What is the difference between Alert 1 and Alert 2?
When an Air Unit is designated in the Air Defense Plan, under the Region’s Coverage, as providing a number of sorties for alert, that number of sorties will be planned for each of that unit’s launch blocks (subject to that unit’s apportionment and allocation). Note: Since these are the “quick response” alerts, for them to be vectored to an intercept, these air units must be located close enough to the zones that they can take off (after the user-defined delay), and fly at Operational speed and intercept the enemy Flight before it departs the zone (even if it is still inbound toward its target). Additionally, its range/endurance may be limited since it will not plan to air refuel on the way to its intercept, though it can make an AR fuel reservation for its return flight back to base. If, after the intercept, it still has fuel and munitions remaining, it will be stationed at the orbit associated with that zone until it needs to depart for home. Based on these factors, users are encouraged to choose units close to zones guarding expected enemy avenues of approach to provide alert; they will have the time to conduct an intercept, and Flights from further away can air refuel on the way to their scheduled orbits as needed.
DCA Flights are planned in this order: Alert 1, Scheduled (Specified or Block), Alert 2. Thus, designating too many Air Units to provide alert sorties will leave too few available for scheduling. After filling the required Alert 1 and scheduled sorties, any remaining unused sorties will be placed into Alert 2 status. Users may recall that previously, Alert 2’s were used for two purposes: As the source of the sorties used for dynamic planning, and to backfill/augment Alert 1’s as they are expended.
Now, since dynamic planning is no longer used, Alert 2 sorties have only one purpose: To augment Alert 1’s. When the Region Controller determines that the ratio of enemy Flights (Flights, not sorties) being tracked in the Region to friendly airborne Flights plus Alert 1 Flights exceeds the user-defined ratio, it will notify the required number of Alert 2 Flights to enter Alert 1 status (and, after the user-defined time delay, to be available to the Sector Controller for launch). This activity is reported in the Air Defense Force Ratio Adjustments instrument. The Sector Controller will launch them as needed to conduct intercepts, not simply to fill vacant orbits.
Note: The Sector Controller is one level subordinate to the Region, and the Sector Controller keeps count of enemy tracks. Therefore, if you have more than one Sector in a Region, the Region Controller will query the Sectors, and add up the enemy Flights tracked, which may result in some double-counting, and in turn moving more than the required number of Flights to Alert 1. One quirk to be aware of: The Region Controller may order Alert 2s not yet “available” (i.e. sorties assigned to a launch block which doesn’t start for 30 more minutes [or whatever the Alert 2 delay is]) to Alert 1 status, resulting in Flights planned as Alert 2 on the ATO actually being advanced to Alert 1 status right at the start of their launch block/alert window. This “feature” should be considered for future enhancement. However, with a set number of alert sorties per day, the effect of this should be minimal; in fact, it prevents a gap at the beginning of each launch block where no sorties could be on Alert 1.
Note: Not all excess DCA-allocated sorties will be placed into Alert 2 status; only those from Air Units designated to provide alert sorties under the Region’s Coverage. Excess sorties available in other units will not be planned or used. Air Units can be designated to provide 0 (zero) sorties of alert; in this case, they will provide no sorties for Alert 1, but will still provide Alert 2 sorties (with sorties in excess of those needed for scheduled orbit coverage).
Finally, users are encouraged to study their scenario to find the proper balance of alert vs. scheduled DCA Flights. Too many alerts will leave unfilled CAPs; too few will allow defenses to be overwhelmed.