Fighter Combat

368 TACTICAL INTERCEPTSawareness), weapons available, displacement available, etc. For the FQintercept the lead will normally turn to collision heading once the desiredaspect has been generated. In this case, however, the stern conversion isselected, which calls for paralleling the bogey's flight path to maintainlateral separation. The leader's altitude should be adjusted as necessary forenvironmental or weapons considerations. The wingman will want a goodaltitude split on the leader at the point of attack to make himself harder forthe bogeys to see, so he should be planning the direction of this verticalsplit and how it can best be achieved.It is the leader's responsibility during the intercept to inform the wingmanof the planned intercept geometry, bogey numbers, formation, altitudes,etc., as available. Wingman positioning during the attack is best leftto the wingman, since he is better able to assess his own capabilities as topositioning, radar status, situational awareness, etc. The wingman hasthree options with this tactic. He can take an early cut to the inside of theleader's turn in an attempt to bracket the enemy, he can perform a tac turnwith the leader to maintain an abeam position for the attack, or he canmake the transition to a trail position during the conversion turn for asweep option. Whichever option he chooses, the wingman should informthe leader of his intentions.For the bracket option the wingman may be required to dive below theleader at high speed in order to reach a position on or across the bogey'sflight path at the intercept. If this maneuver is performed within possiblevisual range of the bogeys, the wingman should try not to pass too close tothe leader, since this could give the enemy a chance for a tally on bothfighters. Unlike the classic pincer attack, this bracket option is performedvisually by the wingman with reference to the leader, so it is not necessaryfor the wingman to have a radar contact with the bogeys. The bracketoption can be a good choice when the fighters are all-aspect capable and theenemy is not. When this option is properly performed, both fighters shouldhave shots by the time the leader can VID the bogeys. Wingman positioningin this case should provide for satisfying his weapon's min-rangeconstraints as the leader terminates the intercept.The abeam option is simply a section stern conversion or FQ interceptwith the wingman holding an abeam position in defensive spread throughout.This option can provide optimum defensive potential in a hostileenvironment while giving the fighters some tactical advantage at theintercept. It can be very effective offensively when both the fighters andthe enemy have all-aspect weapons. The bogeys can easily counter thistactic, however, if the fighters have only RQ weapons, by turning hard intothe attack. The fighters may still achieve some tactical advantage if detectionof the attack can be delayed until late in the game.The sweep option is essentially the sweep tactic already described. Thisoption is less well suited to all-aspect weapons than are the previouschoices, because normally only the leader is in firing parameters at themoment of the VID. The sweep can be very effective with less capableweapons, however, especially when extended maneuvering is anticipatedwith enemy fighters, as the trail formation provides good offensive poten-