Communications

Communications covers how pilots actually talk and coordinate in the air: radio modulation (AM/FM), VHF and UHF bands, ATC services, networks like VATSIM, and tools like SRS that bring real-world comms discipline into DCS. If you want your calls to sound less “gamey” and more like a real strike package, start here.

Subcategories

Air Traffic Services & Networks 2

Air Traffic Services & Networks explains how controlled airspace is actually managed and how that carries over into sims. This section covers ATC roles and services, tower/approach/center-style control, and online networks like VATSIM-style environments and DCS multiplayer ATC/GCI. The goal is to make your radio calls and routing in DCS feel more like flying inside a real system, not just talking to a menu.

Brevity & Clearance Calls 14

Brevity & Clearance Calls explains the short radio phrases that carry a lot of meaning in very few words. This section covers standard brevity codes like Fox, Spike, Mud, Bingo and Winchester, and clearance calls like Cleared Hot, Abort, Continue and more. The goal is to make radio traffic in DCS sound clear instead of cryptic, so you know exactly what is being asked or reported in the fight.

Clearance Calls 5

Clearance Calls explains the radio phrases that give you permission or restrictions, rather than just information. This section covers ATC-style clearances (Cleared for Takeoff, Cleared to Land, Hold Short) and tactical calls like Cleared Hot, Cleared to Engage, Abort and Continue, so you know exactly when you are authorised to act in DCS and when you are not.

Brevity Calls 9

Brevity Calls explains the standard short phrases that compress a whole sentence into one or two words on the radio. This section covers common codes like Fox, Splash, Tally, Blind, Joker, Bingo, Winchester, Spike, Mud, Nails, Buddy Spike and more, so you can understand and use air-to-air and air-to-ground brevity in DCS without guessing what each call really means.

Radio Frequency Bands 3

Radio Frequency Bands explains where on the spectrum your radios actually live. This section covers VHF, UHF (and HF where relevant), what each band is typically used for (ATC, air-to-air, tactical, long-range), and how that maps into DCS so you’re not just spinning knobs until “it works.”

Radio Modulation Methods 2

Radio Modulation Methods explains how your radio actually carries the voice: AM vs FM, why aviation uses AM on most VHF/UHF channels, where FM shows up in tactical and helicopter ops, and what that means for clarity, range and realism when you set up radios in DCS.

Simulation Tools & Integrations 2

Simulation Tools & Integrations covers the extra tools that make DCS feel less like a game and more like a cockpit. This section focuses on SRS and similar add-ons that tie comms, controls and external apps into your aircraft systems, so radio use, coordination and workload start to feel closer to real operations rather than just Discord and hotkeys.