Green means hold, red means shoot — and the Tomcat gets its 1994 stick: the AIM-7 Sparrow 9bfad5b

Two rules of the air war are now painted right on the glass. First: this is an air-to-air fighter — the lock system simply will not offer a firing solution on surface contacts. The shadow sub and the raft are still out there on the scope, and the gun still settles arguments with them, but the T-key no longer tones up anything sitting on the water.

• Green means hold. Civilians, friendlies and unidentified bogeys can still be acquired — you have to track a contact to identify it — but the diamond, the lock circle, the off-screen arrow and the banner all paint green, with a flashing DO NOT FIRE advisory at full lock. Hostiles lock up red with SHOOT, exactly as before. Friend from foe is now a glance, not a memory test.
• The Tomcat carries the Sparrow. The F-14's 1994 fleet fit is modeled for real: two Phoenix, four AIM-7M/P Sparrows, two Sidewinders. The Sparrow reaches past 25 km and hits harder than a 'Winder — but it is semi-active: FOX 1, then hold your radar lock all the way in. Break the lock for more than a heartbeat and the round goes ballistic — SPARROW LOST — RADAR LOCK BROKEN.
• Fire-and-forget has a price. The AIM-54 lets you crank away the moment it leaves the rail; the AIM-7 asks you to stay pointed at the bandit and eat the closure. Pick your shot: Phoenix for the sniper work, Sparrow when the merge is coming and you can afford the commit.

Four Sparrows, one rule: the lock is the weapon. — HB