Two-Plane Road Reconnaissance
Operational Navigation Flight Training Instruction
TWO-PLANE ROAD RECONNAISSANCE
PURPOSE
You will apply what you learned in Tactical Formation, Weapons Delivery, and Operational Navigation to
the more fluid aspects of flying the combat spread, describing and attacking targets, and maintaining
mutual support. Road recce as flown in the Training Command, employs tactics for a low-threat environ-
ment, with little or no anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) or surface to air missiles (SAM's). Recce Missions are
flown over road or railroad segments, river segments, etc., and do not extend to large population or
industrial centers. Armed reconnaissance is a tactical mission aimed against enemy troop deployments
and supplies rather than a strategic mission aimed at enemy support and material production.
The two-plane missions flown in the Training Command are reconnaissance missions. The mission is
flown to seek out and destroy targets of opportunity along enemy lines of communication and to gather
information on enemy defenses, movement and logistics (hence the term reconnaissance or recce). The
real world intent of a reconnaissance mission is to gather intelligence, as detailed as possible, to update
the enemy order of battle. The secondary mission in road reconnaissance, better known as armed
reconnaissance, is to attack targets that are mobile in nature primarily then targets of a fixed or immobile
nature. Target priority will be determined by higher headquarters.
PLANNING
The route planning you learned in ONAV ground school still applies but with some noted exceptions. The
ground feature road/route you intend to follow should be highlighted, not straight lined and route widths
marked in accordance with the AP-1/B. The local routes to plan for are different for each TRAWING with
VT-21 and VT-22 using the IR-135, and VT-7 in Meridian using the IR-044. If on a weapons detachment
in El Centro, the route is the IR-217. ROUTE KNOWLEDGE AND STUDY ARE CRITICAL TO SUC-
CESS IN ROAD RECCE. Weather minimums are ceiling 8,000 ft and visibility 5 miles. For fuel planning
purposes, multiply the EFR for each road reconnaissance leg by 1.2 to allow for attacks and maneuvering.
Plan to fly the route at 300 KIAS with no particular radius of turn. You do not plan for time at the check-
point, but your doghouses should contain all the information utilized on single-plane ONAV chart with the
exception of times. If there is a space left in the doghouse, a TACAN/DME cut can help to identify your
turnpoint and in the T-45C your waypoint entries must be correct. Students are responsible for updating
charts using the CHUM manual. Construct the chart for the route flown plotting all viable diverts with 5,000
ft of hard surface runway and applicable frequencies. Doghouses should include centerline course, fuel,
description, and only obstructions over 1,500 ft will be marked.
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