The RKSL MQ-9 UAV HUD is designed to help players operate the MQ-9 sensor and weapon systems with clearer information about:

• Sensor mode
• own position
• target position
• laser status
• GPS target status
• weapon readiness
• release constraints
• gimbal/elevation limits
• queued GPS targets

The HUD does not fire weapons for you. It provides information so you can decide when the aircraft, sensor, weapon, and target state are suitable for release.

A typical attack flow is:

1. Select the correct weapon.
2. Arm/Set flight mode of the weapon.
3. Designate a target using laser or GPS.
4. Check LOCK, REL, and CNSTR.
5. Release only when the HUD shows a valid release state.

For GPS weapons, you may also use the GPS panel to set a target or queue several targets before release.

The SENSOR DATA block gives basic reference information.

TIME current mission time OWN GRID your UAV / sensor platform grid LASER RNG laser range to target, if available

The grid format is:

XXXX YYYY

Example:

0090 5051

This is an 8-figure grid, split into four digits for easting and four digits for northing.

The OPTIC MODES or SENSOR block shows the current viewing mode.

• FOV field of view
• MODE sensor / vision mode
• POL thermal polarity

Common examples:

• DTV normal day TV / visible mode
• NV night vision mode
• WHOT white-hot thermal
• BHOT black-hot thermal

Use this block to confirm you are looking through the correct sensor mode before identifying or engaging a target.

The TARGET DATA block shows information about the current target or designation.

• TGT GRID target grid
• TGT DIST distance to target
• TGT MULT target distance multiplier / engine support readout
• TGT SPEED target speed, if available

If no target exists, the target grid may show a blank or placeholder value.

The ENGAGEMENT STATUS block is one of the most important parts of the HUD.

• ARM weapon arm state
• LASE laser state
• LOCK lock / valid target state
• REL release state
• CNSTR constraint reason
• GMBL gimbal state

• SAFE weapon is not armed / not ready
• ARM weapon is armed or available for release logic

• ON laser target is detected
• REQ selected weapon requires laser but no valid laser is detected
• OFF laser not active / not required N/A no suitable weapon selected

• YES valid target / lock / designation state
• NO no valid lock or target state

• RDY release appears valid according to HUD logic
• INHIBIT release is currently blocked or not recommended

CNSTR means constraint. It tells you why release is not ready.

Common constraint messages:

• OK no active constraint
• SAFE weapon is safe / not armed
• NO WPN no valid weapon selected
• NO TGT no valid target
• LASE laser required but missing
• RNG range problem
• ANG angle / off-boresight problem ALT altitude too low
• SPD speed too low
• GMBL sensor gimbal limit problem LOCK lock problem
• MISS predicted miss distance too large
• TOF time-of-flight problem
• STALE GPS target is old or stale
• QUEUE queued GPS target exists but is not active

• OK gimbal is within normal limits
• WARN gimbal is near its limit
• LIM gimbal is at or near a hard limit

If GMBL shows LIM, reposition the UAV or sensor before attempting release.

HUD colours are used as quick visual cues.

• GREEN ready / valid / good
• AMBER caution / advisory / not fully ready
• RED hard constraint / fail / release inhibited
• GREY inactive / not applicable

As a general rule:

• Green = good
• Amber = check before release
• Red = do not release
• Grey = inactive or unavailable

The centre tracking gate shows the active target source.

Possible labels:

• LASE laser target is the active source
• GPS GPS target is the active source
• GPS PRI GPS and laser both exist, but GPS has priority
• TRK generic tracking state

Important: the current tracking gate is a target source cue, not a perfect projected box over the exact target position.

It tells you what the HUD is using as the current target source.

For laser-guided weapons:

1. Select a laser-guided weapon.
2. Aim the sensor at the target.
3. Activate laser designation.
4. Confirm LASE shows ON.
5. Confirm LOCK shows YES.
6. Confirm REL shows RDY.
7. Release when valid.

If the HUD shows:

LASE REQ

the selected weapon needs a laser target, but the HUD cannot currently see one.

GPS-capable weapons use a GPS point target rather than a laser target.

A weapon is GPS-capable if configured with GPS support. In gameplay, the GPS panel can be opened using the appropriate RKSL GPS action or fallback controls.

GPS target methods may include:

• map click target
• manually entered grid
• queued map targets
• queued grid targets
• UAV fallback marker target

The GPS cue may show:

• GPS Q EMPTY GPS QUEUE GPS Q READY GPS RELEASE GOOD GPS RELEASE FAIR GPS RELEASE POOR GPS HOLD <constraint>

• GPS Q EMPTY - No GPS queue or active GPS target exists.
• GPS QUEUE - A GPS queue exists, but no active target is currently ready.
• GPS Q READY - A queued GPS target is available.
• GPS RELEASE GOOD - GPS release solution is good.
• GPS RELEASE FAIR - GPS release solution is acceptable but not ideal.
• GPS RELEASE POOR - GPS release solution is marginal.
• GPS HOLD <constraint> - GPS release is inhibited.

Example:

GPS RELEASE GOOD
Q 02/04 Q READY PROF GLIDE RNG 5420 ANG 12 TOF 31 MISS 6/23

This means:

1. GPS release is valid
2. The current queued target is target 2 of 4
3. The weapon profile is glide
4. Range is 5420 m
5. Angle is 12 degrees
6. Predicted time of flight is 31 seconds
7. Predicted miss is 6 m against an allowed 23 m

GPS weapons may support queued targets.

Queue display examples:

Q EMPTY Q READY Q 02/04

Meaning:

Q EMPTY no queued targets Q READY queued target is available Q 02/04 target 2 of 4 is active or selected

If NEXT appears in the GPS cue detail line, another queued target exists after the current one.

Some weapons may support both laser and GPS target modes.

Current priority rule:

If GPS and laser targets both exist, GPS remains the active source.

The HUD may show:

GPS PRI

This means:

- GPS target exists
- laser target also exists
- GPS is the active target source
- laser may still show ON
- the HUD will not silently fall back to laser

Example:

LASE       ON
Tracking   GPS PRI
GPS cue    GPS RELEASE GOOD

This tells you the laser is active, but the weapon solution is using GPS priority.

If the GPS target becomes invalid, stale, or out of range, the HUD will show a GPS hold condition rather than automatically switching to laser.

The ELEV SCALE shows sensor elevation and gimbal position.

The moving marker indicates current sensor elevation.

Typical states:

OK       normal
WARN     near limit
LIM      at or near limit

If the marker turns amber or red, the sensor is close to or at its movement limit. Reposition the UAV or adjust the sensor to regain margin.

The SENSOR AZIMUTH scale at the bottom shows the sensor bearing relative to the aircraft.

Use it to understand whether the sensor is looking forward, left, right, or behind the aircraft.

This is useful when trying to avoid gimbal limits or line-of-sight issues.

Check CNSTR.

Possible causes:

NO WPN    select a valid weapon
NO TGT    designate a target
SAFE      arm the weapon
LASE      activate laser or select a non-laser mode
RNG       move within weapon range
ANG       reduce off-boresight angle
ALT       gain altitude
SPD       gain speed
GMBL      reposition sensor or aircraft
MISS      predicted miss is too large
TOF       time-of-flight problem
STALE     refresh GPS target
QUEUE     activate or confirm queued target

The selected weapon requires a laser target.

Fix:

- activate laser designation
- confirm the laser is on the intended target
- check line of sight

The GPS target exists, but it is considered old or stale.

Fix:

- refresh the GPS target
- re-enter the grid
- re-click the map target
- update the GPS marker

The HUD is detecting both GPS and laser targets, and GPS has priority.

Fix:

- clear the GPS target
- select a laser-only weapon mode if available
- use a weapon configuration that does not enable GPS

The sensor is at or near its movement limit.

Fix:

- turn the UAV
- change orbit direction
- reposition the aircraft
- slew the sensor back within limits

Before release, check the following:

1. Correct weapon selected.
2. ARM shows ARM.
3. Correct target source is shown: LASE, GPS, or GPS PRI.
4. LOCK shows YES.
5. REL shows RDY.
6. CNSTR shows OK.
7. GMBL is not LIM.
8. GPS cue, if used, shows RELEASE GOOD / FAIR / POOR.

A clean release state should look broadly like:

ARM      ARM
LASE     ON or OFF depending on weapon
LOCK     YES
REL      RDY
CNSTR    OK
GMBL     OK

For GPS weapons:

GPS RELEASE GOOD

or:

GPS RELEASE FAIR

is preferred.

The HUD is an aid, not a guarantee.

Players should still consider:

- rules of engagement
- target identification
- friendly positions
- weapon effects
- aircraft attitude
- altitude
- line of sight
- mission-specific restrictions

The HUD may vary slightly depending on weapon configuration, mission setup, addon version, and GPS system integration.