Fighter Combat

TACTICAL INTERCEPTS 371RWR equipment may be of assistance in determining when the bogeys arelocked.At this point the fighter wingman rolls over and pulls hard into a split-Suntil the aircraft is pointing vertically downward. When the bogeys areequipped with Doppler-type radar systems, this maneuver should placethe enemy at 90° to the wingman's aircraft so quickly that the aircraft willbe invisible to the bogeys' radar before fighter separation is wide enough toallow both aircraft to be displayed separately. By the time the wingmanpulls out of his dive, time "3," he will probably be out of the bogeys' radarscan volume. In addition, the bogeys' look-down angle caused by thewingman's dive will result in clutter problems for enemy pulse radarsystems. A hard break-away is essential at time "2," especially againstDoppler radars. If the fighters can be in the vicinity of corner speed at thispoint, a max-G break produces the 90° turn as quickly as possible with theleast separation between fighters. Chaff deployment by the wingman justas he approaches the vertical attitude is also very effective against pulseradars, and can even produce false targets on a Doppler radar in high-windconditions. Paradoxically, the better the enemy's radar performs againsttargets with a beam aspect, the more vulnerable it is to chaff. Chaff is alsouseful in confusing enemy GCI controllers, who now probably detect averitable explosion of targets and may have insufficient time remaining todetermine which are real fighters. When it is performed at medium altitudes,the wingman's split-S may also place him too low for the enemy'sGCI coverage.Once his aircraft is purely vertical the wingman does a 180° roll and awings-level pull-out on the original collision heading at high speed. At thispoint he should regain visual contact with the leader, who should now beslightly ahead and very much higher, and if time permits he can gain radarcontact with the bogeys. The leader should resist changing heading betweenthe wingman's break and his "visual" call, since the wingman maynever regain sight if he does. If a heading change must be made, the newcourse should be relayed to the wingman immediately.Approaching the merge the leader should call ranges frequently so thewingman can time his pull-up so he is pointing at the leader at the pass.The wingman is essentially performing a vertical hook, so the leaderdesires a close pass with the bogeys to help the wingman (shooter) get atally. In this case the leader should try to pass slightly above the bogeys,possibly in a climb, to draw attention away from the low shooter, andpossibly tempt the bogey into a pull-up right in front of the hooker.Advantages and DisadvantagesWhen it works, this tactic will cause lots of laughing and scratching backat the bar; but when it doesn't, there will no doubt be much increduloushead shaking. The break-away throws caution to the winds for the advantagesof deception and surprise. The only positive defensive point that canbe made in its favor is the adage "A good offense is the best defense." Thefighters are in a poor defensive posture throughout the intercept. They areusually too close for good mutual support before the break-away, and the