Air-To-Air Tactics & Combat Formations

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The Weapons Envelope

The weapons envelope is the area around the bandit where your missiles or gun can be effective. The weapons envelope is defined by angle-off, range and aspect angle. The dimensions and position of this area are dictated by the type of weapons you are carrying.

If your jet is loaded with all-aspect AIM-9M's or AIM-120's missiles, the area around the bandit looks like a doughnut; the outside ring being maximum range (Rmax) and the inside ring being minimum range (Rmin). With each missile, Rmax and Rmin are different. Generally speaking, missiles that have a greater range or Rmax also have a greater minimum range or Rmin.

Notice the oval shape of the all-aspect missile envelope. More of the area is in front of the bandit than behind him because a missile fired at high aspect on a bandit (that is, from in front), has a greater effective range than a missile fired at low-aspect (from behind). If you shoot a missile head-on at a bandit, the mere fact that the bandit is flying towards you will help the missile reach its target. The missile may actually fly a shorter distance to hit the bandit head-on than if it were fired at the bandit's six. However, the range at which you first launch the missile will be greater, and this is what is important. The farther away you can launch a missile on the bandit and still have that missile be effective, the better. Always strive to get maximum performance out of your weapons. Another way to increase a missile's effective range is to launch at a significantly higher altitude than the bandit. This will give your missile a reserve of potential energy that it can convert into kinetic energy.

As a target pulls G's, the weapons envelope shifts. Generally, the limits of Rmax and Rmin in front of the aircraft both move out in the direction of the turn, while Rmax and Rmin behind the aircraft move in on the belly side of turn. The next image shows a target in a 5 G turn. The important point to remember is that a bandit that is in fear of dying will turn into you at high G. When this happens, Rmin expands outward from the target at a rapid rate, and within seconds you may be inside minimum range for a missile shot.

For Guns
The gun is different from missiles in that it has no minimum range. The gun weapons envelope is a circle around the bandit depicting the gun's maximum range. There is no minimum range circle.

Remember, a fighter pilot must be aware of where he is at all times in respect to his weapons envelope.

The geometry of the fight is important. You should understand the principles and terms covered on this page in order to become a good pilot.

---------- Post added at 09:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:24 AM ----------

The Weapons Envelope

The weapons envelope is the area around the bandit where your missiles or gun can be effective. The weapons envelope is defined by angle-off, range and aspect angle. The dimensions and position of this area are dictated by the type of weapons you are carrying.

If your jet is loaded with all-aspect AIM-9M's or AIM-120's missiles, the area around the bandit looks like a doughnut; the outside ring being maximum range (Rmax) and the inside ring being minimum range (Rmin). With each missile, Rmax and Rmin are different. Generally speaking, missiles that have a greater range or Rmax also have a greater minimum range or Rmin.

Notice the oval shape of the all-aspect missile envelope. More of the area is in front of the bandit than behind him because a missile fired at high aspect on a bandit (that is, from in front), has a greater effective range than a missile fired at low-aspect (from behind). If you shoot a missile head-on at a bandit, the mere fact that the bandit is flying towards you will help the missile reach its target. The missile may actually fly a shorter distance to hit the bandit head-on than if it were fired at the bandit's six. However, the range at which you first launch the missile will be greater, and this is what is important. The farther away you can launch a missile on the bandit and still have that missile be effective, the better. Always strive to get maximum performance out of your weapons. Another way to increase a missile's effective range is to launch at a significantly higher altitude than the bandit. This will give your missile a reserve of potential energy that it can convert into kinetic energy.

As a target pulls G's, the weapons envelope shifts. Generally, the limits of Rmax and Rmin in front of the aircraft both move out in the direction of the turn, while Rmax and Rmin behind the aircraft move in on the belly side of turn. The next image shows a target in a 5 G turn. The important point to remember is that a bandit that is in fear of dying will turn into you at high G. When this happens, Rmin expands outward from the target at a rapid rate, and within seconds you may be inside minimum range for a missile shot.

For Guns
The gun is different from missiles in that it has no minimum range. The gun weapons envelope is a circle around the bandit depicting the gun's maximum range. There is no minimum range circle.

Remember, a fighter pilot must be aware of where he is at all times in respect to his weapons envelope.

The geometry of the fight is important. You should understand the principles and terms covered on this page in order to become a good pilot.

 

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Introduction to Offensive BFM

The ultimate goal of offensive BFM is to kill the bandit in the minimum amount of time. In order to accomplish this goal, the fighter pilot must understand basic offensive maneuvering. It is helpful to think of offensive BFM as a series of fluid rolls, turns and accelerations. Some of the maneuvers in offensive BFM have names, but the modern day fighter pilot thinks in terms of driving his jet into the control position from an offensive setup, rather than in terms of executing a series of named "moves" to counter the bandit's defensive maneuvering. The sustained maneuverability of a modern fighter has made a "move-counter-move" discussion of offensive BFM obsolete. This study guide reflects current offensive BFM thinking.

It may seem obvious, but the primary reason that you need offensive BFM techniques is to counter a bandit's turn. When you are behind a bandit who is flying straight and level, it is a simple matter to control your airspeed with the throttle and fly around behind him. When the bandit turns, however, things change dramatically. A turning bandit will immediately create BFM problems.

 

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In order to stay in weapons parameters and in control of the bandit, you must stay at his 6 o'clock. To do this, you must maintain control of angle-off, range and aspect angle. Remember these terms defined the angular relationship between two aircraft. The above image shows how a bandit's turn will change the angular relation-ship between the offensive and defensive fighter. To control the "angles" and stay at 6 o'clock, the offensive fighter must also turn his jet. The below image shows why an immediate turn by the offensive fighter will not work. If the offensive fighter goes into a turn to match the defensive fighter, he will just end up out in front because the center of there turn circles are offset.

An immediate turn will not work, and driving straight will not work. A turn of some sort is the solution to solving the BFM problems of angle-off, aspect angle and range caused by the bandit's defensive turn. The problem is twofold-how to turn and when to turn. Let's look first at the mechanics of turns.

BFM and Turns
BFM has a lot to do with turns. It is important to under-stand several concepts about turns in order to be successful at BFM. These include the concepts of positional energy, turn radius, turn rate, corner velocity and vertical turns.

Power for Position
"Ps (specific power) for position" is a concept that is an integral part of BFM. Fighters have two types of energy: kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is simply the velocity or speed at which the jet is traveling. Potential energy is "stored" energy that can be converted to kinetic energy. Potential energy is directly related to aircraft altitude. If a jet is at high altitude, its potential energy is high. If the same jet is flying at low altitude, its potential energy is low. Always remember that you can trade altitude (potential energy) for speed. Likewise, you can convert aircraft speed back into altitude or potential energy.

You can also exchange energy for nose position. Anytime you maneuver or turn a fighter; it "costs" energy. When you turn a jet at high G, you "spend" or lose energy. That's the bad news. The good news is that the defensive fighter also gives up energy to turn and defend himself.

Turn Radius and Turn Rate
The first two characteristics of turns are turn radius and turn rate. Turn radius is simply a measure of how tight your jet is turning. If you are looking down on the aircraft as it turns, the turn radius is the distance from the center of your turn circle to the aircraft, measured in feet.

It is not important that you understand how to compute turn radius. Just realize that velocity is squared in the turn radius equation, meaning that turn radius will grow exponentially based on velocity. The equation also includes aircraft G's. The more G's that you pull, the tighter the turn. Still, velocity is squared, so airspeed has a greater effect on turn radius than G.

Turn rate is the second important factor for turning the jet. Turn rate indicates how fast the aircraft moves around the turn radius or circle we just talked about. It is also described as how fast an aircraft can change its nose position. Turn rate is measured in degrees per second and is also dependent on G's and airspeed.

The higher the G in the above equation, the faster the turn rate. Velocity still remains an important factor. Notice that G is divided by velocity. If G remains at maximum, a higher velocity will cause turn rate to decrease. The reverse is true: a lower velocity will yield a higher turn rate.

 

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Corner Velocity
You may think that slowing down to minimum airspeed and pulling as hard as you can is the best course of action in order to achieve a high turn rate. Not so fast. There is a relationship between airspeed and G's. At lower airspeeds, you have less G available or, in other words, you can't pull as many G's as you get slow. Less lift is produced by the wings of an aircraft at slower speeds, and as a result, there is less force available to turn the aircraft. If you get going really fast (above Mach 1, for example), you also lose G availability. For every fighter, there is an optimum airspeed for achieving the highest turn rate. The airspeed where the jet has the quickest turn rate with the smallest turn radius is called corner velocity. In most modern fighters, it is between 400 to 500 KCAS. The F- 16 has a corner velocity of about 450 KCAS.

The next image shows the relationship between airspeed (labeled as a Mach number), turn rate and turn radius. The top of the image shows turn rate and turn radius broken out individually, while the bottom of the graph shows them combined. These graphs in the image below are generic turn rate and radius charts. The bottom chart represents the approximate turn performance of an F- 16.

Note that at 0.6 Mach, the jet can pull 9 G's and turn at a rate of 24° per second. At 0.6 Mach, the jet can also turn in a radius of 1,500 feet. This is the best (tightest) radius the jet can achieve at the highest turn rate possible. The jet can turn this same radius at slower airspeeds, but turn rate will go down significantly. At 0.4 Mach, for example, the jet can turn with a radius of 1,500 feet, but the turn rate falls from 24° to 16° a second. Just to put this figure in perspective, a 2° per second turn rate advantage will allow you to dominate an adversary.

The airspeed of a jet can be controlled by the pilot in the following four ways:

* Throttle position
* Drag devices
* Nose position in relation to the horizon
* Aircraft G

Throttle position controls how much slow, cold air you turn into fast, hot gas. Drag devices refer primarily to speed brakes. Nose position in relation to the horizon also affects airspeed. For example, a nose-low position will increase your airspeed because of the effect of gravity. Finally, G force causes airspeed to bleed off. Remember the brief discussion earlier about exchanging energy for position. No modern fighter flying at medium altitude can stay at corner velocity while pulling max G's for long. As you pull G's, you will get slower. It is important, however, to start maneuvering close to corner velocity because the first turn you make is usually the most important in the fight.

Fighter pilots should think in terms of both turn rate and turn radius. A fighter with a superior turn rate can outmaneuver a fighter that has a poor turn rate but a tighter turn radius. Fighter pilots have a simple two-word saying: "Rate kills." What this means is that the ability to move (or rate) your nose is the primary means of employing weapons (which is what offensive BFM is all about). A bandit may have a tight turn circle, but if you can rate your nose on him and shoot, the fight is over. The flaming wreckage will no longer cause you BFM problems.

 

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Vertical Turns
I have heard it said (incorrectly) that you fly in relation to the bandit and not the earth. While it is obvious that you must fly in relation to the bandit, you must simultaneously keep your nose in control of the horizon. Gravity affects airspeed, as already mentioned. Gravity also affects G availability. If you pull the nose of a fighter straight across the horizon, gravity will have no effect on your turn performance. When you pull the nose up or down, however, gravity becomes a player.

The next image introduces a new term: radial G. To understand how an aircraft turns, you must understand that there are two factors that determine the rate and radius of a fighter's turn. The first is the G being felt and read out on the G meter in the cockpit. The second is the pull of gravity. Radial G is a term used by fighter pilots to describe the effective G that determines a fighter's turn. This shows this concept by depicting a fighter doing a loop. In the image below, the cockpit G (the G felt by the pilot) is a constant 5 G's. You will notice that when an aircraft is straight and level and trying to pull in the vertical, the effective G or radial G is only 4. Gravity is subtracted from cockpit G so that the jet is pulling only 4 radial Gs. When the fighter is pulling 5 G's in the cockpit in the pure vertical (90° point) either straight up or straight down, gravity has no effect, so radial G is equal to cockpit G. When the fighter is inverted and pulling straight down at 5 G's, gravity adds 1 G to your effective or radial G. The fighter, in effect, is turning at 6 G's at this point. Radial G then is simply a term that describes the effective or turning G created by combining the positive or negative influence of gravity with cockpit G.

What the above image shows is that cockpit G is not equal to radial or turning G when maneuvering in the vertical. Remember that 2' per second is a significant turning advantage. The extra G you can get by placing your nose below the horizon when you turn can give you at least 2' per second turn advantage. Most of the time, 1 GR equates to 3°-4° per second.

The concept of radial G can be seen in our next image. In this image, both fighters are pulling the same cockpit G. Notice that the fighter with his lift vector below the horizon is turning tighter. What is not so obvious in this figure is that the fighter turning toward the ground is also moving or rating the nose faster.

 

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Turning Room
When a bandit turns his jet, he creates BFM problems for you. To solve these problems, you need to turn your jet. In order to turn your jet and solve these BFM problems, you need turning room. Turning room is the offset or distance from the bandit. There are three basic types of turning room: lateral (or horizontal) turning room, vertical turning room, and a combination of both. In order to understand the concept of turning room, you must first understand turn circles. Turn circles are simply the paths that a fighter cuts through the sky when it turns. Our next image shows a turn circle.

The concept of turn circles is critically important to understand because, in order to turn and solve BFM problems created by the bandit, you must first drive your jet inside the bandit's turn circle.

Here's how turn circles and turning room are related.

A bandit turns his jet to defend against your attack. You need to get displacement from the bandit in the horizontal or vertical in order to turn and stay behind him. If you try to get displacement while you are still outside the bandit's turn circle, it will not work. Why? Because if you are outside the bandit's turn circle, the bandit can get around the turn and meet you close to head-on. This means that the bandit can turn and take away your turning room. Now we show a fighter turning for lateral offset outside a defender's turn circle.

The bandit just keeps pulling, leaving the defender with no turning room. This same principle also works in the vertical. Next shows a fighter climbing, doing an old maneuver called a "high yo-yo."

 

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It is very dangerous to try to get turning room in the vertical, outside the bandit's turn circle. If you are climbing in the vertical outside or dose to the bandit's turn circle, the bandit can get his nose around on you. When you pass at high aspect, the bandit will be nose high while you will be nose low. The bandit gets the first use of gravity to increase his radial G as you pass and will probably get behind you. For this reason, do not try to get turning room outside the bandit's turn circle.

Any maneuvering you do outside the bandit's turn circle will delay you from getting inside the bandit's turn circle. You must be inside the bandit's turn circle in order to turn and solve the BFM problem. In the next section, we will describe how to determine if you are inside or outside the turn circle of the bandit and how to use BFM to get and stay in weapons parameters.



Solving the Offensive BFM Problem
The reason you are out there burning jet fuel is simple: to get into weapons parameters and shoot. BFM is real simple against a guy hanging in a chute. All you have to do is watch out for him shooting at you with his pistol as you fly by and wave. Anytime you can take a shot and end the fight, do it. The problem is that when you start from 1.0 to 1.5 nm behind the bandit and he turns, you will only be in AIM-9M parameters for a very short time. The AIM-9M is just like every other heat missile out there today it doesn’t like the high line-of-sight rates generated by targets in tight, turning fights. You have time for one shot. If you miss, you had better be ready to put some offensive BFM on him, or you will end up wearing an AA- 11 Archer. The end result of your best offensive BFM will be a gunshot. Here is how you do it.

The bandit turns. The first question you must ask yourself is "Am I inside or outside the bandit's turn circle?"

How do you know? Watch the bandit's turn.

If the bandit's present turn rate will force his nose on you or even close to you, you are outside the bandit's turn circle. For modern fighters at high G, you are normally outside the bandit's turn circle at ranges outside 2 nm. At 1 nm, you are normally inside the bandit's turn circle, and between these ranges, you are in a transition zone. These ranges, of course, do not really matter to a fighter pilot. When you start behind a bandit, you simply fight what you see. As the bandit turns, you predict where he is going and maneuver based on this prediction. For example, if the bandit is only pulling 4 G's, then at 2 nm you are still inside his turn circle. The next image shows the difference between starting at 2 nm from a 4 G target and starting at 2 nm from a 7 G target.

 

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Most fighter pilots will not pull only 4 G's, however, when they are in danger of dying. Still, you fight what you see.

If you are outside the bandit's turn circle at the beginning of the fight, you are not in an offensive fight-you are in a head-on BFM fight. Head-on BFM is the subject of Chapter 4, but for now, just think about an AIM-9M shot in this situation. The bandit cannot shoot you until he gets his nose around to within about 40° of your jet. You should be able to get one good missile shot at him before he forces you inside Rmin.

Gun Shot Procedures
Flying good offensive BFM against a bandit will put him right in your gun sights. You'll get him there by under-standing the dynamics of getting into position, closing and firing.

Flying into Gun Parameters
It is time to discuss how and when we turn to stay behind the bandit. You are inside 1.5 nm on a hard turning bandit, and you need turning room to get around on his six. The first step is to observe the bandit's turn. If you are outside the bandit's turn circle, get ready for a head-on BFM fight. If you are near or inside the bandit's turn circle, you have a positional advantage that you can keep. Shoot, if a shot presents itself, but don't get mesmerized watching your own missile and forget to BFM. Next, drive to where the bandit started his turn. If the bandit drops flares or chaff, he will mark the point in the sky where he started his turn. Drive to this position (called the entry window). Next you'll see the entry window. The entry window is located inside the bandit's turn circle. You can start your high G turn into the bandit once you arrive inside this window.

In the below image, the F- 16 drove in a lag pursuit course to a position inside the bandit's turn circle. By driving to this position, the F- 16 gained horizontal turning room that the bandit can't use or take away. You know you are at the entry window and must start your turn when the bandit is approximately 30° off your nose.

When you get into this relationship with the bandit, start your turn. Remember corner velocity. If you arrive at the window too fast or too slow, you will get stuck in lag pursuit because you will not have sufficient turn rate to get your nose out in front of the bandit.

The next step is to pull 7 to 8 G's into the bandit. As you come around the corner, keep your nose in lag. If you see the nose of your jet approaching pure pursuit, ease up on the G. Hold this lag pursuit course until you get within 3,000 feet of the bandit. At this range, go to lead pursuit and get ready for a gun shot.

When you arrive inside 3,000 feet on the bandit with your nose in pure or lead pursuit, your throttle controls your overtake. Note this. In close to the bandit, with your angle-off less than 45° and your nose in pure or lead pursuit, the position of your throttle controls your closure. When you get saddled up for a gun shot, you must match airspeed with the target. In most cases, this will require constant movement of the throttle. In addition to banging the throttle off both stops, you may have to maneuver out of plane to control your airspeed. If a throttle reduction and the speed brakes dot slow you down enough, roll the jet to orient your lift vector out of the bandit's plane-of-motion and pull. Hold this lag pursuit pull for about two seconds; then ease off the G and watch the bandit. When he starts to move forward on your canopy, it is time to pull back into him. Pull your lift vector out in front of the bandit as you pull down.

 

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Taking a Gun Shot
You are inside 3,000 feet on the bandit with your nose in lead. How do you take a gun shot? The gun in most fighters is actually a cannon. The F-16, for example, has an M-61A1 20mm cannon, which is common to almost every U.S. fighter. The M-61A1 shoots High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) rounds at the rate of 100 per second. At the proper range, the gun is like a giant buzz saw. In order to carve up the enemy, however, you must understand the fundamentals of taking a gun shot. To hit a target with the gun, you must meet the following conditions:

1. You must be in range. This range varies, depending on aspect, but it is usually about 2,500 feet at low aspect angles and about 4,000 feet at high aspect.
2. You must have your nose in lead pursuit. The bullets fired by the gun are unguided projectiles that take time to get to the target. For most gunshots, the bullet time-of-flight (TOF) is .5 to 1.5 seconds. If you point directly at the target and fire, the bullets will pass behind the target. If the bullet moved at the speed of light, you could point right at a turning target and score a hit. Since the bullet is considerably slower, you must pull lead. This lead may not be very pronounced, however, at dose range.
3. You must be in the bandit's plane of motion. When an aircraft turns, it carves a circle in the sky that creates a plane. In order for you to hit the target with the gun, you must be turning in the same plane as your target. For example, if the target is flying a loop and creating a vertically oriented plane of motion, you have to be flying a loop in the same plane as the target.


Using the Gun Sight
The new gun sight for the F-16 and F-15 is called EEGS. EEGS (pronounced as it is spelled) stands for Enhanced Envelope Gun Sight. The EEGS funnel allows the pilot to match the wingspan of the target with the width of the funnel to determine the proper firing range. The other important gun aiming cue in the HUD is the gun cross. The gun cross represents the departure line of the bullets. You can consider the gun cross as the gun barrel. Bullets pass straight out the gun cross.

So, how do you use the funnel? The gun in the F- 16 is boresighted to 6 mils. This means that the gun is adjusted to fire a burst that will put 80% of the rounds inside a 6-foot diameter circle at 1,000 feet. This is a tight pattern. You can have either a highly concentrated burst that completely misses the target or a very lethal burst that vaporizes the target. It just depends on the quality of your gun sight (and your ability to aim it.) Air-to-air situations are always dynamic, and targets under attack will normally jink violently to stay alive. Since the sight (and your reactions) are not instantaneous, it is likely you may achieve a highly accurate miss; that is, a tight burst that finds only empty air. The sight was lined up and stable, but you missed. How could this happen? The sight was lying because the target was jinking faster than the sight could react. The way to overcome this problem is to strive for an inaccurate hit. You do this by using the EEGS funnel to fire a burst while moving the target through the area of uncertainty. The EEGS funnel gives you a perfect solution when the wingtips of the target match the width of the funnel. If the target is jinking, however, this "perfect solution' may be in error.

Here is how to use the gun cross / funnel combination to kill the bandit:

Place the gun cross out in front of the target. Picture the target with a long pilot boom sticking out the nose. The gun cross should be placed on this extended pilot boom. If the target changes his plane-of-motion, then fly to place the gun cross on the new position of this imaginary pole sticking out of the nose of the target.

Next, over lead the target by making the wingspan of the target extend past the funnel. This will place your bullet stream in front of the target's nose.

Fire the gun while easing up on the G. This will move the target from the bottom of the funnel to the top. Cease fire when the target's wings are inside the funnel.

Make a slight jink out of the bandit's plane-of-motion so, when he blows up, you don't suck a body part down your intake.

This technique uses the gun cross and the EEGS funnel to place the bullet stream in front of the bandit. When you ease up on the G, the target should fly through your bullets. Our last image shows how to make this shot.

 

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Introduction to Defensive BFM

The stakes are high when you find yourself on the defensive. Defensive BFM is characterized by difficult, high-G combat, flown while you look out the back of the jet. Since most fighter pilots don't do their best creative thinking twisted around in the cockpit under high G's, it is best to have a game plan in mind before finding a bandit at your 6 o'clock. We mentioned in earlier that offensive BFM is not a set of specific moves but rather a series of fluid maneuvers. The same is true when you start with a bandit behind you. There are no magic moves that will move a bandit from your 6 o'clock to your 12 o'clock. In fact, if you fly perfect defensive BFM and the bandit flies perfect offensive BFM, you will get shot down. This statement speaks volumes about defensive BFM.

Defensive BFM is very simple: create BFM problems for the bandit, and when he BFM's, try to counter his BFM to buy time and survive a little longer. By forcing the bandit to BFM, you may force him to make a BFM error that you can capitalize on. If he doesn't make a mistake, he will drive into gun parameters. When this happens, you must be ready to defeat the gunshot.

Detecting the Attack

Before you can defend against an attack, you must detect that you are under attack. Most air-to-air kills are against targets that have no idea that they are about to be stuck. There are three primary methods used to detect an attack:

Radar
Your air-to-air radar is the best way to detect an attack because it can look out past 40 nm. All airborne intercept (Al) radars are limited in azimuth and elevation coverage, so radar will not always warn you that bandits are in your area.

Threat Warning System (TWS)
Your threat warning system can detect if any radars are looking at your jet. Again, TWS threat reactions will be covered during the discussion of the engaged two-ship element in the next book.

Visual
No matter how else you detect an attacking bandit, eventually you will have to get a tally to fight him effectively. This chapter will discuss what to do when you see an attacking bandit.

Defending Against a Missile

Whether you see an attacking bandit or not, you must adhere to a fundamental rule of air combat: "Fight the most immediate threat." You will face a lot of confusing situations as a fighter pilot. To increase your chances of survival, fight the threat that is in the best position to kill you. For example, take a MiG-29 at 6 o'clock that has fired an AA-11 Archer IR missile at you. When that missile leaves the rail and starts guiding on you, the MiG is no longer the biggest threat to your jet. The missile becomes the primary threat, so you must fight the missile.

Here's another fighter pilot axiom to keep in mind: "Fight missiles with aspect' When a missile is fired at your jet in the aft quadrant, the best way to defeat it is with a maximum rate turn to put the missile on the beam (along your 3/9 line). You will give a missile the most guidance problems if you put the missile at your 3 or 9 o'clock position. In this position, you will be at 90' of aspect with respect to the missile, and it will have the worst possible line-of-sight rate problem to solve. Missiles fly lead pursuit courses to the target in order to achieve maximum range. If you hold the missile somewhere on your 3/9 line, you will make the missile pull the maximum amount of lead. You will also be moving across the missile field-of-view at the fastest rate. This image shows this position.

 

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Earlier, we discussed max G turns at corner velocity. It is critical that you generate your best turn rate to drive the missile to the beam quickly. Don't think in terms of trying to force the missile to overshoot with a tight turn radius. Missiles are designed to explode as they overshoot you. If they fly past you inside the lethal radius of the warhead, you will be turned into a cloud of body parts. Also, while making a defensive turn to put the missile on the beam, always remember to dispense chaff and flares.

Creating BFM Problems for the Bandit

A bandit shows up at your 6 o'clock. What do you do?

If he fires a missile, fight the missile! But before a missile is fired, you must turn and create BFM problems for the bandit. The defensive turn should be the quickest, tightest turn you can make. There are obvious BFM reasons for doing a high-G turn, but there are psychological reasons as well. An 8 G turn into the bandit will make a clear statement of your intent to remain alive and fight this guy with everything you've got. An 8 G turn says to the bandit, "It is me against you for all the wine and women in world." A 4 to 5 G turn says that you are Little Bo Peep and have somehow managed to take off in a fighter. You will invite slaughter (and deserve it) with a weak turn.

We've already mentioned that in order to get the quickest, tightest turn, you must be at corner velocity. As you start a defensive turn into the bandit, you should place your lift vector directly on him. This will give the bandit the most angle-off and aspect problems to solve. You will also deny him turning room by keeping your lift vector directly on his jet. It is easy to see why turning with your lift vector off of the bandit will give him turning room. In the above image, you can see a defending F-16 placing his lift vector below the horizon while doing a defensive turn. The attacking MiG-29 stays level and gains turning room above the defender by just driving in level.

 

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Bandit Outside Your Turn Circle
So you have rolled your jet to place your lift vector right on the bandit and executed your best high-G turn at corner velocity. What next?

Now you must determine if your defensive turn is working. If the bandit is being forced forward from 6 o'clock toward your 3 or 9 o'clock position, then the turn is working. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle will be forced in front of your 3/9 line if you perform the defensive turn correctly. The next image shows a MiG-29 attacking an F-16. The F-16 pilot turns with his lift vector on the bandit at corner velocity and forces the bandit in front of his 3/9 line.

Your turn is working if you push a bandit forward towards your nose. Keep in mind that he can still shoot you! If the bandit has his nose in lead as you drive him forward with your defensive turn, be ready to defend against a gunshot. Remember, in order for him to take a gunshot, he needs to meet three conditions: he must be in range, he must be in plane, and he must have his nose in lead pursuit. If the bandit's nose is in lead pursuit, watch out! Even though he will overshoot, the bandit will probably attempt a gun shot at the pass. To defend against this type of gunshot, all you have to do is break suddenly out of plane. Because of the high line-of-sight rates involved, the bandit will not be able to correct in time and will overshoot. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle and drives in with his nose in lead for a gunshot will overshoot. Overshoots are discussed in more detail below.

Bandit Inside Your Turn Circle
What if the bandit starts at 1 nm? Your reaction should be the same. Put your best defensive turn on the bandit and see what he does. When a bandit starts close to your turn circle, he is a serious threat, and your best defensive turn may not force him forward. The bandit has one good option if he is committed to staying around and killing you: he has to fly lag pursuit to get to your turn circle entry window. When a bandit starts inside your turn circle and drives to lag, you are in for a long day. The best course of action is to continue your high-G turn and try to stick his nose in lag. There are some schools of thought that say you should unload the jet (release the G) and extend for energy. The problem with an extension is that it is very hard to judge how long to keep the jet unloaded and driving straight. When you unload and accelerate, the bandit will move quickly to deep 6 o'clock, and you will probably attract an AA- 11 shot. The best course of action against a lagging bandit is to continue turning and see if the bandit has a sufficient turn rate to get his nose around on you. If he does, get ready for gun defense. Our next image shows a MiG-29 flying a good lag entry on an F-16.

 

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The bandit may not fly perfect BFM. What if he climbs above you?

If the bandit pulls into the vertical for turning room, keep the hard turn coming with your lift vector directly on the him. As you pull up into the bandit, watch him. If he immediately pulls down to a lag position as you pull up into him, he knows what he is doing and will quickly dose the range for a gunshot. If he keeps his nose high, you will end up in a neutral position on the bandit because you are slower and have a smaller turn radius. Since you have just started your turn, you should still have enough energy and turn rate ability to get around the corner and pass the bandit at high angles. This image shows this type of fight.

In this type of fight, you will end up in a scissors. Scissors occur when two fighters are in a line-abreast, neutral position. They both pull for each other's 6 o'clock position and, as they pass, they roll back into each other and pull. The scissors is usually won by the fighter that can slow his forward velocity, in relation to the bandit, the quickest. Our next image shows a scissors.

Lead pursuit is another attack pursuit course that the bandit may take. If a bandit starts at 1 nm back and flies a lead pursuit course, he will probably overshoot. Remember the 2 nm setup already discussed? The same result will occur at 1 nm. In order to force the bandit to overshoot, however, you must be executing your best turn. The bandit will not overshoot if you are 50 or more knots slower or faster than corner velocity, or if you are not pulling enough G.

The last option the bandit has is a pure pursuit attack. If you see a bandit pointing at you and a missile is not coming off of his jet, you are in for a treat. A guy that points at you for more than a few seconds is clueless. This type of maneuvering is called HUD BFM. HUD BFM almost always results in a gross overshoot and a lead change-in other words, the bandit will end up in front.

 

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Overshoots
There are two type of overshoots: the flight path overshoot and the 3/9 line overshoot. A 3/9 line overshoot is always tactically significant, while a flight path overshoot may not be. The next image shows a 3/9 line overshoot along with two flight path overshoots. Aircraft A slightly overshoots the F- 16's flight path. This is not tactically significant. Aircraft B, on the other hand, overshoots the F-16's flight path far enough that he may end up line-abreast or out in front if the F- 16 reverses his turn. Aircraft C is obviously in big trouble because he has blundered past the F- 16's 3/9 line. All overshoots are not created equal.

When you predict that a bandit may overshoot, note the range, angle-off, and the line-of-sight rate of the bandit. His position, in relation to you, will dictate how you will reverse. As a rule of thumb, the greater the range when he overshoots and the slower the line-of-sight rate, the less chance you have of forcing him out in front of your 3/9 line with a reversal.

When a bandit overshoots, there are basically two ways to reverse your turn to take advantage of it. If you see the bandit is going to overshoot with a high line-of-sight rate, you should perform an unloaded reversal. To do an unloaded reversal, simply release the G, roll the aircraft to position your lift vector directly on the bandit, and then pull maximum G directly at him. You should only use this reversal method when you are sure that the bandit will overshoot. This type of reversal does not "force" the bandit out in front of you; it just gets your nose on the bandit quickly when he does overshoot.

The other type of reversal should be used with caution. It is called a loaded reversal. To execute a loaded reversal, keep the Gs on the jet as you roll and pull toward the bandit. This type of reversal is used to "force" a bandit that is about to overshoot into an overshoot. This type of situation is shown here.

The problem with a loaded reversal is that, if you execute it and the bandit doesn’t overshoot, you will have a bad guy in your chili at close range, and you won't have the air-speed to maneuver. A loaded reversal is used to stop your aircraft in the sky, and if doesn't work, you're in trouble. For this reason, let's go over a few overshoot rules of thumb.

When in doubt about a bandit's overshoot, don't reverse your turn. It is best to reverse when a bandit is overshooting your flight path inside 2,000 feet with a high line-of-sight rate. Outside 3,000 feet, it is best not to reverse your turn. The bandit has too much room to correct his overshoot and maintain a 3/9 advantage on you.

 

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Guns Defense

You have flown perfect defensive BFM, but the bandit has flown perfect offensive BFM and is closing for a gunshot. What should you do?

Snapshots and Tracking Shots
There are basically two types of gun shots: the high line-of-sight snapshot and the stabilized tracking gun shot. This chapter has already briefly explained how to defend -against a snapshot. When a bandit is closing with a high line-of-sight rate on your jet with his nose in lead, think "snap-shot' " A snapshot is usually not the result of perfectly flown BFM, but it can still kill you. To defend against a snapshot, you should break out of plane. The only tough part is judging when to make your move. It is better to make it too soon rather than too late. If you go early, the bandit can correct, but when he does, you can jink out of plane again. If you jink late, you may end up having a valuable appendage carved off by the bandit's gun.

How about tracking gun shots? These are harder to defend against because the bandit is not passing his gun through you quickly, as he does in a snapshot. In a tracking gunshot, the bandit is in a stable position behind you and will take multiple shots. For this reason, you will have to make multiple out-of-plane jinks to keep from getting shot. The key to guns defense is to make sudden jinks at least 70° out of plane with the attacker. Keep a tally on the bandit, and before he gets established in this new plane of motion, jink again. This type of defense is a random guns jink.

The Snake
A popular guns jink, currently in vogue in the F-16 community, is the "snake." Here's how you do it: when you see the bandit pulling his nose into lead, you unload rapidly, roll 180°, and reverse your direction of turn. Hold this course and make the bandit pull his nose back into lead. If the bandit reduces power to stay behind you, he may end up getting stuck in lag. If his nose is stuck in lag, keep turning with your lift vector above the horizon.

If the bandit has the energy to get his nose back into lead, unload again and roll 180° to reverse your turn again. This time, reduce power to bait him into an overshoot. As the bandit repositions to lead pursuit, unload and roll 180' again and reduce power further. If you have lived this long, you should be jamming the bandit and forcing an overshoot. Anytime you see that the bandit is going to over-shoot, get back into full burner, set your wings level with the horizon and pull max G. This will help him fly out in front of your 3/9 line.

This maneuver is not a magic move. If the bandit is highly skilled, he will probably gun you, snake or no snake. It is worth a try, however, because against a plumber, it will work almost every time. If you're lucky, you might get a chance to see his best guns defense.