DCS AOC Tools

What is DCS AOC Tools?

DCS AOC Tools is a web-based Air Operations Center and mission planning platform for DCS World virtual squadrons. It provides mission planners and squadron staff with tools to organize, complete and manage the operational information required for a DCS World mission, including ATO, ACO, SPINS, communication plans, and other mission data.

DCS AOC Tools is designed to complement the DCS World Mission Editor, not replace it. The DCS Mission Editor remains the primary environment for creating and editing the mission itself. Combined Ops instead allows mission planners to handle much of the detailed operational planning outside the .miz file, without requiring repeated edits to the mission whenever operational information changes.

By uploading a DCS World .miz file, DCS AOC Tools automatically extracts the mission data already prepared in DCS, including aircraft groups, units, waypoints, targets, timings, and other available information. This imported data becomes the starting point for completing and organizing the operational plan in Combined Ops.

The operational information added or overridden in DCS AOC Tools is managed externally from the original .miz file. The ACO is an exception: its Airspace Control Measures (ACM) can optionally be written to the .miz as DCS map drawings, while existing mission drawings are preserved. This allows mission planners to prepare the mission in the DCS Mission Editor as completely as required, or start from a much simpler mission structure and complete the operational information in Combined Ops.

DCS AOC Tools allows mission planners and squadron staff to:

• Import Mission Data: Upload a DCS World .miz file and automatically extract available aircraft groups, units, routes, waypoints, targets, timings and other mission information.
• Complete Operational Data: Add or override task units, packages, tasks, targets, mission locations, TOT, NET, NLT, escort and reconnaissance data, loadout requirements, unit remarks and other mission details.
• Reduce Repetitive Mission Editing: Manage operational information externally in Combined Ops when changes do not require modifying the underlying DCS mission.
• Generate Mission Documentation: Build complete mission documentation including ATO, ACO, SPINS, Comm Plan, Local Channelization, JIPTL and detailed Mission Target Data.
• Share Coordinated Mission Data: Make the resulting operational information available across DCS Mission Planner and DCS Airspace, providing staff, pilots and controllers with a consistent operational picture.

Benefits for a Virtual Squadron in DCS World

For a virtual squadron, DCS AOC Tools provides a structured way to separate mission editing from operational planning. Staff can continue using the DCS Mission Editor for the parts of the mission that belong inside DCS, while Combined Ops manages the additional operational information required to plan, brief and coordinate the mission.

• Less Repetitive Mission Editing: Update operational information in Combined Ops without repeatedly reopening the DCS Mission Editor for changes that do not need to alter the underlying mission.
• Reduced Manual Data Entry: Automatically extract information already present in the .miz and use it as the foundation for further operational planning.
• Complete Mission Planning: Organize ATO tasking, units, packages, targets, timings, communications and other information required for detailed mission coordination.
• Centralized Documentation: Manage ATO, ACO, SPINS, Comm Plan, authentication data, JIPTL and other operational information in one structured environment.
• Consistent Operational Data: Share coordinated mission information with DCS Mission Planner and DCS Airspace, keeping staff, pilots and controllers aligned.

Main Features

DCS AOC Tools provides dedicated modules for managing the operational information used to plan, brief and coordinate DCS World missions:

• Project Dashboard: View, create, open and manage projects, including project folders and mission files.
• Project Properties & Project Info: Manage project name, time zone, visibility, .miz access and general or coalition-specific information.
• ATO Header: Define the administrative and temporal information for the Air Tasking Order, including validity, operation type and message identification.
• Missions: Manage missions imported from the .miz, assign Task Units and Packages, and override operational information such as targets, mission locations, loadouts and mission notes.
  • Filter and organize imported missions.
  • Review original .miz data and available mission information.
  • Apply operational overrides without changing the underlying mission data.
• Task Units & Packages: Create and manage operational units such as squadrons, associate them with airbases using ICAO codes, and organize missions into packages with a designated Mission Commander (MC).
• Comm Plan: Define and organize C2, local and intra-flight radio communications, including Local Channelization.
• SPINS — Special Instructions: Create and manage mission-specific operational instructions, including supporting images where required.
• Challenge and Reply: Manage authentication tables used for mission identification and communications.
• JIPTL Manager: Create and manage a Joint Integrated Prioritized Target List, assign targets to missions, display them on the map and synchronize target information across DCS Mission Planner, DCS Airspace and mission documentation.
• Standard Group Loadouts: Define standard loadouts for aircraft types using custom or automatically generated identification codes, then assign them to missions and ATO tasking.
• Assignments: Assign personnel to mission positions and operational control roles such as ATC and AWACS.