Tasking

A central part in both BMS and DCS is the tasking of an aircraft or package.

BMS Tasks

In BMS, the tasking of a flight determines the mission success criteria for that flight, commonly in relation to the survival or destruction of some other set of units. Often, the flight has to check in and check out with AWACS, FAC, or other air controllers to explicitly start and end the tasking period, or the actions during the flight will simply not count towards mission completion.

Task	Description	BMS Success criteria	DCS Equivalent
AI	Air Interdiction. missions to prevent reinforcements reaching the front line. There is no specific target assigned between the two target steerpoints and your flight is free to hunt down reinforcement and logistics units (actually any unit will do).	Destroy as many targets as possible.	CAS
AMBUSHCAP	Ambush Combat Air Patrol. Same as CAP but you are hiding from the OPFOR, usually behind a mountain at low altitude.	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time.	CAP
BARCAP	Barrier Combat Air Patrol. A standard CAP where your flights will protect a geographical area from enemy aircraft. If you have to leave early for whatever reason you must request relief from the AWACS. Try not to fly too far from your CAP point and set a commit criterion of 25 NM. Flying too far from the CAP route stops the clock as far as counting towards your patrol time (usually 30 minutes but that depends on the flight plan). The difference between CAP and DCA is that CAP is not tied to specific assets so it is easier to get success with survival and CAP time, even if you did not shoot any OPFOR aircraft down.	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time.	CAP
BDA	Bomb Damage Assessment. Same as RECCE but post-strike to evaluate the strike effectiveness.	Fly within 2nm slant range carrying a Low Alt camera.	Reconnaissance
CAP	Same as BARCAP		CAP
CAS	Same as PRE-PLAN CAS		CAS
DCA	Defensive Counter Air. DCA missions are meant to protect friendly assets in a particular area. DCA flight plans have two CAP points and a patrol time. The main problem with DCA is knowing which asset to defend with a war going on around you. The difference between DCA and CAP is that CAP is not tied to specific assets so it is easier to get success with survival and CAP time, even if you did not shoot any OPFOR aircraft down.	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time. Assigned asset must survive.	CAP
DEAD	Destruction of Enemy Air Defences. As the title implies you must destroy as many specific radars and/or launchers as possible at the target steerpoints.	At least one assigned radar and/or launcher asset must be destroyed.	SEAD
DEEP STRIKE	Same as STRIKE but deep behind enemy lines.		Ground Strike, Precision Strike
ESCORT	Your flight must protect a package from OPFOR aircraft. You will meet with your target package and fly with them (usually in front of them to ensure they are not attacked by enemy aircraft). The trick with Escort is to find a good compromise between commit criteria and staying with the package. Enemy forces will try to drag you away from your target, so other enemy flights can destroy them while you are not there to protect them.	Assigned package must not sustain any losses.	Escort
FAC(A)	Forward Air Controller (Aircraft) mission. Although the F-16 is not the best platform for FAC duties it is quite possible to direct strike flights in MP with the TGP and Laser Spot Tracker capabilities. You can now even illuminate and guide other flights’ LGB weapons. When tasked with FAC duties you must assist in the destruction of as many enemy ground units as possible around the 2 target steerpoints. This tasking is best flown in MP.	At least one assigned unit must be destroyed.	AFAC
HAVCAP	High Value CAP. Same as CAP but mission success is tied to the survival of the high value asset you are tasked to protect. CAP patrol time is usually longer with HAVCAP (defaults to 1 hour).	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time. Assigned asset must survive.	CAP
INTERCEPT	This Air to Air flight has a very specific target that must be intercepted and destroyed around the target steerpoint. This mission can unfortunately fail if another unit downed your target before you could.	The intercepted aircraft's mission must count as failed either by being shot down 'by you or being aborted. Oher friendly units killing the target does not count towards mission success.	Intercept
OCA STRIKE	Offensive Counter Air Strike missions are targeted specifically against airbases or search radars. The purpose of OCA strikes is to help gain aerial supremacy by destroying assets on the ground. Should not be assigned to AI flights without complete air supremacy and fully suppressed air defences, since this type of mission will chew up AI flights like no other if any opposing units are alive in the target area.	Assigned target operational status must be reduced to below 70% after the strike.	Runway Attack, Ground Strike, Precision Strike
ON CALL CAS	On Call Close Air Support. You are tasked to patrol an area (respect the patrol time) and standby for specific targets that will be transmitted to you by friendly assets (usually a FAC). The way the AI transmit target coordinates is tricky to follow and this type of mission is best flown in MP with a human FAC(A).	Stay on station for the full patrol time. At least one target must be destroyed.	CAS
PATROL	Same as RECCE PATROL but the target is a naval unit.		Reconnaissance
PRE-PLAN CAS	Pre-planned Close Air Support mission against known ground units. The FAC is not needed. Please note the flight plan will place two target steerpoints. The target is supposedly around these two steerpoints, usually moving on roads. Mission can unfortunately fail if your target was destroyed by other units and none are left for you to destroy.	At least one assigned unit must be destroyed.	CAS
RECCE	Reconnaissance. Usually pre-strike recon mission against a specific target. Your aircraft will be loaded with the LOW ALT camera and you must photograph the target. Mission will be rated as success if you fly closer than 2 Nm (slant range) from target. Please note anything higher than 12000 feet is more than 2 Nm slant range.	Fly within 2nm slant range carrying a Low Alt camera.	Reconnaissance
RECCE PATROL	Same as RECCE but with two target steerpoints. Mission is aimed to search for enemy ground vehicles in the assigned area. Mainly used for choppers (which are not flyable by humans).	Fly within 2nm slant range carrying a Low Alt camera.	Reconnaissance
RESCAP	Rescue CAP. Same as CAP, but tied to friendly search-and-rescue assets (usually helicopters).	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time. Assigned asset must survive.	CAP, Escort
SEAD	Suppression of Enemy Air Defences. The goal is not to destroy any specific ADA, but to protect a strike package from enemy air defences as needed on the way to, or during, their mission. The package is protected by keeping defences from attacking friendly units, either by destroying them, distracting them, or forcing them to switch off targeting systems to avoid destruction.	The assigned strike package must survive.	SEAD
SEAD ESCORT	The old name for SEAD in BMS versions prior to 4.33.		SEAD
SEAD STRIKE	The old name for DEAD in BMS versions prior to 4.33.		SEAD
STRIKE	Genuine Air to Ground strike mission against a variety of specific fixed strategic targets (other than airfields and radar installations — those are covered by OCA STRIKE).	Assigned target operational status must be reduced to below 70% after the strike.	Ground Strike, Precision Strike
SWEEP	Aggressive Air to Air flight that has no patrol time but 3 target steerpoints where you will attack and destroy as many OPFOR aircraft as possible without friendly losses in your flight.	Shoot down at least one enemy aircraft.	Fighter sweep
TARCAP	Target CAP. Same as CAP but you are protecting a specific target area (usually while other aircraft strike it).	Arrive on time at the first CAP point and stay in the CAP for the assigned patrol time. Strike aircraft operating in the area must survive.	CAP, Escort
TASMO	Tactical Air Support for Maritime Operations. Effectively a STRIKE mission against naval targets — not as static as genuine STRIKE targets but also not as mobile or difficult to find as CAS.	Damage at least one ship at the attack steerpoint.	Anti-ship Strike
TRAINING	Training flight with no specific objectives.	Bring the jet back intact.	Nothing

DCS Tasks

In DCS, tasking determines what aircraft are available (or more accurately the other way around), and also limits which weapon loadout presets are available to those aircraft. In addition, the tasking determines which advanced actions — notably tasks and enroute tasks — can be assigned to flight's waypoints.

Some tasks also automatically apply specific enroute tasks by default, and for more control, the mission designer needs to go into the advanced waypoint settings and alter the parameters for these tasks. In practice, these pre-defined and automated assignments are invariably broken, bugged, idiotic in what behaviour and AI logic they generate, and otherwise utterly useless for the purpose of the actual task at hand. As a general rule, auto-applied tasks should always be removed and rebuilt from scratch. The only two exceptions are the AWACS and Tanker tasks, which for the most part cause no stupid behaviours if left alone (but for more complex missions should be removed and re-done anyway to actually operate in line with the correct waypoints). The CAS and CAP waypoint/enroute tasks should always be replaced by properly set up Search and Engage In Zone — or some variation thereof — task, which offers proper controls for what targets should be engaged and where.

Due to the broad nature of DCS tasks and the many ways they can be customised with enroute and waypoint tasks, there are significant overlaps in what tasks can be used for what purpose, eg. using verious setups for both Escort and CAP tasking to create what in BMS would be considered the separate HAVCAP and TARCAP tasks. Again, the base task is more a matter of selecting aircraft and munitions than of fully defining what the flight is supposed to do and how it is meant to behave. All of that is set up with waypoint and enroute tasks.