Strike Fighter League
Foundational Charter & Competition Framework
Charter v1.1 · App. A v1.1 · App. B v1.1
Competitor Reference
Competitor Reference
Foundational Charter · Version 1.1
The League exists to organize, measure, and showcase the highest standard of competitive virtual air combat performance — turning the most demanding fundamentals of strike fighter aviation into a transparent, auditable sport.
Section 1
The Strike Fighter League (SFL) exists to organize, measure, and showcase the highest standard of competitive virtual air combat performance. The League preserves the heritage of strike fighter aviation by turning its most demanding fundamentals into a transparent, auditable sport that rewards mastery under pressure.
SFL competition occurs in a standardized simulation environment and measures performance to the maximum fidelity available.
SFL will become an enduring, community-driven standard for legitimate competition in strike fighter simulation. It will evolve with technology and the competitive community to continually improve measurement fidelity, fairness, and spectator clarity across current and future environments.
SFL competition is designed to reveal skill. The League builds events that isolate foundational strike fighter skill domains and then quantifies performance objectively within the constraints of the simulation environment.
Outcomes are determined through telemetry, defined scoring logic, and repeatable conditions. Standards, scoring, and rulings are published so results are understood and trusted. Competition is designed to reward disciplined execution under pressure, without artificial equalization, so that real differences in preparation, technique, and decision-making show.
All SFL tournaments are organized into two sequential phases:
Trials are designed to evaluate Competitors in discrete skill domains such as speed, precision, and accuracy. Trials provide objective performance data and determine seeding in the next phase.
A head-to-head competitive environment where performance is tested against another thinking Competitor. Mastery can be expressed in multiple ways, including geometry, energy, timing and weapons employment.
SFL operates in two competitive lanes:
Event-specific setup, technical and tactical admin, scoring parameters, and detailed instructions are published in Special Instructions (SPINS) as appendices to this Charter.
Section 2
The SFL is built to operate as a professional, governed league that is driven by the competitive community. The organizational structure is designed to separate three functions that must remain distinct to preserve credibility:
The Vanguard serves as the league's executive leadership. The Vanguard safeguards the league's credibility and leads operations, ensuring the business mechanics and day-to-day execution support fair, transparent competition.
The Vanguard is responsible for:
(AC)2 is a standing advisory council that anchors SFL competition in the enduring fundamentals of strike fighter aviation and the realities of performance under pressure. Its purpose is to provide informed, principled counsel that keeps SFL aligned with its mission and with the competitive community it serves.
(AC)2 is an international cohort of experts drawn from across disciplines, including veteran fighter pilots, milsim practitioners, and human performance specialists. This breadth ensures the League stays grounded in what matters, evolves intelligently as technology advances, and continues to reward the right behaviors in competition.
(AC)2 provides advisory input on:
5 voting members / 2 advisory members. Our commitment is a formalized and structured competitive community voice.
Section 3
The SFL is guided by a set of foundational principles that shape how competition is structured, measured, and governed across all sanctioned events. The SFL seeks to approximate real-world aerial combat while continuously evaluating contemporary hardware and software to inform and evolve the Live Professional and Online Tournament Series.
SFL competition is grounded in the foundational skill domains strike fighter pilots have had to master across generations. The League does not claim to replicate real-world air combat. It commits to measuring performance objectively to the maximum fidelity available. Events are designed to reward correct behaviors, disciplined execution, and mastery under pressure.
SFL publishes scoring logic, standards, and adjudication outcomes so Competitors understand how results are produced. The League will release post-event summaries and rulings to preserve legitimacy, enable learning, and promote advancement.
Competition is only credible when conditions are repeatable. SFL standardizes event setup, measurement inputs, scoring rules, and adjudication processes. Where simulation constraints exist, SFL defines them explicitly and measures within them accordingly.
SFL operates through two competitive lanes. They are different paths with different purposes, but they reinforce the same mission: authentic competition, objective measurement, and earned outcomes.
The Live Professional Series (LPS) is SFL's premier competitive lane and its highest-integrity environment. It is executed in a fully controlled setting, so variables are minimized. Regional qualifiers feed the Skymasters Cup, the LPS championship event.
The Online Tournament Series (OTS) is SFL's scalable competition lane, designed to expand access to structured competition. OTS gives the broader community a consistent proving ground built on standardized conditions and published scoring.
While the OTS is its own lane, OTS performance may be used to qualify Competitors into the LPS as the league's verification and measurement capabilities mature.
Across both competitive lanes, SFL tournaments follow a consistent structure: two sequential phases and an eight-competitor format.
Phase 1 — Trials Phase. Trials evaluate Competitors in discrete skill domains such as speed, precision, and accuracy. Trials generate objective results and establish seeding for the next phase.
Phase 2 — Dogfight Phase. The Dogfight Phase creates a head-to-head environment where performance is tested against another thinking Competitor. Mastery can be expressed in multiple ways, including geometry, energy management, and timing. This phase decides who advances and ultimately crowns the tournament winner by way of the gun, scored objectively within the constraints of the simulation environment.
All competitors advance from Trials to Dogfight. Trials determine seeding only. Trials results do not carry into Dogfight outcomes.
The Trials Phase evaluates three equally weighted events. Each Trial:
Equal weighting and aggregation. All three Trials are equally weighted. The Trials leaderboard is determined by summing normalized scores across all Trials. This rewards completeness and consistency. No single Trial is sufficient to dominate.
Tie resolution. Ties are resolved in order:
Trials rankings determine dogfight seeding:
Trials confer no advantage beyond seeding.
Each scored matchup consists of a three-set series:
Higher seed selects the initial altitude assignment for the first set. Matchups are single elimination. Winner advances.
Special Instructions (SPINS) are released as official appendices to this Charter. They translate SFL principles and competitive framework into event-ready guidance. SPINS are published for each sanctioned event to ensure clarity, practice time, and professional competition.
Event SPINS may include, as applicable:
SPINS are intended to be precise and operational. Recommended changes to SPINS are encouraged by the SFL to strengthen fairness, authenticity, and clarity. All recommended changes are reviewed by the Standing Rules Committee (SRC) and, when adopted, are published as official.
3.5.1 Objectivity over judgment. All competitive outcomes are determined through transparent objective measurement. Human judging, discretionary scoring, and subjective interpretation are excluded from competition results.
3.5.2 Measurement over opinion. Performance is measured using telemetry, defined parameters, and published scoring logic. Data decides outcomes.
3.5.3 Every contest has a single winner. Ties are not permitted. All events, phases, and matchups include deterministic tie resolution mechanisms that always produce a single winner.
3.5.4 Pressure reveals skill. Limited attempts, strict standards, and cash prize pools are built in to create real pressure. That pressure is the point: it stress-tests competitors and reveals who can execute skillfully when it counts.
3.5.5 Integrity is an individual responsibility. The League enforces standards and safeguards competition, but personal integrity rests with the competitor. Integrity is assumed until violated; legitimacy is earned through performance.
3.5.6 Aircraft are not equalized. Mastery includes understanding aircraft strengths, limitations, and tradeoffs. No artificial handicapping is applied.
Section 4
The Strike Fighter League is a living professional league whose legitimacy depends on institutional continuity and unwavering adherence to objective performance assessment.
To preserve these qualities, the League operates under a governance model that balances centralized stewardship with formal community participation. This model exists to ensure rules evolve deliberately and transparently without compromising fairness, rigor, or credibility.
Community involvement is formalized and encouraged, but stewardship remains centralized to protect the integrity of competition. Rules may change. Events may evolve. Technology may advance. The League's commitment to authentic competitive integrity does not.
This section defines who holds authority, how rules are created and changed, how urgent issues are handled, and how disputes are adjudicated. The intent is to preserve competitive legitimacy through clear lines of responsibility, disciplined process, and transparent decision-making.
Two sequential phases of governance flow: the competitive community submits Gripes, SPINS Changes (SC), and Proposals; advisory bodies (AC)², RAP, and SEP guide the Standing Rules Committee; the SRC issues URCs and the CDP issues rulings back to the community.
The Strike Fighter League ("the League") is the governing authority for all sanctioned SFL competition, including the Live Professional Series (LPS) and Online Tournament Series (OTS).
The League retains the following reserved powers:
The League is accountable for the long-term evolution of the sport and the credibility of outcomes.
The Standing Rules Committee (SRC) is the League's permanent rules authority and the governing body for competition standards.
The SRC is responsible for:
The SRC is a standing body and is not dissolved or reconstituted on a seasonal basis.
The SRC is composed of individuals selected to represent institutional continuity, technical rigor, and elite competitive understanding. Membership includes:
Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, SRC decisions are made by majority vote of voting members present, provided quorum is met. Quorum is defined as a simple majority of seated voting members.
To ensure the League benefits from deep expertise without surrendering authority, the SFL maintains formal advisory bodies whose role is consultative.
The RAP consists of select (AC)2 subject-matter experts, including veteran military aviators, simulation and systems experts, and competitive adjudication specialists. The RAP provides technical input on feasibility, realism, emerging edge cases, and long-term rule evolution considerations. The RAP recommendations are non-binding.
The SEP focuses on audience comprehension, broadcast clarity, and transparency of scoring presentation. The SEP ensures that complexity in competition does not result in misrepresentation or misunderstanding for spectators while preserving the integrity of underlying measurement. SEP recommendations are non-binding.
The League formally invites structured input from the competitive community through an official Rules and SPINS Feedback System.
Community members may submit:
All submissions are triaged by the SRC or delegated to RAP/SEP subcommittees based on subject matter. Where appropriate, public decision memoranda and/or URCs are issued to preserve institutional clarity.
The Charter is a governing document. Modifications are intentionally disciplined.
A proposed Charter modification may be elevated to formal League review when:
Final approval and publication authority for Charter modifications resides with the League. Approved changes are versioned and published in accordance with Section 7.
The AWRC is held following the conclusion of the Skymasters Cup to review seasonal execution, evaluate proposed changes, and set the competitive framework for the upcoming season. The AWRC is a conference-style forum designed to bring the competitive community together and capture the best thinking on competition design and human performance assessment.
The SRC may convene review boards to evaluate urgent issues such as exploits, simulation changes, integrity vulnerabilities, and standardization concerns. When required to preserve fairness or protect legitimacy, the SRC may initiate URCs subject to the URC controls below.
URCs exist to preserve competitive fairness when time-sensitive threats emerge.
Competitive enforcement is handled independently from rule creation.
The CDP adjudicates rule violations, conduct breaches, and integrity violations independently of the SRC on an as-needed basis. Appeals to CDP rulings go to the SRC.
Appeals of CDP rulings are reviewed by the SRC for procedural correctness and alignment with published standards. The SRC may uphold, modify, or remand a ruling for reconsideration consistent with documented process.
Section 5
The LPS represents the apex of competition within the SFL ecosystem. It is the environment in which final competitive legitimacy is conferred and where human performance is tested under the most controlled and demanding conditions.
This series exists to unambiguously determine the best virtual strike fighter pilots in the world.
The LPS is designed to:
While the OTS enables broad access and large-scale competition, the LPS exists to remove uncertainty. Hardware, software, environment, and instrumentation are controlled by the League to ensure results reflect human performance alone.
The LPS is organized around a seasonal progression model that culminates in the League's championship event: the Skymasters Cup. All LPS events are conducted in fully closed-loop environments.
The professional season consists of:
Specific formats, professional competition rig specifications, and seasonal mechanics will evolve over time.
Regional Qualifiers serve as global access points in the LPS.
These events:
Regional Qualifiers are competitive proving grounds designed to identify Competitors capable of performing at the highest level of scrutiny and pressure in a live, physical-digital setting.
The Skymasters Cup is the Strike Fighter League's championship event.
It exists to:
Section 6
The OTS is the League's primary mechanism for broad-based performance assessment, selection, and community continuity. It enables the League to identify skill at scale while preserving the integrity of professional competition.
The OTS serves three primary functions:
Qualification for the OTS is earned. Access to OTS events is not granted by invitation, reputation, or affiliation. The qualification system exists to identify the top eight Competitors for each tournament. It rewards preparation, discipline, and professional execution. Competitors must submit a qualification score for each Trials Phase event during a directed submission window.
Qualification events consist of:
Dogfights are not conducted during Qualification.
Qualification attempts occur within League-assigned time windows on SFL servers. Late submissions are not accepted.
For each Qualification cycle, the League releases official SPINS no less than two weeks in advance of the submission window. Competitors are expected to prepare. Familiarity with the course, targets, constraints, and performance demands is part of competitive readiness.
Competitors must submit complete DCS track files and any required logs or telemetry specified by SPINS. Track files are the authoritative record of performance. Failure to submit required data, or submission of corrupt or incomplete data, invalidates that attempt.
All submissions are reviewed for scoring accuracy, rule compliance, and data integrity. If an integrity flag is raised, the League may require a mandatory re-fly. Flags do not imply misconduct.
All results are scored, normalized per event, aggregated across Trials, and ranked. The top eight competitors qualify for the tournament. Alternates will be selected in rank order if required.
Participation in the OTS requires more than technical execution. The SFL is a human-performance competition, and competitors are expected to be visible participants in that process. This is not required in the qualification phase.
To compete in the OTS, competitors must be:
Competitors must maintain functional audio and video capability suitable for broadcast and analysis. Availability for debriefs and interviews is a non-negotiable condition of qualification and participation.
The League reserves the right to pull forward previous OTS competitors from the immediately preceding OTS competition into a subsequent OTS. Any such advancement is exercised at the League’s sole discretion.
OTS competitions operate in an open technical environment. While League-standard controls and monitoring are applied, absolute prevention of client-side modification cannot be guaranteed.
Performance measurement in the OTS remains objective and telemetry driven. Integrity monitoring systems may flag anomalous behavior based on measured performance characteristics. Such flags do not constitute adjudication or accusation.
When an integrity flag is raised, the League may initiate a deeper forensic analysis of underlying telemetry, track files, and system data. This analysis serves two purposes:
Responsibility for integrity ultimately resides with the competitor. Final competitive legitimacy is conferred only at LPS events conducted in closed-loop, League-controlled environments.
The OTS preserves skill standards, competitive culture, and institutional memory. OTS competitors are participants in the League's development. Performance in the OTS matters because it reflects the same values that define the LPS.
Section 7
The Strike Fighter League preserves legitimacy through stability of principle and disciplined evolution of mechanics.
This Charter is the SFL's controlling governance document. The League is the sole publishing and versioning authority for the Charter, SPINS, and official interpretations/notices.
The League delegates:
The League retains reserved powers to sanction official competition, reassign governance bodies when required and approve/publish Charter modifications. In conflicts, SRC governs rule meaning, Vanguard governs execution feasibility/timing, and the League intervenes only via reserved powers.
The Charter is versioned. Updates are published with:
Charter change proposals move through the League governance structure. A majority (AC)2 vote is required for a proposal to advance to League review; the League retains final ratification authority.
All changes are published. Where appropriate, the League may issue decision memoranda explaining the rationale for changes to preserve trust and institutional clarity.
Reference
End of Document (V1.1)
Appendix A · Version 1.1
The scoring and aggregation logic for SFL tournaments — a two-phase construct in which discrete Trials determine seeding and a head-to-head bracket determines the tournament winner.
A.1
This appendix defines the scoring and aggregation logic for SFL tournaments.
A.2
The Trials Phase produces a single Trials Ranking by converting each event outcome (as defined in SPINS) into a standardized Trials Points award, then aggregating points across all Trials events.
Competitors are ranked highest Total Trials Points to lowest to produce the overall Trials Ranking.
Each Trial event awards Trials Points by placement:
Trials point ties are resolved in this order:
A.3
Trials rankings determine Dogfight bracket seeding as:
A.4
Each Dogfight matchup is a three-set high-aspect BFM series:
Matchups are single elimination; winner advances.
Dogfight scoring uses a Unified Impact Score (UIS):
If cumulative UIS is tied after three sets, the tie is broken by the earliest TKILL recorded across the three sets (lowest TKILL wins).
End of Document (V1.1)
Appendix B · Version 1.1
The technical administration standard for Strike Fighter League Online Tournament Series competitor pilots — from qualification submission through live OTS execution.
B.1
This appendix defines the technical administration standard for Strike Fighter League Online Tournament Series competitor pilots.
Event SPINS remain the controlling source for event-specific configuration, mission construction, scoring mechanics, and tactical administration.
B.2
Qualification submission is the first required step to OTS participation. Qualification exists to identify the eight pilots who will populate the live OTS bracket.
Each registered pilot must complete a qualification in accordance with the published submission instructions, submission window, and file requirements.
Qualification consists of all three Trials events:
The Dogfight Phase will not be part of qualification.
The competitor shall use the official League-published qualification mission files (.miz) for the applicable event set, and shall upload one air combat maneuvering instrumentation (.acmi) file for each required Trial in accordance with League instructions.
To generate an ACMI file in DCS, the competitor must have the current required version of Tacview installed — the required version is promulgated separately by the SFL for each specific OTS — a third-party software package that must be downloaded separately. The free version enables ACMI file generation. Once Tacview is installed, competitors must ensure that DCS is configured for Tacview to generate ACMI files.
Qualification is conducted across two gates:
Competitors may run multiple attempts and submit their best ACMI file for each Trial. The League racks and stacks those submissions to set the standings.
The SFL selects a group of the top performers from Gate 1 for a Gate 2 down-select. Each selected competitor is given a specific SFL server time to complete a single run of each Trial — one run per competitor, by design, to induce stress and pressure. The full track file is captured from these server submissions.
The top eight advance to compete in the Online Tournament Series #2, live on 25 July.
Each registered pilot will be issued a unique OTS competitor token.
That token is the pilot's identifying submission reference for qualification processing and tournament administration. The pilot shall retain it and use it as required throughout qualification upload and verification.
Qualification submissions shall be made only within the published submission window. A pilot is responsible for ensuring that each required ACMI file is uploaded correctly, identified correctly, and associated with the correct competitor token.
Qualification attempts shall be flown only from the official League-published qualification event build mission files (.miz) and mods. A competitor shall not alter, replace, or substitute the official event build.
For qualification, the authoritative submission record shall be the complete Tacview ACMI file (.acmi) uploaded in accordance with League instructions.
Late, missing, incomplete, corrupt, or misidentified qualification submissions will invalidate the affected attempt.
Qualification ACMI files (.acmi) will be scored and ranked in accordance with Appendix A and the applicable SPINS.
Only the top eight pilots will qualify for the OTS and populate the live eight-competitor bracket.
B.3
The standard live OTS competitor flow will be:
A competitor shall report promptly when called and remain ready to move through that sequence without delay.
The standard SFL Competition Control callsign is CLASSIC.
CLASSIC is the sole pilot-facing control authority during live event participation.
CLASSIC provides event marshalling, event introduction, start authorization, execution control, and immediate technical direction to competitor pilots.
A competitor pilot shall comply promptly with control direction issued by CLASSIC.
SRS is the required voice platform for OTS participation.
A competitor shall report to the event with a functioning SRS client, working microphone, audible receive, and usable push-to-talk bindings for required radios before entering live execution.
SRS follows the in-cockpit radio state. Competitors shall ensure the correct radio selection, frequency, volume, and transmit control are configured for the applicable event. Where an airframe requires SRS client radio-selection keybinds, those keybinds shall be configured prior to check-in.
Communications discipline shall be exercised at all times. Transmissions should be concise, controlled, and event-appropriate. Nonessential transmissions are not authorized.
If required communications are lost prior to start authorization, the competitor shall not commence execution unless directed by CLASSIC.
B.4
Controlled start conditions preserve parity at the moment start authorization is given. The League defines the initialized condition for each event. The competitor shall preserve and execute from that condition as directed.
A valid competitive attempt requires:
The current simulation environment for SFL OTS competition is Eagle Dynamics Digital Combat Simulator World.
Live OTS competition is conducted in the SFL-controlled DCS dedicated multiplayer server environment.
Competitor pilots shall operate on the most up-to-date DCS version available at 0000 UTC on OTS execution day unless the League publishes a different competition-build requirement.
The official League-published SFL MODs for the applicable event will be distributed to the competitors prior to event execution and must be installed.
The official League-published event mission file (.miz) for the applicable event is the authoritative build for live execution. A competitor shall not alter, replace, or substitute the official event build.
The official League-published location for the event will dictate the terrain / map required. Competitors must install the map prior to event execution.
The currently approved aircraft are:
In OTS, pilot-owned readiness includes local client stability, internet reliability, audio setup, peripheral function, bindings, display setup, and required-version compliance.
Each competitor shall treat their local competition setup with the same seriousness applied to flight gear and aircraft readiness. Technical capability is part of competitive readiness.
B.5
Competitors shall report with an event-ready client capable of:
No client-side augmentation tools are approved unless expressly published by the League. This includes mods, export scripts, overlays, plugins, and similar augmentation layers.
B.6
For live OTS execution, the authoritative record for each run or set is the SFL server-recorded ACMI file (.acmi).
A Valid Run is an officially authorized attempt that begins from a proper start condition after start authorization from CLASSIC, maintains required technical continuity, and terminates with an authoritative League record sufficient for official disposition.
An Interrupted Run is an officially authorized attempt that is disrupted prior to normal completion by a technical interruption, control intervention, or abnormal condition requiring League disposition.
An Invalid Run is an attempt that cannot stand as an official competitive run due to materially non-compliant setup, failed technical continuity, or absence of an authoritative record.
A valid run depends on uninterrupted technical continuity from start authorization through recorded termination.
A competitor shall not knowingly take action that compromises the integrity of the authoritative record.
Start authorization from CLASSIC governs when a competitor is live.
A technical reset or re-fly is not automatic. It may be granted only when the League determines that the disruption materially affected the run and arose from the SFL-controlled environment or another official condition warranting re-disposition.
If a pilot disconnects or experiences a correctable issue before entering the initialized event state, the pilot may be reintroduced when directed, subject to event flow and timing limits.
If a disconnect, desync, invalid setup, or communications failure occurs after spawn or initialization but before start authorization, the normal disposition shall be hold, reset, or reinitialize when feasible.
Once the competitor has been authorized to begin live execution, the default presumption in OTS shall be pilot ownership of the run unless the League determines that the fault originated in the SFL-controlled environment.
A pilot-side DCS crash after start authorization shall normally stand as a pilot-owned failure absent evidence of server-side causation.
A pilot-side DCS crash before start authorization may be reset if event flow permits.
A disruption attributable to the SFL-controlled environment may justify reset, restart, or re-fly as directed by CLASSIC.
If the authoritative server record fails, corrupts, or does not preserve a usable record, the League may declare the run interrupted, invalid, or eligible for re-fly, depending on event state and the nature of the failure.
B.7
For qualification, the competitor shall complete and upload the required ACMI files (.acmi) during the designated submission window using the issued competitor token.
For live OTS Trials execution, the competitor shall enter the event through the standard OTS flow and execute when authorized by CLASSIC.
Completion of scoring does not release the pilot from control.
Speed is a runway-start, WoffW-timed event.
CLASSIC will provide introduction and launch instructions on BLACK 01.
No communications are required during live execution unless directed otherwise.
Accuracy is an airborne-start event with a start gate and finish gate.
CLASSIC will provide introduction and start direction on BLACK 01.
No communications are required during live execution unless directed otherwise.
Spawn does not itself authorize execution unless directed by CLASSIC.
Precision is a runway-start, WoffW-timed event with active control involvement.
The competitor shall maintain required communications with CLASSIC for event execution.
Where the event requires dynamic target-sort or control interaction, the expectation is that the competitor is able to speak, hear, respond, and comply in real time.
B.8
All dogfight sets are flown from controlled airborne setups. The competitor shall accept the initialized condition and preserve it until start authorization.
The pilot-facing technical standard for Dogfight is:
If a post-start disruption is pilot-owned, the set shall normally stand.
If a post-start disruption is attributable to the SFL-controlled environment, CLASSIC may direct reset, restart, or other official disposition.
B.9
The following guidelines are in effect for OTS competition, but competition tempo will be directed by CLASSIC via Discord and SRS:
A technical issue that cannot be resolved within the published allowance may result in reset, resequencing, invalidation, or other official disposition.
B.10
End of Document (V1.1)
Document Control
Version history for the Foundational Charter & Competition Framework, maintained in accordance with Charter § 7.2 (Versioning).
Version 1.1 · 01 JUN 2026
Version 1.0
End of Change Log