Guides
DCS Flight Plan: Waypoints, Headings & Routes
A DCS World flight plan is a numbered list of waypoints. DCS Planner is a browser tool that builds that list on a map: click to drop points, read heading and distance on each leg, then export the route into the cockpit.
This page is the waypoint and route detail for the step-by-step DCS mission planning workflow.
What a waypoint is in DCS
A waypoint is a numbered position in the aircraft navigation system: latitude, longitude, and usually altitude. Nav waypoints define the route you fly. A target (TGT) waypoint marks a point for sensors or weapons rather than a turn.
Bullseye is not a waypoint on the route. It is a shared coalition reference point. DCS Planner reads bullseye from an imported .miz and shows it on the map.
In the planner, a waypoint also stores name, altitude, speed, and optional time-on-target (TOT). F-16C steerpoints can be typed STPT, IP, or TGT for DTC export. The F/A-18C can mark one TGT per route, and its DTC panel can enable an A/A waypoint and set the waypoint number. See DCS F/A-18C Mission Planning & Waypoints for sequences, UFC entry, and Hornet export. The F-14 uses typed nav points instead of a single undifferentiated list.
Building a route: leg heading, distance, and course
Click the map to drop waypoints. The planner draws the course as the sequence of legs between those points. Each leg shows distance in nautical miles and true heading as a three-digit value. Distances on a wide theater such as Syria are often hundreds of nautical miles; check the number on the leg before you commit fuel or TOT.
Course here means the planned path over the ground: the order of waypoints. The heading drawn on the map is true, not magnetic. You can set altitude, speed, and TOT on each point. You can plan for F-16C, F-15E, F/A-18C, A-10C II, AH-64D, M-2000C, F-14, and C-130J. Once the course exists, place SAM and AAA rings and bend the ingress around launch rings you cannot defeat. See DCS SAM Threat Rings & Route Planning. A hop across the Strait of Hormuz is a short number; a transit from the UAE inland to Shiraz is not. See the Persian Gulf mission planning guide for catalog examples.
Coordinate formats you will meet
The planner stores latitude and longitude as decimal degrees and converts them for display. You can switch among four formats: decimal degrees (DD), degrees decimal minutes (DM), degrees minutes seconds (DMS), and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). MGRS is a single grid string, not a lat/lon pair.
The F/A-18C and C-130J default to DMS. The other supported airframes default to DM. You can paste a coordinate pair to create or update a waypoint.
Aircraft waypoint limits and quirks
Aircraft have different waypoint limits. The planner enforces the capacity of the selected airframe:
- F-16C: 25 steerpoints; routes 1, 2, and 3 share the total.
- F-15E: 99 steerpoints; separate A, B, and C routes.
- F/A-18C: 59 waypoints; sequences 1, 2, 3, and Standalone; 15 waypoints per sequence; names up to 5 characters.
- A-10C II: 99 steerpoints.
- AH-64D: 50 waypoints.
- M-2000C: 20 waypoints.
- F-14: 9 nav points; typed as WP (3), FP (1), IP (1), ST (1), DP (1), HA (1), and HB (1).
- C-130J: 99 waypoints.
These numbers are the planner limits. Enter only as many points as the jet will accept before you export.
Import an existing .miz and edit waypoints inline
Import a .miz to load the route onto the map, then edit waypoints inline: coordinates, altitude, name, and TOT. Click the map to add points. Import also works for .trk and CombatFlite .cf.
Export the route
The planner exports the route as:
- A kneeboard PNG for the DCS kneeboard folder
- A .miz with units, drawings, and bullseye
- DCS-DTC JSON (waypoints and COMM presets)
- A clipboard copy of DCS-DTC JSON or a Route Tool Lua preset
The planner also exports CombatFlite .cf and LotAtc .env. For the F-16C, F/A-18C, and M-2000C, it can write a native DCS .DTC cartridge from the DTC page. See the F-16 DTC guide for what the Viper cartridge holds and how to load it.