Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

TACTICAL INTERCEPTS 379
One peek is worth a thousand [radar] sweeps.
Unknown
In some cases pilots have been provided with telescopic devices to allow
more distant visual acquisition and VID of airborne targets. Some means of
extending VID range is often required if full use is to be made of the
head-on capability of all-aspect missiles. Such devices can be as simple as a
hand-held telescope or binoculars, or as exotic as a high-powered video
telescope slaved to the fighter radar's LOS. In general, even the simpler
devices can be effective, but hand-held equipment presents problems of
loose gear flying around in cockpits, and hands that are busy performing
other required functions in a complex cockpit may not be available for its
operation. Usually a better solution is to fasten these devices securely to
the aircraft and point them straight ahead. The radar can then be used to
point the aircraft, and the telescope, directly at an unidentified target for
closer examination. Obviously the telescope's field of view must be compatible
with the accuracy of the radar LOS-indicating system.
He who sees first, lives longest.
Unknown
The smallness of the area of maximum visual acuity limits the effectiveness
of detailed sector search unless the target's LOS can be limited
substantially. It can take several seconds to scan thoroughly an area extending
even 1° about a given point. Therefore, dividing the entire world
into sectors for consecutive detailed inspection becomes ludicrous. Even if
each individual search was limited to only one second, it would literally
take all day to complete even one cycle of this process. Based on such
realities, it just isn't practical to rely on a detailed sector-search scan
technique to produce acceptable results for defensive purposes. Offensively,
however, careful inspection of narrow sectors is usually the method
that yields tallyhos of the longest range.
The alternative is to devise a scan technique based on peripheral vision,
which allows coverage of a very large area in a relatively short time. This
method involves moving the eyes (and the head) back and forth across the
entire field of view at a fairly rapid rate. Although the head may appear to
move smoothly during these sweeps, the eyes will actually make rapid
jerks of several degrees at a time, and a fairly large area can be searched by
peripheral vision at each pause. This technique is somewhat analogous to
speed-reading methods, as opposed to focusing on individual words on a
printed page. The actual speed of the scan is dependent on proficiency, as
the eyes must be trained to make these movements faster for greater scan
speed. If the eyes are not allowed to pause repeatedly, very little will be
seen.
There should be a regular pattern to these visual sweeps; both above and
below the horizon and from forward to aft visibility limits on both sides of
the aircraft should be searched. These visibility limits can usually be
extended by rolling, turning, or skidding the aircraft in conjunction with
the scan pattern. The scan should be allowed to sweep distant objects
periodically (every few seconds) to provide adjustment of focal range.