Lock On: Modern Air Combat

Director(s)Nick GreyReleaseGenre(s)Air combat simulationMode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Lock On: Modern Air Combat or LOMAC, known in Russia as LockOn: Современная боевая авиация, is a modern combat flight simulator developed by Eagle Dynamics and published by Ubisoft in Europe and 1C Company in Russia. It is a continuation of the Flanker series.^[3]

The series spawned the Flaming Cliffs series of aircraft modules for Digital Combat Simulator.

Lock On is a survey sim^[4] originally featuring a selection of playable American and Soviet aircraft:

• A-10A
• F-15C
• MiG-29
• Su-25
• Su-27
• Su-33

The game features both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat including combat air patrol, dogfighting, airstrikes, close air support, SEAD and anti-surface warfare. It simulates takeoff and landing including carrier operations with the Su-33 and Kuznetsov-class carrier. Over 40 non-playable AI airplanes are present including support from AWACS aircraft and refueling tankers.

Lock On: Flaming Cliffs is a continuation of Lock On: Modern Air Combat. It adds additional content including a playable Su-25T, new missions and updated textures.^[5] Three singleplayer campaigns are included. Flaming Cliffs and Hot Wind are set in mountainous Abkhazia, depicting a flashpoint involving NATO, Georgia, Russia and local insurgent forces. Last Ditch depicts a conflict between Russia and Crimean separatists supported by NATO.

Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 2 is a further evolution of Lock On: Flaming Cliffs. All of the player-controlled aircraft have been transferred to the virtual environment created for the Digital Combat Simulator series. It features a new GUI and mission editor. AI flight models, gun ballistics, 3D models and sound are improved. Flaming Cliffs 2 is network-compatible with DCS: Black Shark.^[6]

Flaming Cliffs 3 was released as a DCS World module, porting all flyable aircraft into the DCS World game client.^[7]

Flaming Cliffs 2024 was released in July 2024, expanding the collection of aircraft to include the F-86, MiG-15 and F-5.^[8] All Flaming Cliffs aircraft received free graphic updates that same year.^[9] The new aircraft were adapted from work created for another Eagle Dynamics product, Modern Air Combat, which was "shelved" earlier in 2024.^[10]

The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Lock On: Modern Air Combat for their 2003 "Flight Simulation of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight.^[11]

• Official website