

Today's air combat is much more complicated than those of older times, with newer inventions like air-to-air missiles and RADAR being used operationally on virtually all modern fighter aircraft. Most of these rules, known as the " Dicta Boelcke", are still as valuable nowadays as they were a century ago.

He advised pilots to attack from the direction of the sun (towards which the defending pilot could not see), or to fly at a higher altitude than the opponent. During World War One, Oswald Boelcke, a German fighter ace, was the first to write down basic rules for aerial combat maneuvering.
#Defensive air combat maneuvers plus
This is known as getting on an aircraft's six o'clock, or on his tail, plus a wide variety of other terms, usually coined by air crews. In order to achieve firing position while not being threatened by the enemy's guns, the best technique was to get behind the enemy aircraft. With such armament, the pilot just had to point his aircraft at the enemy and open fire. It was soon noticed that the best armament for such an aircraft was fixed, forward-firing guns. Soon the need to stop enemy aircraft from completing their mission became a necessity, and this rapidly led to the creation of a class of aircraft designed specifically to destroy enemy aircraft: fighter aircraft. Military aviation appeared in World War I with aircraft being used to spot enemy movement. It relies on offensive and defensive Basic Fighter maneuvering (BFM) in order to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent. In the procedures which follow, the numbers in parentheses refer to the steps of the maneuver shown in the accompanying figure.Air combat maneuvering ( ACM) is the art of maneuvering a combat aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Keep in mind, the best way to learn to fight is by fighting. If this missile misses, grit your teeth and go after the target. Should an enemy aircraft appear on radar or a target-designator box appear on the screen, fire a medium-range missile immediately. You're ready to practice your maneuvers.This will improve the performance and handling of the aircraft. On your way out to sea, drop all bombs.Either place the NAV cursor over the base or use the Horizontal Situation Display (map) to guide you. If this doesn't destroy it, follow and fire a second missile.

#Defensive air combat maneuvers how to
Bombing techniques are also illustrated, while another chapter covers the tactics and maneuvers you'll use when you're outnumbered.Įach maneuver described in the Flight School section includes step-by-step instructions on how to perform the technique, as well as any altitude or airspeed limitations. Each has its own chapter in this part of Jet Fighter School. Once you've done this, you can move on to offensive and defensive combat maneuvers. Before you can perform complicated combat maneuvers, you must learn and perfect the basic flying skills.
