Altitude: Units must fall within the Min/Max altitude range set in the filter sidebar.
• Speed: Units must fall within the Min/Max Ground Speed (GS) limits.
• Category/Type: If specific categories (e.g., Interceptors, Tankers, Helos) are deselected in the filters, those units will be hidden.

Filter Overrides (High-Priority Units)
If a unit is currently designated as a Track of Interest or is part of a Group of Responsibility, it will remain visible on the map. To distinguish these from "standard" filtered contacts, they are displayed with a specific dashed symbology. This allows controllers to focus on their assigned area while maintaining a visual link to essential tactical targets.