Defensive and Offensive

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Key Terms

AoT: Area Off of Tail- The distance from the back end of someone's fighter.

Turn Radius: The turning rate of someone's fighter- how quickly and sharply they can turn

BFM: Basic Flight Maneuvers- simple maneuvers used by pilots during combat

AFT: Advanced Fighter Tactics- advanced tactics for flight during combat


Basic Flight Maneuvers (BFM)

The Break Turn

http://www.voodoo.cz/falcon/O232.JPG

   * Offensively, use the break turn to cut into someone's turn at a sharper angle or acquire a target
   * Defensively, use to throw an unsuspecting enemy off your tail or at least force him to work in 
order to shoot you down * Initiate a break turn by turning sideways and pitching very sharply so the craft is forced to
turn at a sharper turn radius

The idea behind a break-turn is simple- to get a sharper turn. That can be for any number of reasons, but its going to be the very first maneuver you learn, so make sure you understand it. If someone starts firing from behind, you can go into a break turn and avoid the fire pretty easily- probably some missiles as well. If a target is far and to the right, you can go into a break turn to get it on your heading almost immediately...

The Barrel Roll

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/FMJR/VEN%20Academy/119-1.jpg

   * Offensively, use the barrel roll if you're overtaking an enemy too quickly.
   * Defensively, use the barrel roll to force your attacker to overshoot and pass you.
   * Initiate a barrel roll by rolling slightly and applying pitch.  Keep the nose pitched to 


spiral around the axis of your flight path

The Barrel derives its name from the flight path the aircraft performs, circumscribing the shape of a barrel as the aircraft rolls round a central axis. It is an energy management maneuver possessing both and defensive potential. Offensive Barrel Rolls If you find yourself traveling too fast, you may both overshoot your foe and fly directly into his gun envelope. This happens because your closure rate is too high, and you overtake your target. The barrel roll provides an effective solution by wasting speed.

If you can't bleed enough speed with a barrel roll, pull back harder on the stick and execute a roll opposite the direction of your current turn. The increase in pitch reduces airspeed, and the roll out turns you away from the target and keeps you from overshooting. As you complete the roll, you'll be back on your original course, but at a slower airspeed. Defensive Barrel Rolls Defensively, the barrel roll ca be used to force a quickly approaching attacker to overshoot. It can also maintain enough angle-off-tail to put you out of his lethal cone of fire. Defensive barrel rolls must be carefully timed, however. Initiate the roll too soon, and the bandit will follow you through it. Start too late, and the bandit will have several shot opportunities before you begin the turn. Perfect timing requires that you both surprise the enemy and deny him sufficient reaction time.

The Lag Pursuit

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/lag_pursuit.jpg

This can be used when the primary cause of overshooting is excess speed. Basically it consists of maintaining position astern but outside the turn radius of the defending fighter. In this manner both speed advantage and initiative are retained, the attacker matching the defender's rate of turn in degrees per second while remaining concealed in the blind spot beneath the defender's tail. Lag pursuit is best countered by tightening the turn into a spiral dive. The temptation is to reverse and commence scissoring, but this is a good way to die if the attacker is on the ball.

LAG PURSUIT ROLL

This is used when at close range with a high overtake, high speed and high angle-off. The defender gets the nose high and rolls to the outside of the turn. He uses maximum g to pull the nose up and towards the target. This puts him in a ± 30° angle-off missile envelope.

When overshooting is mainly the result of excess speed, position can be maintained outside the radius of the defender's turn by matching his rate of turn, thus maintaining both speed and initiative. The pursuer is hidden beneath the defender's tail, which could cause him to make an error. This is called lag pursuit.

The Immelman

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/the_immelman.jpg

   * Use this maneuver to increase altitude and reverse direction.

The Immelman is neither an offensive nor defensive procedure. Instead, it is a high-thrust maneuver that changes your bearing and increases your altitude. By pitching the nose up and climbing, you can execute one-half of a loop. To terminate this maneuver, invert and execute a roll. (The amount of roll applied determines your new direction of flight, as indicated in the diagram.) This leaves you flying in a different direction, but at a higher altitude. Once your wings are level, perform a half-roll again to reassume a vertical position.

The Immelman is more useful for aircraft that have low-thrust capabilities. Modern high-thrust aircraft can broaden this maneuver by making a vertical climb, then using an aileron roll to complete the half loop.

The Sandwich

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/sandwich.jpg

For a pair, the "sandwich" is the oldest trick in the book. A fighter attacked from the rear quarter outside the formation breaks into the attack. If he is followed by an enemy, his wingman slots neatly into place behind the bandit for a rear quarter shot, taking great care, of course, not to fire a heat missile until his comrade has cleared the danger area.

The Vertical Reverse

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/vertical_reverse.jpg

The vertical reverse can be used when an attack or maneuver is completed with a vertical climb. The aircraft continues straight up until it loses flying speed. It is then ruddered around very sharply into a steep dive, gaining speed as it goes. This maneuver can be used at the top of a vertical ascending scissors either to disengage or to offer a pursuer a little head-on discouragement, but is mostly used to reposition for a further attack. Very few modern fighters are controllable at such low speeds; only those that are - notably the Harrier, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-5 Tiger II - can carry out this maneuver.

The vertical reverse is only for the fighter with exceptional low speed handling. It is used at the end of a vertical climb when all flying speed is lost, the aircraft being ruddered around sharply into a dive.

The Split-S

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/split_s.jpg

   * Use the Split-S to increase airspeed or bleed off altitude.

A Split-S maneuver is a diving half-loop that is useful when you want to disengage a threat. It is a high altitude maneuver that requires a lot of vertical airspace, so make sure you're at least several thousand feet above the ground beforehand.

During a turn, invert by rolling, then immediately pull back on the stick to go into a dive. Your aircraft will rapidly accelerate and gain airspeed. Pull back on the stick until the aircraft levels out, then ease into level flight. You'll be un-inverted, and you'll have a higher airspeed and lower altitude.

The split-S has the advantage of providing a quick burst of speed. Additionally, rolling while inverted adds the aircraft's lift vector to gravity, thus increasing the force of acceleration and adding speed. On the down side, however, the increased speed increases the vertical turning radius, thus making it hard to pull the nose up into level flight. Starting a split-S from low altitude, or maintaining too much speed during the dive, can prevent the aircraft from pulling out of the dive.

The split-S makes a great escape maneuver in a guns-only environment because the rapid speed gain moves you out of gun range. It's usually ineffective against missiles, since they have significantly longer ranges.


Advanced Fighter Tactics (AFT)

The Spiral Dive

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/FMJR/VEN%20Academy/spiraldive.jpg

   * Use spiral dive as a last resort, and only if your aircraft has the superior turn radius.
   * Fall into a steep dive, then make a hard G-turn.  Throttle back midway through the turn and 
invert. Pull the nose up hard to maneuver onto the enemy's tail.

If you use every maneuver imaginable and still can't shake an opponent despite a better turn radius, try a spiral dive. You carry out this maneuver by leading your opponent into a steep dive as soon as he moves to one side of your tail and falls into an overshoot position. He won't have a direct line of fire at you at that instant, but you can't dive for long without him re-achieving a firing solution.

End the dive quickly by taking advantage of your aircraft's superior turn radius and pulling hard pitch (but not so hard that you sacrifice maneuverability). As you come out of the turn, reduce throttle, invert with a 180º roll, and pull up sharply again. Your attacker probably won't notice that you've slowed down and will be forced in front of you.

The High-Speed Yo-Yo

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/FMJR/VEN%20Academy/hiyoyo.jpg

   * Use the high-speed yo-yo to reduce AoT and bring a target into your firing cone.
   * Perform by relaxing a turn, then pulling up into a sharp climb.  Invert, then apply pitch to 
slide back down onto the enemy's tail at a smaller AoT.

The high-speed yo-yo is a basic component of offensive air combat and reduces AoT at the cost of increasing the distance between you and your target. The yo-yo begins during a turning fight when you have assumed an aggressive position behind the bandit, but are stuck in lag pursuit and unable to bring your nose to bear. In this case, you can use gravity to your advantage.

Roll out slightly when your enemy initiates a break turn (maintaining lag pursuit), then pull the nose up. At the apex of the climb, invert and roll back down onto your target's six o'clock position. You'll be further away from him, but in a better firing position.

Don't make the yo-yo too extreme. Once you commit to a large one, you'll be unable to respond to any sudden changes the bandit may make. Patiently work small yo-yos by bringing up the nose just above the horizon and chipping away at your AoT problem. This will move you into the target's cone of vulnerability without pulling high G-loads.

The Rollaway

http://members.tripod.com/~F15EEagle/pics/rollaway.jpg

A variation of the high-speed yo-yo, the rollaway involves rolling away from the target's turn as you invert. By diving and reversing direction with a 180º turn, you can drop in behind the defender's tail as he ends his break turn. The principals of this maneuver are otherwise the same as the high-speed yo-yo.

The Low-Speed Yo-Yo

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/low_speed_yoyo.jpg

   * Use the low-speed yo-yo when you have a good firing angle but need ti bring the target in range.
   * This maneuver decreases rang at the cost of increasing AoT.
   * Execute by diving inside a target's turn and gaining airspeed.  Then, pitch up and slide onto 
his tail once more.

The low yo-yo is the logical opposite of the high yo-yo, and achieves the exact opposite effect. While the purpose of the high yo-yo is to decrease AoT (at the cost of increasing range), the low yo-yo is intended to decrease range (at the cost of increasing AoT).

Use the low-speed yo-yo when you have a good shot opportunity, but you're still outside your weapon's maximum range. This often occurs in chases where the bandit has superior speed and is trying to run home in level flight. You're chasing him, but he remains just outside your weapon's effective envelope.

To get closer to your target, lower your nose below the horizon and dive. This increases speed, but almost always forces you into lag pursuit and increases AoT. A low yo-yo, therefore, almost always requires an immediate high yo-yo to correct the angle problem generated by the increase of speed.

Be careful not to dive too steeply during this maneuver - you may be unable to bring your nose to bear on the target if it ends up too far above you.

The Immelman

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/FMJR/VEN%20Academy/the_immelman.jpg

   * Use this maneuver to increase altitude and reverse direction.

The Immelman is neither an offensive nor defensive procedure. Instead, it is a high-thrust maneuver that changes your bearing and increases your altitude. By pitching the nose up and climbing, you can execute one-half of a loop. To terminate this maneuver, invert and execute a roll. (The amount of roll applied determines your new direction of flight, as indicated in the diagram.) This leaves you flying in a different direction, but at a higher altitude. Once your wings are level, perform a half-roll again to reassume a vertical position.

The Immelman is more useful for aircraft that have low-thrust capabilities. Modern high-thrust aircraft can broaden this maneuver by making a vertical climb, then using an aileron roll to complete the half loop.

The Split-S

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/split_s.jpg

   * Use the Split-S to increase airspeed or bleed off altitude.

A Split-S maneuver is a diving half-loop that is useful when you want to disengage a threat. It is a high altitude maneuver that requires a lot of vertical airspace, so make sure you're at least several thousand feet above the ground beforehand.

During a turn, invert by rolling, then immediately pull back on the stick to go into a dive. Your aircraft will rapidly accelerate and gain airspeed. Pull back on the stick until the aircraft levels out, then ease into level flight. You'll be uninverted, and you'll have a higher airspeed and lower altitude.

The split-S has the advantage of providing a quick burst of speed. Additionally, rolling while inverted adds the aircraft's lift vector to gravity, thus increasing the force of acceleration and adding speed. On the down side, however, the increased speed increases the vertical turning radius, thus making it hard to pull the nose up into level flight. Starting a split-S from low altitude, or maintaining too much speed during the dive, can prevent the aircraft from pulling out of the dive.

The split-S makes a great escape maneuver in a guns-only environment because the rapid speed gain moves you out of gun range. It's usually ineffective against missiles, since they have significantly longer ranges.

Barrel Roll Attack

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/barrelroll_attack.jpg

   * Used when the attacker becomes aware that he is going to overshoot a turning target

This maneuver differs from the defensive high-g barrel roll in that a great loss of speed to force an attacking fighter to overshoot is not necessary. The g forces can therefore often be quite small. Closely resembling the rollaway, the barrel roll attack is used to alter the angle of approach to the defender without losing a lot of speed. It is used when the attacker becomes aware that he is going to overshoot a turning target. He rolls the wings level, pulls the nose hard up, then rolls away from the direction of turn. This three- dimensional maneuver is completed by sliding in astern of the target.

The counter to a well executed barrel roll attack is for the defender to dive away and increase speed. While doing this he must keep a sharp lookout for a missile attack and be ready to evade it. If he reverses his turn, he will probably set himself up for a gun attack.

Countering The Lowspeed YoYo

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/countering_lowspeed_yoyo.jpg

The main counter to the low speed yoyo is for the defender to wait until the attacker begins his pull-up from the bottom of the dive, then, easing his turn a trifle, he lifts his nose and rolls down into him. Much depends on the execution of the yoyo; if the attacker gets too low, or cuts too tightly across the circle, the defender can pull up and barrel down into him. Copying the yoyo can be used, to maintain the stalemate.

Crossturn or Inward Turnabout

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/crossturn_inwardturnabout.jpg

This is a method of reversing course without causing undue horizontal displacement of the formation. It can be used to meet a threat developing from astern, or to turn in pursuit after a head-on engagement. Each fighter breaks hard inward, the high man going low and the low man high or, where the tightest possible turn is needed, both men pulling high. In either case the high man at the end of the turn will be furthest from the Sun. The cross-turn, or inward turnabout as it is sometimes known, has the advantage that the pilots can clear each other's blind spots as they pass. The disadvantage is that they may briefly lose visual contact with each other.

For a pair in combat spread to reverse their direction of flight by traditional means would be a long and cumbersome affair, with large lateral displacement. To reverse course through 180° the aircraft cross-turn exchanging positions.

High G Barrel Roll

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/high_g_berral_roll.jpg

This maneuver is used against an attacker closing fast from astern. It starts with a break, then a roll in the opposite direction to the break. The fact that it is a high g maneuver means that quite a lot of speed is lost, up to 100 knots in some cases, particularly if performed "over the top".

If the attacker is closing fast and is caught by surprise he may easily fly through and end up in front, the positions reversed. If he attempts to follow the barrel roll, he will probably end up high and wide of the defender who can then turn in towards him, forcing him down and in front. But woe betide the defender who attempts a barrel roll in front of a slowly closing attacker who will follow him through the maneuver, ending on his tail in easy gun range. His only recourse in this event is to jink.

The High G Barrel Roll is a difficult maneuver to execute successfully, and is in fact easy for the attacker to counter. It will only work if the attacker has been led into, or is in, a high angle-off, high overtake situation.

The High G Barrel Roll can be very effective against an attacker closing fast from astern. Commencing with a break turn to put the attacker in a high angle-off position, the roll is then carried out in the opposite direction to the turn.

The Low Speed Yo-Yo Strait Pursuit

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/lowspeedyoyo_straightpursuit.jpg

Two versions of the low speed yoyo exist. The first, illustrated here, is based on trading height for speed. It is used to break a stalemate in a tail chase where the attacker is unable to close to within range. He unloads in a shallow dive, gaining speed. When the distance has been closed, he pulls up into the attack.

More often, the low-speed yo yo is used to break a stalemate in a turning fight. The attacker drops his nose to the inside of the turn, then cuts low across the circle before pulling up towards his opponent's six o'clock. The gain is often marginal, but repeating the process nibbles off a few degrees of angle each time, due to maneuvering in the vertical plane. The pull-up should be started when a position of about 30 degrees angle-off is reached. It is important that the angle of cut-off is correct or the attacker will arrive in a fly-through situation with too much angle-off as he approaches the target. If this happens then he must endeavor to pull up into a high-speed yoyo.

Defense against the low-speed yoyo takes two forms. The first is to copy the maneuver while remaining in phase with the attacker. This maintains the stalemate. The second counter is more positive. The defender holds the turn until the attacker starts his pull-up. He then eases his turn a trifle, lifts his nose, and makes a rolling descending turn into his opponent.

If the attacking pilot has tried to lead the defender by too much or dived too low by being greedy, the defender can also pull up and barrel down onto the attacker.

The Offensive Split

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/offensive_split.jpg

A pair of fighters can carry out the "offensive split" maneuver in a variety of ways. In one version the nearest man is in combat spread, drawing the attention of the bandits, while his partner (hopefully unobserved) sneaks around the back either high or low, depending on relative altitudes at the start of the encounter. For example, referring back to the eyeball/shooter attack, when the lookout gains visual contact and clears the shooter to fire at the far bogey. The lookout will be visible to the enemy at much the same time, and the bandit will almost certainly react by turning towards him. The shooter, still low, still hopefully undetected, can swing across behind his leader, then reverse into a hard climbing turn which should bring him out into a good attacking position.

There are many variations of the offensive split. Here the leader visually identifies bandits, who turn towards him. Meanwhile his No. 2 has crossed under unobserved to pull up hard from underneath for a belly shot.

Offset Head-On Pass

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/offset_headon_pass.jpg

The off-set head-on pass may be used by the pilot of an extremely maneuverable fighter. Faced with a head-on attack, he can offset to one side to give himself space in which to use his superior turning ability.

The Scissors

http://www.combataircraft.com/tactics/images/scissors.jpg

This is a series of turn reversals performed with the object of forcing the overshooting attacker out in front to a position of disadvantage. The initial turn is reversed when the attacker has definitely overshot and has drifted sufficiently wide as to prevent him from pulling back into the cone of vulnerability when the defender reverses. Timing the reversals is absolutely critical. The basic rule is that if the attacker is overshooting fast, reverse early, but if he is drifting slowly wide, take time and make sure.

The scissors is the natural outcome of a successful break which has forced the attacker to overshoot. It consists of a series of reversals to get behind the attacker by forcing him out in front. The more maneuverable fighter has an advantage in the scissors.

Full power is used throughout the scissors but with the nose trimmed high to reduce the forward velocity vector. Airbrakes can be used to force the flythrough but if they are used too early they will advertise the defender's intentions. The scissors may turn into a stalemate with neither side gaining the advantage. The stalemate can be broken by one fighter rolling inverted when passing through the adversary's six o'clock and diving away to gain speed before pulling back up,preferably into sun. This will hopefully take him by surprise. Scissoring for more than a couple of reversals is not recommended against an opponent who is able to turn faster and/or tighter, and it should not be attempted if there is more than one attacker, either. Fighter pilots recommend that unless the advantage is gained after three reversals, the pilot should, aiming to pass head-on to the attacker, since this would put him at a disadvantage in having to turn back toward the defender as he runs out.

Aerial Flip

The aerial flip is a highly difficult and dangerous maneuver that could only be done in the atmosphere with the use of repulsorlifts. It involves precise timing from the pilot, or the result in the loss of control of the fighter. But when done properly, this maneuver is deadly, and allows the pilot to eliminate his or her pursuer.

The aerial flip is done in the middle of a wide turn. The pilot would use the repulsorlifts of the fighter to temorarily stall the craft for a split second, at the meantime, doing an extremely small loop that would seem like a flip in midair. When done correctly, the pursuing fighter would pass under the inverted fighter that is half way through the maneuver, and making itself the target once it has been completed. The pilot would then accelerate to get onto the tail of the enemy.

For the more skilled pilots, doing a tighter turn or flip would enable the fighter to be already facing the path of the enemy fighter when the enemy flies by. At that time, firing linked lasers at almost point blank range allows the pilot to destroy the enemy fighter.

For this maneuver, the pilot is required to decelerate before the flip to minimize zero-G through the flip, then quickly maximize acceleration afterwards to keep up with the enemy fighter.

Reference: Movie Stealth, battle against the Russian Terminators.

Thanks to CombatAircraft.com for this information.