The jammer, according to tactical reference in the Falcon4 BMS game tactical reference, works to alter the flight path of an incoming missile through noise and deception. I have read elsewhere that it produces clutter that confuses radar.

What I have observed through looking at the radar of aircraft that are jamming is the following. Jamming does not hinder the ability of the radar to get the horizontal left and right location of the aircraft. In fact, in the game lock on modern air combat, Russian aircraft radar can get the horizontal left and right location of a jamming aircraft. The jamming aircraft appear as a '_' symbol moving from top to bottom with no range given until they get close. If Russian aircraft can get the horizontal left and right location of jamming aircraft, more advanced Western aircraft radar can definitely get the horizontal left and right location of jamming aircraft. Therefore, jamming only hinders the range on radar.

On Western aircraft air to air radar, I have observed the following. The radar for jamming aircraft is able to get the range for the most part, but it jumps around from top to bottom at times. The radar is also able to burn through the aircraft's jamming without too much trouble. However, even when the radar has locked on, it has trouble at times keeping a lock. The range of the locked on aircraft will jump around at times.

For surface-to-air missiles sites, I have observed jamming has the following effect on them. Jamming does not seriously hamper a surface-to-air missile's ability to keep a lock on the target aircraft. In Falcon 4 BMS 4, I notice the lock the surface to air missile site has on me is not broken on the radar warning receiver. My guess, however, is that the ranging information jumps around at times from top to bottom. My observation is that jamming makes a launched surface-to-air missile lose its ability to guide itself towards the target aircraft. It does guide itself towards the target aircraft, but it does so less continuously. In other words, the jamming makes a surface-to-air missile have a slower tracking rate.

A slower tracking rate can be illustrated with the following example. If a driver is steering the car down a winding road, he/she needs to make corrections to the changing curvature of the road. If a driver makes corrections slower or less continuously, then he/she is likely to go off the road and crash. Likewise, a missile needs to have a fast tracking rate to steer itself correctly to a target.

The following videos will demonstrate the effect jamming has on a surface-to-air missile. In the first video, the surface to air missile lock will be strong and constant. Just sweeping a 'V' in 3d space gets me shot down real fast. Without the jammer, I need to do certain maneuvers at certain times. To jink a missile with a strong lock and fast tracking rate, the timing of the maneuver is important to shake it. For a missile that's hard to shake, a certain dramatic maneuver, or jerk, at a the right time is necessary. To do this, I need to watch the missile. [see video 1(Falcon4 BMS4)

Full Video Download ( Windows Media) 1 min. 48 sec.]

In the second video I will use the jammer. The jammer has very little/no effect on the surface to air missile site to keep a lock on the aircraft. The Surface to Air missile lock will dissapear from the radar warning receiver little/none of the time. However, the jammer will mess up the quality of the lock. All I need to do is keep sweeping a 'V' in 3d space maneuvering to make the missile miss by a lot. To get the timing correct of each part of the maneuver is not necessary. I do not need to watch the missile. I just need to keep sweeping the 'V'.[see video 2(Falcon4 BMS4)

Full Video Download ( Windows Media) 2 min. 56 sec.]