CriticalThought
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2016
- Messages
- 7,094
- Reaction score
- 13
- Country
- Location
Some fighter jets bleed energy faster than others and this depends mostly on aircraft design and engine performance. Russian fighters generally have better capability to bleed energy as compared to US fighters. And they regain it faster too. Cobra manoeuvre of Su series is a byproduct of this capability.
For readers who might not be familiar with the term, in fighter parlance when you say you're "bleeding energy" it essentially means that you're losing airspeed. In fighters we say that "speed is life". So losing airspeed, or bleeding energy, is generally, but not always, a bad thing.
There are a lot of ways to bleed energy. Some of the more obvious ones are:
Properly managing the aircraft's energy is a huge part of a fighter pilot's job.
- Pulling back on the throttle to slow down. You might do this if you are approaching a merge with excess airspeed so that you can get closer to your best turning (cornering) speed in the event that you want to turn to engage. You may also do this to reduce your infra-red (IR) signature while you are approaching a merge with an opponent, thereby making it harder for him to get a head-on, IR-missile shot.
- Climbing: If you have to achieve a high rate of climb to engage a target, you will most likely be doing this in full afterburner. However, even at this maximum thrust, if the distance to the target is short and the altitude difference is large, you may lose significant airspeed.
- Sustained turning under high g: Anytime you turn under g, you increase drag. When maneuvering against an adversary, you will be max performing your jet using full afterburner while trying to manage your energy sensibly. You will trade altitude for airspeed while trying to force the opponent to fight your kind of fight. If you pull too hard and inappropriately, you will bleed too much energy and lose the advantage. Increased engine thrust and vectored thrust are some solutions to this source of energy bleed.
- Rapid high alpha turns: Some planes can generate lots of nose authority (high turning rate) in a short period of time. You sometimes want to quickly point towards the target to either take a shot or to threaten that you are about to take one. A smart bandit will have to honor a properly timed and executed nose threat. This forces the bandit to turn harder into you and forces him to bleed energy. You may be doing this to actually take a shot or to slow him down, if your jet has an advantage at slower speeds. However, this high alpha turn also bleeds your energy.
What @messiach is saying, is that technically the excellence of an aircraft isn't in its ability to 'bleed energy'. It's the ability to convert P.E. to K.E. and vice versa.
Also, your 4 points above sound a bit amateurish. Lowering speed doesn't affect the frontal I.R. signature of an aircraft that is already running hot due to previous high speed. In a merge you employ BVRs and move into a turning pattern way before WVRs become relevant.
Your second point doesn't make a lot of sense.
Points 3 and 4, yes sometimes you want to use drag and/or a reduced lift coefficient to 'bleed energy' and that is a function of air breaks, geometry, and throttle. Thunder shouldn't have a problem in this area, but I have doubts when it tries to regain energy.
The Pugachev's Cobra doesn't bleed any energy. The aircraft moves mostly in a straight line.
@Oscar has energy management as his favorite topic.