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veafCarrierOperations — Carrier Recovery Management

Module ID: CARRIER | File: veafCarrierOperations.lua

See it in game: step 16 “Stennis and Roosevelt carriers” of the demo mission.

Purpose

Manages aircraft carrier recovery operations. When players start a recovery, the carrier automatically turns into the wind to achieve the desired wind-over-deck speed, holds that heading for the recovery period, then returns to its original route. Displays BRC, TACAN, ICLS, and radio information.

Dependencies

  • veafRadio — F10 menu
  • veafRemote — exposes a carrier remote command

Enable

veafCarrierOperations.initialize()

There is no per-carrier registration API. On initialize(), the module scans every group in the mission and automatically registers any group containing a known carrier unit type (see Supported Carrier Types). Its initial route, side and ATC data (TACAN/ICLS/LINK4/ACLS/tower, read from the carrier's programmed tasks) are captured at that point. Simply place a carrier group in the mission editor — no script call is needed.

The module also manages two optional support groups (a rescue helicopter and a recovery tanker), likewise detected by name — see Pedro and S3B recovery tanker.

Configuration (mission.yaml)

Carrier operations are enabled via the CARRIER module ID. Carriers themselves are not declared in mission.yaml: they are auto-discovered from the carrier groups present in the mission (see Enable).

modules:
  CARRIER:
    enabled: true          # default: true
    logLevel: info        # optional log level override
    init:
      include_carrier_operations_radio: true  # add carrier menu to F10 (default: true)
      operations_scheduler: true              # run VEAF's operations loop, every 60 s (default: true)
Field Type Default Required Description
enabled boolean true No Enable or disable the module
logLevel string (global) No Per-module log level override
init.include_carrier_operations_radio boolean true No Add the carrier operations menu to the F10 radio tree
init.operations_scheduler boolean true No false initializes the carriers and their menu without starting VEAF's loop that restarts their operations every 60 s: for a mission that drives its carriers itself

Minimal example

modules:
  CARRIER:
    enabled: true

Key Configuration Constants

Constant Default Description
veafCarrierOperations.MAX_OPERATIONS_DURATION 45 Auto-stop after N minutes
veafCarrierOperations.ALIGNMENT_MANOEUVER_SPEED 20 kts Carrier speed while turning into wind
veafCarrierOperations.MIN_WINDSPEED_FOR_CHANGING_HEADING 4 kts Minimum wind speed to warrant a turn
veafCarrierOperations.MIN_CARRIER_SPEED 4 kts Minimum carrier steaming speed
veafCarrierOperations.DisableSecurity false If true, anyone can start/stop recovery

Supported Carrier Types

The module knows the angled-deck offset for all stock DCS carriers:

DCS Type Angled deck offset Wind over deck
Stennis, CVN_71/72/73/75, Forrestal 9.05° 25 kts
KUZNECOW, CV_1143_5 9° 25 kts
LHA_Tarawa −1° (straight deck) 20 kts

Pedro and S3B recovery tanker

Beyond the carrier itself, the module automatically manages two support groups, detected by name — no script call, no mission.yaml entry. Just place them in the mission editor following the naming convention.

Group Expected name Role Automatic positioning
Pedro <carrier unit name> Pedro Rescue helicopter (SH-60B) 250 ft, 1 nm to starboard, riding along with the carrier at the same speed and heading
S3B tanker <carrier unit name> S3B-Tanker Emergency recovery tanker (S-3B Tanker) 8000 ft, 10 nm aft and 4 nm to starboard, refueling on the BRC

<carrier unit name> is the name of the carrier unit (identical to the group name for a carrier alone in its group, the common case). Example: for a carrier unit named CVN-73, place the groups CVN-73 Pedro and CVN-73 S3B-Tanker.

Once named correctly, both groups are, on every operations cycle:

  • auto-detected;
  • respawned when destroyed;
  • routed automatically, their path (re)computed to stay in formation with the carrier.

If a group is missing, the module ignores it and logs a warning — No Pedro group named <name> or No Tanker group named <name> — without blocking operations.

Deck lights

When air operations start, the module sets the carrier's lights to recovery (the editor's AC RECOVERY); when they stop, it gives them back to DCS (AUTO). It goes through the editor's trigger action SET CARRIER LIGHTING MODE, which mission scripts do not have: it can only be reached through net.dostring_in. On a server whose MissionScripting.lua removes net, the lights stay as DCS sets them, a warning in dcs.log says so, and operations run as before.

F10 Radio Menu

The top-level CARRIER OPS menu holds a CARRIER OPS - BLUE and a CARRIER OPS - RED submenu, each containing one submenu per carrier (named after the carrier group). When operations are stopped, each carrier submenu offers:

  • Start carrier air operations for 45 minutes — turn into the wind and open a 45-minute recovery window
  • Start carrier air operations for 90 minutes — same, for 90 minutes (MAX_OPERATIONS_DURATION × 2)
  • ATC - Request informations — TACAN, ICLS, LINK 4 / ACLS, tower, BRC and remaining time, plus current navigation and weather

While operations are running, the two Start items are replaced by:

  • End air operations — stop recovery and send the carrier back to its initial route

By default the Start/End items are secured: the group acts at the level of its lowest-graded occupant (see veafSecurity). Set veafCarrierOperations.DisableSecurity = true to make them open to everyone.

Each side sees only its own submenu. A red pilot does not see CARRIER OPS - BLUE, and the other way round. Before 6.15.10 both submenus were visible to everyone, so a red player could start and stop the blue carrier's operations. The top-level CARRIER OPS menu stays shared, since it carries the help entry.

See Also