Section 1 BVR

Section 2 BFM

9 339 F R E E F A L C O N 4.0
Section 1 - BVR

The five Stages of bvr

- Captain Chris “Dax” Widick

If properly performed, a BVR engagement will remain a BVR engagement

through its entirety, which – ultimately - is our goal. It is often said in the
fighter jock world that, “If you have to go guns or heaters on your bandit…
you’ve done something wrong.” This logic certainly holds true when a strictly
BVR fight is desired. Though there are times when a knife fight is preferable
to a long range engagement, WVR tactics are outside the scope of this Guide,
and - as such - will not be addressed here.

The Five Basic Stages (in chronological order) are:

1. Awareness and Detection

2. Sorting
3. Intercept
4. Defensive Response
5. Kill Confirmation

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Awareness and Detection
It stands to reason that in order to knowingly engage a suspected bandit, one must first be
aware of, and detect said target. As it pertains to this discussion, the difference between
Awareness and Detection, must be explained.

Awareness, as the name implies, is the pilot’s ability to know, suspect or be aware of an
aircraft that exists somewhere in the relatively near vicinity, though it may not have, as yet,
been detected. This is accomplished through the development of the fighter pilot’s most
important skill, Situational Awareness (“SA”, an especially vital concept discussed later).

Detection, for the purposes of this discussion, will be defined as a confirmed radar contact
and/or “strober” indication, unknown or thought to be potentially hostile. For example, a
RWR indication of a Slot back type radar, outside of lethal range at 11 o’clock is
“awareness” of a MiG-29/Su-27 where as an AWACS call of nearest bandit off the nose at
20 miles and a corresponding “strober” on the scope can be considered “detection”.

Awareness may come from a variety of sources. Within the Falcon 4.0 world, AWACS is
most often your first indication that a potential threat exists. AWACS is, for all practical
intents and purposes, omniscient in the Falcon world and - if utilised properly – can be a
tremendously powerful resource.

Awareness may also come from other flights, whether they be AI or Human. Often
overlooked, AI Flight communications are an excellent source of information when building
your Situational Awareness. They indirectly provide you with information that adds to the
mental picture of your environment that you ought to be creating in-flight. Though not
always relevant, the more information you can acquire by any means the better. Human
pilots of other flights will tend to be part of your package and as such, the information
available from them will tend to be especially relevant to your flight. And, as common
sense would dictate, information from aircraft within your flight is crucially relevant.

There are two primary methods of detection, Radar and Visual. By strict definition, Visual
detection has no relevance to the BVR fight (at least not at this stage), and therefore only
Radar detection will be discussed.

It is assumed those reading this have a cursory understanding of the mechanics of modern
radar and - as such - this discussion will limit itself to topics regarding proper deployment
of radar scan techniques.

RADAR & SCAN-PLANS: What is often stated, in one manner or another, is that the
greatest weakness of radar is the operator. What this really means is that the inability of a
radar to detect an object is most often as a result of the radar looking at the wrong portion
of the sky. Radar control and operation ought to be considered fundamental basics;
learned and mastered to a level of proficiency that allows the APG-68 to be operated as
though it was an extension of yourself.

Part of any thorough preflight briefing should include a “scan plan”. It should include
altitude blocks and ranges for each member of the flight and specifically scripted with
regards to the type of flight, mission, and flight plan. The idea is to have as much coverage
over sky that is relevant to your flight and is possible given the resources on hand (i.e.
number of radars available to you and your flight).

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A two ship “scan plan” may consist of something as simple as Lead scanning mid to high
altitudes, and wing scanning low to mid altitude, 40 mile range, enroute to target during a
strike mission, leaving the longer range scanning responsibilities to it’s escort, if applicable.
Furthermore, it may be briefed that should escort flight be engaged within that 40 mile
scan area, that the two ship assume long range scan duties until such time as escort can
resume.

A two ship “scan plan” in the BARCAP role, may be just as simple, with addition of
alternating headings in a holding pattern type orbit, maximizing area coverage at any given
time.

Four ship “scan plans” can become more complex as well as more inclusive with regards
to the amount of area that may potentially be scanned. Lead element may duplicate a scan
pattern similar to the one mentioned above for the two ship strike, only now they may shift
their scan laterally off course to the left, while second element follows opposite to the right,
thus effectively covering the entire front hemisphere relative to their heading.

Regardless of the pre-briefed plan, the primary goal is to ensure that an understanding
exists between all flight members with regards to their area of responsibility. Having four
capable radars scanning the same exact area of sky is a horrendous waste of resources,
not to mention a perfect recipe for ambush.

Ideally, in the detection stage the decision is made as to whether to push the fight, or to
bug out. A thorough preflight briefing should have covered the ROE so as to give the flight
members a better level of expectancy when an engage/disengage order is given by lead.

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Sorting
Once the decision has been made to continue the engagement the task at hand becomes
effectively sorting the bandits. The primary goal is to ensure that each flight member is
aware of and has a positive ID on his bandit and/or area of responsibility within the fight.

A sort can quickly become a complicated tangle of communications that can quickly lead
to a tumbleweed situation for the entire flight, and - as such - proper brevity and sort
techniques must be utilised. Any one of, or combination/variation, of the following methods
can be employed to help ensure an accurate sort.

Lateral Sort - The most obvious method is to sort laterally as depicted on the radar scope.
Often lead and trailing aircraft are readily apparent and can quickly be sorted and a
verification of this should sound something like:

Falcon11 - “Bandits, two-ship, Bullseye 270, 40 miles, angels 22… One has lead”
Falcon12 - “Confirmed, two has trailer.”

Vertical Sort - When enough lateral separation does not exist or an altitude difference
within the hostile flight is the most distinguishing feature sorting vertically may be
implemented.

Falcon11 - “Bandits, two-ship, Bullseye 270, 40 miles split vertically.

One has bandit angels 22”
Falcon12 - “Two has second bandit, angels 17.”

All that needs to be accomplished is that the friendlies involved verify their target’s altitude
which ideally should provide enough of a discrepancy to ensure effective sorting has been
accomplished.

Often, within the myriad scenarios Falcon presents, you’ll find that other methods may be
more effective. The means to the end in this case are incidental, and the primary focus
needs to be that proper sorting is quickly and accurately accomplished. Otherwise, far too
often, multi-ship flights can easily Fox on one individual bandit, not only wasting valuable
missiles but allowing the lost bandit a perfect opportunity to go on the offensive whilst he’s
unengaged.

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Intercept
We’ve detected, identified and sorted our bandits at this point. Upon entering this stage of
the engagement the Flight Lead has essentially two options: Prosecute or go Defensive.
Depending on the resources available (i.e. A2A weapons, Escort Flight present within the
package, friendly fighters/SAMs nearby) Flight lead may opt to go defensive, which in and
of itself offers a few options. At his discretion, he may slow your flight to allow your escort
an opportunity to engage, or he may opt to have the flight change heading or even reverse
course for a short period of time, again allowing the Escort Flight more room to engage.
Given extreme circumstances an abort and RTB order may be given.

Should the Flight Lead determine the bogeys to be hostile, a threat to your flight, and Lead
makes the decision to engage, the prosecution stage of the engagement begins. At this
point the Flight Lead’s workload increases dramatically, and it is all important that his flight
react quickly and as a cohesive unit relying on his command decisions. Poor
communication and teamwork is the Achilles heel of any Air to Air engagement.

Depending on the threat and the flight’s current status, the flight may either push for a
WVR range fight or call for a BVR fight. For example, a heavily loaded four ship Strike
package of F-16s are no match for a pair of Flankers in the close in arena, without having
to drop their mission critical stores. However - given the right circumstances and cohesive
teamwork - that same two ship of Flankers can be effectively dealt with, without sacrificing
the mission outcome, through a successful BVR engagement.

Conversely, though not often advised, the same Flight Lead may opt to push a WVR fight
with a pair of MiG-23s, so long as heaters are available, in an attempt to conserve the
number of available AMRAAMs, if more lethal threats are expected. A skilled and practiced
flight of four F-16 pilots can just as effectively, as with the SU-27 engagement mentioned
above, deal with a pair of Floggers in the WVR arena. Such a decision relies heavily upon
knowing the capabilities of your flight.

In any event, within this context the Flight Lead will call for an intercept procedure
consistent with a successful BVR engagement, and the flight itself will act accordingly.

Such tactics will be discussed further in this Guide.

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Defensive Response
Though, in a sense the Defensive Response of your flight in a BVR should be apparent in
the BVR intercept tactics given by the Flight’s Lead, it is crucial enough in the BVR
environment to acknowledge it as a separate entity within the engagement. Given the
mechanics of modern day BVR weapons, their threat is often not realized until far too late.
Case in point - there is no positive indication of an AMRAAM or AA-12 launch until either
visual acquisition is acquired or its own onboard radar goes active. Both scenarios are not
a good place to be if you have a strong sense of self preservation. All too often a pilot’s
family receives a letter of condolence as a result of his failure to react to the potential
threat that may be inbound. As a result, careful consideration must be given with regards
your threat’s type and capabilities. For example a proper BVR engagement against a
pair of SU-27s potentially armed with AA-12s should involve a just barely within Max
Range shot of your AMRAAMs, and a subsequent forsaking of the radar guidance until
“pitbull”. This provides for a defensive posture or maneuver that ensures a higher chance
of survival. Conversely, if the capabilities of the Flogger are understood, a BVR launch
against a MiG-23 allows the launching F-16 more freedom to close and increase the Pk of
his launch.

Kill Confirmation
As self-explanatory as it seems, the final basic stage in the BVR engagement is crucial,
yet often deceptively difficult. Once a hit is expected, it should not be considered as such
until positively confirmed. Assumed kills have a nasty habit of biting pilots in the ass,
unexpectedly.

Targets often fade from radar, RWR nails can be eliminated with the flick of a switch, and
even those dark plumes of smoke that so easily provoke the elation of a kill can easily
represent nothing more than an injured, and probably irritated, bandit. However, the
presence of all three of these criteria is often indicative of a good kill.

A positive visual on a secondary explosion marking the disappearance of your bandit

entirely is even better, but not always available within the BVR realm. Much like proper
sorting, the means to the end are relatively incidental so long as proper precautions are
taken to verify that the kills have been made. Until such time as the kills can be properly
confirmed, the Flight Lead should maintain a defensive stance for his flight, and be
prepared for a re-engagement or separation, as necessary.

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Basic Prosecution of the bvr Fight
Successful prosecution of the BVR engagement relies heavily on a simultaneous
execution of both offensive and defensive tactics, when dealing with high threat bandits
such as Su-27 and MiG-29S’s. Both the Flanker and Fulcrum “Sierra” model are AA-12
capable, making them the most lethal Red aircraft in the sky. As such, Prosecution tactics
will be discussed with regards to them. The Soviet Adder indeed has a longer range than
that of the AMRAAM, however it’s less maneuverable and its radar’s cone of vision is
slightly smaller than that of the AIM-120. These two deficiencies can almost entirely
negate the longer range of the Soviet missile, if exploited properly. In facing the AA-12 in
combat, there are several primary methods each of which have their own benefits and
deficiencies:

The Beam
The concept of the beam is based on exploiting a flaw inherent to most modern Radar. In
order to reduce ground clutter on the radar scope, modern radars filter out what they see
as stationary objects through the use of the Doppler Effect. What that this means to you as
a pilot, is that if you were able to make you aircraft appear stationary to the hostile radar, it
will indeed filter you out just as it does buildings on the ground. Initially you might think this
not possible, however “Beaming” your bandit does exactly this. The term “Beam” refers to
your 3 and 9 o’clock lines. So following logic, to beam or the act of beaming refers to
placing the object in question along that axis of your aircraft. When that object is a Pulse
Doppler type radar the end result is that you have effectively zeroed your speed relative to
the radar. The only closure the radar senses is that of its own aircraft’s speed. At this point
you are filtered out as being nothing more important to the radar than a tree. At best this
will prevent the bandit from locking you solidly enough to engage, but more realistically it
will make their life more difficult by providing intermittent chances of locking. In order to
apply this technique in a BVR fight the Bandit should be identified and locked by no closer
than a 20 nm range. This will give you adequate time to set up for a head on engagement,
which is desirable in this situation. While head on, keep a close eye on your range to
target, his aspect, and closure rate. You may launch at anywhere inside 20nm and
possibly acquire a kill, but generally speaking 12-15nm is preferred depending on closure
and aspect (aspect simply put is the number of degrees you are off your target’s nose).

Launches at the longer ranges (15nm+) are often successful in spooking the bandit just
enough for him to go defensive, which sometimes is an adequate resolution to the
engagement, while ranges closer than that dramatically increase your PK (Probability of
Kill). In any case, practice in Dogfight type engagements setup in Falcon for BVR will allow
you to find the range that you feel allows you both the highest chance of a kill as well as
highest chance of survival. With much practice that range will greatly decrease.

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 388 kts 362 kts
22293 ft 20878 ft
359 degs 17 degs
0 rng 0 rng

642 kts
20887 ft
181 degs
14 rng

Figure 1a: Depicts just prior to the launch and initial turn into the Beam.
Notice: Range - 14nm, Heading - 181 degrees, Speed -: 642 knots.

Near Head On orientation to bandits. Jammer on. Immediately after launching on the
Bandit the Beam is executed. This is performed by a high G turn either left or right, roughly
90 degrees. Should the Slot back still have his radar active, the RWR will provide an
excellent reference to place the boogey on your 3 or 9 line. Should his radar be
intermittent or off entirely, some estimation is required as you’re sure to bust gimbals
(lateral range of your radar) in this maneuver, which means you had better been paying
close attention to his heading/aspect before going into your turn. At this point the defensive
maneuvers are begun.

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 3 AIM120-B

2 AIM120-B
1 AA-12
1 AIM120-B
380 kts
21155 ft
307 degs
336 kts
19354 ft
306 degs

1 Dax

611 kts
16512 ft
274 degs
0 rng

Figure 1b: Nose down attitude, speed increasing extending from bandits.
Heading, 274 degrees, nearly a perfect beam (93 degrees of original heading of 181). Jammer off.

If your launch range approached 15nm, it’s a safe bet that the Slot back has launched on
you. Remember, always defeat the threat, and when a missile is launched it becomes the
threat and the launching aircraft should be secondary in your mind…. but still on your mind.
Once the Bandit is Beamed several actions must be performed as quickly as possible in
order to ensure survival. Any Jammer in use MUST be turned off. Negating closure rate to
a radar guided missile, while making you invisible to the missile, does nothing to hide the
emissions your ECM pod is broadcasting, and the AA-12 is very capable of locking on to
those emissions in HOJ (Home on Jam) mode. At the same time a nose down (anywhere
from 10-20 degrees is sufficient), full mil to AB attitude should be established while
scanning visually for the missile and several bundles of chaff should be pumped out. This
serves a couple purposes.

First, it increases your energy state as you increase your speed, sometimes upwards and
past 800kts+. By this time, the missile’s motor is sure to have burned out and it is strictly
an energy fight at this point. The drastic increase in your speed helps diminish the
missile’s closure rate, forcing it to continually lose ground in the energy fight. Remember,
with less than a 10 second burn time any missile’s energy is limited, while that of your jet is
relatively infinite.

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In addition, you’ll eventually level out at close to ground level. If you haven’t beat the
missile at this point, the un-filterable ground clutter will help mask your presence, possibly
spoofing the missile. Furthermore, radar guided missiles fly a lead pursuit (a course that
points their flight path ahead of yours for intercept). As a result, radar guided missiles have
been known to smack into the deck while trying to maintain a lead pursuit on a lower level
aircraft. Finally, being at a low level often allows the option to place a large object (i.e.
mountain) between you and the chasing missile.
During your descent a slight turn into the missile helps maintain a proper aspect for
beaming. The missile flying a lead pursuit already as an inherent angle on you, small
enough to negate the effect of beaming so in order help remove this advantage, a slight
bank of 10-15 degrees often creates just enough of a constant change in flight path to
maintain effective beaming.
Once on the deck, the priority becomes visually acquiring that missile. The missile may not
be present on your RWR, but that is not to say that you have beaten it just yet. All too
often overconfidence in the situation has prompted a pilot to turn back into a missile still
looking for a target… and found himself the target. Visual acquisition can be relatively
difficult at this point as the missile’s motor is spent, removing from view the very easy to
spot smoke trail. However, once acquired visually, immediate recognition of whether you
are still its target

2 AA-12 597 kts

12902 ft
2 AA-12 177 deg

4 AA-12

1 Dax

881 kts
3566 ft
271 deg

Figure 1c: The Beam is established and maintained at this point, maintaining a heading roughly
270 degrees off from original at full/AB. Missiles are effectively beaten and need only be outrun at
this point prior to reengagementis required. This is done by observing its relative motion.
.

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A visual target, and this applies to aircraft as well as missiles, that has no relative motion
(i.e. it is not moving in your canopy) is on a collision course for you (also known as a lead
pursuit). With this information at hand we can deduce that if the missile is visually moving
to your aft, it has lost its lock on you and is now without a target, or at the very least, you
are not its current target. If this is the case, maintaining your defensive stance and current
heading or a turn into the missile’s point of origin, should spoof the missile entirely. Should
the relative motion be towards your nose, a high G turn into and past the missile should be
enough to place it behind you with no hope of reacquiring you. In the case of no relative
movement, it should be considered tracking you, regardless of RWR information. At this
point you are in a position of considerable advantage as the missile has been nearly
depleted entirely of any sort of effective energy and a well timed high G turn into or above
the missile will effectively beat the missile.

Figure 1d: View from inside the ‘pit of visual acquisition of inbound AA-12.

At this stage in the fight the high G maneuver performs two functions: It burns off even
more energy from the missile putting it in an energy state, hopefully, where it may become
effectively unable to close in near enough to cause damage. Secondly, at shorter ranges
the cone of vision of the radar’s seeker is very narrow, and the high G maneuver increases
your chances of moving out of the field of view of the radar.

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The Beam tactic, as effective as it might be, carries with it some serious disadvantages.
Primarily, in performing the maneuver, you effectively lose radar lock and greatly diminish
your chances of visually acquiring the Slot back, preventing you from going defensive or
even re-engaging it should your initial launch miss its mark. Should this be the case, you
will find that unless the Slot back disengaged, he will still be in your forward hemisphere
and looking to reacquire you. At this point you will be in a seriously disadvantaged
situation: low to the ground with minimum look up capability and most likely tumbleweed
as to the Slot back’s posit, while he has spent the time of your maneuver looking for you.
The Beam tactic is good for a defensive disengagement, but poor on offense after your
initial launch.

The Drag
“The Drag” concept is the most simple of the options and should be learned to proficiency
first. It offers a high chance of survival, however it also diminishes you ability to maintain
accurate Situational Awareness, and by its very nature forces you into a very defensive
stance. The technique involves a mid to max range shot on the bandits (12-20nm miles)
and a Split-S maneuver to reverse and extend from the incoming threat (the AA-12). This
is most effective in a nearly head on engagement.

426 kts
377 kts 21492 ft
20708 ft 332 deg
353 deg

1 AIM120-B
1 Dax

477 kts
19923 ft
182 deg
14 rng

Figure 2a: Initial setup for the Drag. Head on engagement, range 14nm, positive radar
contact on lead bandit. Heading 182, speed well above corner speed. Jammer on.

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The bandit needs to be identified and locked on to by no later than 15nm in order to
ensure success. When this is accomplished, preferably prior to 20nm, wait patiently for the
range to pass 15nm, unless a low PK shot is desired with the hopes of pushing the bandits
to go defensive. In either event, once your AMRAAM is off the rail a negative Split-S
maneuver is performed, reversing your course 180 degrees, accompanied by several
bursts of chaff.

298 kts
20923 ft
377 kts 71 deg
17712 ft
225 deg

1 DAX

548 kts
13134 ft
0 deg

Figure 2b: The offensive launch has been performed and the Split-S is commenced, reversing
heading, increasing kinetic energy state. Jammer is off.

Several things are accomplished through the Split-S. First and foremost, you are
increasing your kinetic energy (speed) while establishing a heading that is more or less
directly away from the bandit and its missiles, reducing the closure rate as well as the
missile’s PK on you. The increase in kinetic energy improves your situation should you
need to defeat the missile close in. During the reversal, specifically during the vertically
nose down portion of it, you are essentially a target with no relative speed and for a brief
moment making it difficult for the hostile radar to maintain lock, effectively beaming the
bandit (as discussed above). This in and of itself will not prove effective enough to spoof
the missile entirely, however it may provide you with a very few valuable seconds to add to
your defensive time. As with the “Beam” above, make sure that your ECM are off,
preventing a HOJ situation during the maneuver.

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The downward vertical velocity of your aircraft ensures that your chaff bursts will be as
effective as possible. Instead of being merely between you and the missile (leaving you as
a still very lucrative target in front of the chaff) the chaff are now independent targets while
your aircraft is quickly trying to exit the cone of sight of the hostile missile. Once a reverse
heading is established, maintain a 10-15 degree nose down attitude, preferably in full AB,
for the drag. At this point the inbound missile will be just a few miles aft of you in full
pursuit, with more than likely a solid lock on your aircraft. Regardless of the lock, you have
a very high chance of defeating the missile in the energy fight. All that is left to do ideally is
to maintain best possible forward speed until the hostile missile has lost all its energy and
drops from the sky. Should enough distance still separate you and the missile at this point,
it will be likely that the hostile aircraft is still locked on to you and guiding the missile, as
the missile hasn’t closed within range to go active with its own radar guidance (pitbull).

2 AA-12

1 AA-12

882 kts
1603 ft
2 deg

Figure 2c: View from the AA-12s as the Drag is finished, leaving the aircraft only needing to
maintain speed and heading as the missiles lose energy and ultimately, the fight.

The benefit in this is that one of two things may happen, either the launching bandit must
go on the defensive leaving its missile blind and searching, or your AMRAAM will destroy
the hostile, again leaving the missile blind and searching. In either event the hostile missile
still has the opportunity to reacquire you, but you’ve gained another few valuable seconds
in the fight.

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During the drag, it’s advisable to scan your aft hemisphere for the missile. When the
maneuver is performed flawlessly, simply out running the missile will beat the missile.
However, rarely in a high threat environment do things go exactly as planned. Padlocking
the missile will allow you to decide whether you have the missile beat, or if a high G
maneuver as described in the above section is needed.

Figure 2d: The inbound AA-12 is visually acquired, however being directly on the aircraft’s
6 o’clock makes padlocking impossible.

The missile is outlined in red, barely noticeable even at this range. As with the Beam tactic,
the Drag is enormously effective and very easily executed. If timed correctly and
performed at just the right range, a CAT III loaded F-16 can easily dispense of two Slot
backs, with a high chance of survival. The Drag is also the most reliable tactic with regards
to evading multiple missile launches as it keeps all missiles launched at you in your rear
hemisphere with little to no change in heading on your part to evade. Effectively, this lines
up the multiple missiles directly behind you and you need only use the same tactic to spoof
them all. The downside, again as with the Beam, is the immediate loss of radar contact,
situational awareness and most hope of visually acquiring your bandit. Should the bandit
evade your launch, The Drag places him in your rear hemisphere, should he choose to
maintain the offensive. Defensively you are in a safe position, high energy with good
separation and the option to completely disengage form the fight or drag into friendly
controlled airspace. Should your bandit go on the defensive and perform a similar evasion
tactic, the separation will be much greater at which point you have the option to bug out or
reengage.

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Should you reengage, the separation and comparative energy states should be such that
you have effectively neutralized the fight. However, kill confirmation is difficult at best in
both the Drag and Beam often making it a tough decision to re-engage or bug out. Support
from any trailing flights in your package or AWACS can help alleviate this problem. Re-
engagement or re-establishing original heading from a Drag evasion can be dangerous
and should be performed only when adequate SA has been reacquired. While the Beam
and Drag are primarily defensive in nature the remaining two tactics offer a more
aggressive engagement that allow for maintaining SA and an offensive stance.

The Offset
The Offset is first and foremost a missile evasion technique. When performed correctly it
allows for a high chance of survival while at the same time maintaining the highest PK
possible. SA is maintained, and reengagement if necessary is possible in an offensive
position with regards to both BVR and transitioning into a WVR fight. Again begin with a
lock at ranges preferably greater than 20nm, ideally with the bandit roughly off your nose.
At roughly 14-15nm, contingent on aspect, speed and closure, launch your Slammer.
Throughout this maneuver you will maintain radar lock until well past the time your A-120
goes autonomous, further increasing your PK.

563 kts
27500 ft
29 deg
14 rng

1 weasel

429 kts
25104 ft
228 deg

Figure 3a: The aircraft is in perfect position to implement an Offset maneuver. Head on,
14nm range, and at high corner speed (440Kts), Jammer on.

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Note heading of roughly 230. Immediately after launch, a turn opposite of the bandit
(offset) roughly 40 degrees is performed and the new heading maintained putting the
bandit’s bearing at roughly your 2 or 10 o’clock position. The radar target should be
approaching gimbal limits at this time. During the turn simultaneously add or decrease
throttle to establish max corner speed (330-440 kts) or slightly higher.

The assumption is of course that the adversary has already launched his missile, so a
visual scan is commenced for the missile inbound. It is imperative that the missile be
visually acquired for a successful outcome. The missile should be inbound from roughly
the same bearing as your bandit. Once acquired, maintain padlock on the missile as well
as your current heading.

1 AIM120-B

601 kts
28035 ft
44 deg
7 rng

1 weasel

428 kts
25367 ft
179 deg

Figure 3b: The initial Offset is seen here, after launch, establishing a left offset roughly 50 degrees
left of original course (180). Once wings level, the pilot will immediately go to visual scanning for
the AA-12 (in this example a AIM-120 is being used as the hostile missile), also shown here. Music
and Radar off, as the remainder of the maneuver is strictly visual, until reengagement.

Approximately 5-6 seconds before the missile is expected to impact, a high G turn
opposite of your initial offset is executed, 60-70 degrees (or 20-30 degrees opposite your
initial heading). The end result should be that inbound missile tries desperately to correct
for and maintain a lead pursuit but the angle and distance proves to be too much for its
current energy state. The missile will, if the offset is properly timed and executed, either fly
harmlessly past you completely unable to reacquire you, or detonate somewhere in your
rear quadrant as it sense your aircraft is within its proximity blast radius.

Should the missile explode, it is still very likely that your aircraft will be left unscathed as
your angle and velocity allow you to escape the blast radius.

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 1 Weasel

392 kts
24691 ft
238 deg

Figure 3c: The high G turn opposite of original offset angle to a heading of 240 beats the missile
entirely.

Should the initial Aim-120 launch miss its target, the hostile aircraft will be somewhere in
the forward quadrant in a perfect position for either another Aim-120 launch, or an
intercept into a WVR fight. To be sure a quick scan visually before referring back to the
radar scope is advisable. In either event, the follow up is relatively simple as the bandit is
sure to be either still performing or just recovering from his defensive maneuvers.

When dealing with multiple missiles inbound, some issues arise with this tactic. If the
missiles are launched relatively close together, the Offset should defeat them both. But as
the distance between the lead and any missiles in trail increases so does the trailing
missiles ability to correct for and maintain its lead pursuit. Extreme distances between
missiles may allow for a follow up Offset to be performed, in the opposite direction, to
spoof the second missile.

The Offset relies entirely on a visual acquisition of the hostile missile and as a result some
practice is required to be able to not only consistently acquire such a small object but to
become proficient at judging just the right moment to offset opposite and beat the missile.
This sort of practice should be attained only in the Dogfight environment prior to utilizing
this tactic in a campaign type mission.

357 A- A Handbook
Very high in offense, the Offset is equally effective defensively when mastered. However, it
does almost guarantee a WVR fight should your initial launch miss its target, a fact that
must be taken into consideration. Under ideal circumstances your initial launch will have
forced the bandit into a reversal placing you in his rear hemisphere in perfect position to
continue prosecution of the fight in the manner most suitable. At most, this tactic should
used against 1v1 or 1v2 situations. In 2v2 or 2v4+ situations the friendly flight should make
sure to split the opposing 4 ship into elements prior to launch.

Under and Over (Orthogonal Break)

Conceptually, this tactic is similar to the Offset. It differs only in the technique deployed to
evade the missile. After launch, given the same set up as in the Offset, a 120 degree roll is
performed followed by a high G pull into a 40-50 degree nose down attitude making small
corrections to make sure that the bandit’s bearing is at your 2 or 10 o’clock position. Speed
should be adjusted to maintain well above max corner speed (440kts) as the maneuver
quickly bleeds energy.

367 kts
23320 ft
313 deg

567 kts
22218 ft
180 deg
13 rng

Figure 4a: The roughly 120 degree roll dive is shown here, inducing a turn placing the AA-12 high
and at 10 o’clock. The Chaff is clearly visible as well. 20

358 A- A Handbook
As with the above tactic, visual acquisition is all important. The missile ought to be off your
forward quadrant and high as a result of your dive.

1 AIM120-B

1 Dax

742 kts
11910 ft
144 deg

Figure 4b: The missile is visually acquired by this point and the defensive “over-the-top” maneuver
is commenced.

Shortly before impact, a climbing turn above and into the missile is executed, defeating
the missile. The premise is the same as with the Offset, yet a vertical element is
introduced, which further helps to spoof the missile in the energy fight.. Figure 4c: The
combination of both the high G turn and steep climb effectively beats the missile in the
energy fight.

1 Dax

685 kts
13250 ft
142 deg

359 A- A Handbook
This maneuver offers the same benefits at the same cost as the Offset, while additionally
keeping the bandit forward of you and above you, making visually reacquiring him much
easier should further engagement be required.

Essentially these basics are most useful in 1v1 and 1v2 encounters. Learning to forsake
the radar guidance until “pitbull” and trust that the AMRAAM will find its mark, assuming no
friendlies are in the proximity, allows for quick ripple shots on multiple hostiles prior to
committing to defensive maneuvers for an acceptably diminished PK at the same time
dramatically increasing your chance of survival.

In situations of 1v3+, variations of these tactics can be used with the teamwork of your
flight. For example, the Drag can be altered into a “pinwheel” or “Drag and Tag” type
attack. Lead and wing go into a 3-5 mile trail formation, and lead executes his Drag
maneuver. As the Lead is disengaging, the AI flight is most likely still focused on him as
their primary threat, leaving the wing free and uncovered, close in to more lethal range
before his extension.

There are myriad variations for every scenario. The importance of every maneuver is to
understand its parts and how they constitute a whole. Beaming as a BVR tactic is only one
use of the technique. Understanding its effects and limitations allows you to incorporate its
use into all sorts of practical applications. Learn to recognize a high PK shot opportunity,
as a result of constant scanning of target aspect, speed and closure information without a
“Shoot” cue as in all the above mentioned tactics a “Shoot” cue will never be displayed on
the HUD.

Five ACMIs are included as support to the above concepts. Four outline the individual
maneuvers while the fifth is a demonstration of these tactics in a practical, if wholly
unrealistic, application (1v6 Su-27). Despite the final ACMI being an ultimately
unsuccessful engagement 4 of the bandits were damaged/destroyed while spoofing 20+
AA-12 launches, thus validating the implementation of these tactics.

With a little practice all of these maneuvers can be executed at ranges that almost
guarantee a successful kill. Mastering these fundamental maneuvers provides a staging
point for more complex tactics.

-Captain Chris “Dax” Widick

X/O, 162nd Fast and Furious 16th ACCW Flying Tigers

360 A- A Handbook
Section 2 - BFM

Try to secure the upper hand before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you.

Always continue with an attack you have begun.

Only fire at close range, and then only when the opponent is properly in your sights.

You should always try to keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be
deceived by ruses.

In any type of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind.

If your opponent dives on you, do not try to get around his attack, but fly to meet it.

When over the enemy's lines, never forget your own line of retreat.

Squadrons: In principle, it is better to attack in groups of four or six.

Avoid two aircraft attacking the same opponent.

Largely a re-publication of information we’ve studied before, this section acts as a

refresher course. Credit goes to to various sources, including the Falcon3.0 Manual;
Falcon4.0 Manual; Ed “Skater” Lynch; and, Pete Bonanni’s Art Of The Kill.
Some things – you can never get enough of… ☺

361 A- A Handbook
In order to achieve victory in air-to-air combat, a pilot must be both aggressive and self-confident.

To be an expert in fighter combat, a pilot must know how and when to engage the enemy. The first
rule of WVR BFM is to avoid it… ☺ Colonel Phil ‘Hands’ Handley says: “Any thoughtful
examination of today’s aerial combat arena will show that longevity does not accrue to those who
make it their habit to enter into sustained turning engagements… Such action draws enemy fighters
like a magnet, and makes you highly vulnerable to the unobserved ‘meat shot’…”

Then – why even BOTHER with BFM…? Because eventually – through design or accident, the
pilot IS going to find himself in a WVR fight. And – when this DOES happen – the middle of a
knife-fight in a phonebooth is a bad time to START learning BFM. So – let’s start now, instead.

Tactics
As stated, the following is based largely on the teachings of Pete "Boomer" Bonanni – the Virtual
Instructor of every Falcon4.0 Virtual Pilot who has ever prowled the Virtual skies.

Tactics background: The nature of air combat has remained largely constant since Fokkers fought
Spads over the stinking trenches of WWI. Thus, we still look to the Dicta Boelcke - by famed
WWI Fighter Ace; Teacher of Manfred Von Richthofen; Grandfather of Aerial Fighter Tactics:
Oswald Boelcke - as a work relevant to today’s aerial combat. Boelcke’s most famous student -
The Red Baron - summed up the foundations of air combat when he said: "Rove your allotted area,
find the enemy and shoot him down.... anything else is rubbish." During WWII, history’s TOP ace
(Erich ‘Bubi’ Hartmann) accrued 352 kills with the simple formula – see; decide; attack; break off .

90 years since Richtofen, these philosophies still hold true. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Whilst the nature of air

combat has remained
the same, the mechanics
have undergone radical
change. Most of this
change, has come about
very recently as high-
thrust fighters such as
the F-16 entered service
in large numbers and
expanded the combat
maneuvering envelope.
The BFM that many
generations of fighter
pilots grew up with
became obsolete with
the introduction of the
F-16.

Quite suddenly, in one-versus-one maneuvering, vertical out-of-plane maneuvers such as high yo-
yos were replaced with in-plane turn circle BFM.

362 A- A Handbook
Basic Fighter Maneuvers One Vs One Air Combat
BFM is the art of exchanging energy for aircraft position.

The goals of offensive maneuvering are to remain behind an adversary and to get in a position to
shoot your weapons. In defensive maneuvering, you turn your jet and move the bandit out of
position for a shot on your aircraft. In head-on maneuvering, you get behind the bandit from a
neutral position.

When you execute maneuvers to accomplish any of these objectives, you invariably bleed off or
expend energy. "Pulling Gs" and turning cause all aircraft to slow down, lose altitude, or both.

Let’s examine the geometry of the flight and the specific maneuvers needed to be successful air-to-
air Falcon pilot.

BFM is flown in the future. Many discussions of BFM describe maneuvers as if they were cards or
chess pieces played sequentially in a game of move and countermove. Modern aerial warfare,
however, is more accurately compared to a wrestling match. It is a fluid contest of quick reactions
with both opponents executing their moves in a blur. Aerial combat requires immediate reaction.

Fighter pilots, as a rule, are not too bright on the ground; in the air, however, they are brilliant for
very short periods of time. Within seconds, a pilot must constantly go through the following basic
steps:

1. Observe the bandit.

2. Predict a future position in space for the bandit based on that observation.
3. Maneuver the jet in response to this prediction.
4. React to changes in the situation as one executes one’s maneuvers.

BFM is flown in the future and not in the present. You must constantly predict the bandit's future
position - where he will be a few seconds from the time you observe him - and fly your jet based on
this prediction.

BFM GEOMETRY
In order to perform BFM, and discuss his tactics on the forums, the pilot must understand his spatial
relationship to the target from four perspectives:

positional geometry
attack geometry
the weapons envelope
the control zone

363 A- A Handbook
Positional geometry: Range, aspect angle, and angle-off - also known as heading crossing angle or
HCA - are terms used to describe one aircraft's position relative to another. These conditions, shown
below, define the angular relation between two aircraft. This angular relationship in turn tells you
how much position advantage or disadvantage you have.

* Range is the distance between your jet and the bandit. (fig.1)
* Aspect angle is the number of degrees measured from the tail of the target to your aircraft. Aspect
angle is important because it tells you how far away you are in degrees from the target's six o’clock,
which is – of course – one’s desired position. (fig.2)
* Angle-off is the difference, measured in degrees, between your heading and the bandit's. This
angle tells you relative fuselage alignment. For example: if the angle-off were 0 deg, you would be
on a parallel heading with the bandit and your fuselages would be aligned; if the angle-off were 90
deg, your fuselage would be perpendicular to the bandit's. (fig.3)

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

364 A- A Handbook
Attack geometry: Attack geometry describes the path that an offensive fighter takes as he
converges on the bandit. To start an attack on a bandit, there are three distinct paths or pursuit
courses that you can follow:

lag pursuit
pure pursuit
lead pursuit.

* If you are pointing behind the bandit, you are in lag pursuit.

* If you are pointing directly at the bandit, you are flying a pure pursuit course.

* If your nose is out in front of the bandit, you are in lead pursuit.1

1
If you are developing Falcon for profit, you may also be considered “in Lead Pursuit”.

365 A- A Handbook
LAG PURSUIT Used for approaching the bandit. Used when the attacking jet drives “out
of plane” . Lag pursuit requires the attacking jet to have a tighter turn circle than the prey. IF the
prey has a tighter turning circle, then the attacking jet will NOT be able to rate his nose onto the
target, and will thus be “stuck” in lag-pursuit ad-infinitum.

PURE PURSUIT Used to shoot missiles at the enemy. Flying a pure pursuit course all the
way into the bandit will lead to an overshoot. For this reason, you should only point at the bandit
when you are going to shoot.

LEAD PURSUIT Used to close on the bandit; Used for gun shots. Flying a lead pursuit
course is the fastest way to get to the bandit because you cut him off in the sky. The problem with
establishing a lead pursuit course too early is that you can very easily overshoot the bandit. If you
are fighting a similar aircraft, such as the MiG-29, you will not normally be able to stay in lead
without being forced into an overshoot. It is important, however, to establish lead pursuit at the
proper time in the fight because it is the only way that you can get into the gun envelope.

WHICH PURSUIT COURSE TO CHOOSE…?

• Attacker in same plane of motion as defender Velocity dictates choice.

• Attacker in different plane of motion to defender Lift vector dictates choice.

Lift vector describes

the invisible line
which projects
outward from the
a/c, perpendicular
to the wings. When
you roll and pull
G’s the a/c will
track toward the lift
vector.

Offensive BFM
The obvious goal of offensive BFM is to kill the bandit as quickly as possible. WWI produced a
steady evolution of “tricks” and “moves” used in aerial combat. The sustained maneuverability of a
modern fighter has made a "move-counter-move" discussion of offensive BFM obsolete. Modern
aerial combat is more “fluid”; simply a matter of driving one’s jet into an offensive position,
wherein the distinction between each “move” is blurred.

The primary use of offensive BFM is to counter a bandit's turn. When you are behind a bandit who
is flying straight and level, it is a simple matter to control your airspeed with the throttle and fly
around behind him. A turning bandit – however - will immediately create BFM problems.

366 A- A Handbook
 By simply turning, the bandit has
changed our aspect angle from 30º
to 50º and our angle-off from 20º to
120º.

However, simply following the bandit

into the turn will not work, as we
simply end up BEHIND him…!

Turns
BFM is largely concerned with turns.

Let’s examine the concepts of:

Power for position, Turn radius, Turn rate, Corner velocity and Vertical turns.

"Power for position" is an integral part of BFM. Fighters have two types of energy: kinetic and
potential. Kinetic energy is simply the velocity or speed at which the jet is traveling. Potential
energy is "stored" energy (such as fuel or gravity) that can be converted to kinetic energy.
Think of it as a transaction. One may ‘purchase’ kinetic energy, by ‘spending’ potential energy.
Always remember that – as with cash – you ALWAYS have a limit of how much you may spend.

Potential energy is directly related to aircraft altitude. If a jet is at high altitude, its potential
energy is high (more to spend; more kinetic energy to purchase). If the same jet is flying at low
altitude, its potential energy is low. One can trade altitude (potential energy) for speed (kinetic
energy). But, transactions work BOTH ways. So – one can always convert kinetic energy back to
potential energy. Therefore, one can convert aircraft speed back into altitude (potential energy for
later ‘purchases’).

You can also exchange energy for nose position. Anytime you maneuver or turn a fighter; it
"costs" energy. When you turn a jet at high G, you "spend" or lose energy.

Apply to weapons. One way to increase a missile's effective range is to launch at a significantly
higher altitude than the bandit. This will give your missile a reserve of potential energy that it can
convert into kinetic energy

367 A- A Handbook
Turn Radius is simply the size of the “circle” in which you are turning in the sky. If looking from
above, the distance (in feet) from the centre of the circle to your aircraft is the turn radius.

Turn Rate is simply how fast your nose is moving around that circle.

Corner Velocity is the optimum speed at which your a/c will describe the most efficient circle.
One may mistakenly think that going slow will give the optimum turn radius. Not so. Gravity plays
an IMPORTANT role in turn radius. At lower speeds, those “Gs” are not available. Conversely,
“pedal to the metal” is also ineffective for the same reason. We need a compromise between speed
and gravity; rate and radius. This is the corner velocity. For your f-16, the corner velocity is
450kts.

The airspeed of a jet can be controlled by the pilot in the following four ways:

• Throttle position
• Drag devices (such as airbrakes)
• Nose position in relation to the horizon (above costs energy; below buys energy)
• Aircraft G (see Vertical Turns))

No modern fighter flying at medium altitude can stay at corner velocity while pulling max G's for
long. As you pull G's, you will get slower. It is important, however, to start maneuvering close to
corner velocity because the first turn you make is usually the most important in the fight.

Think in terms of both turn rate and turn radius. Fighter pilots have a simple two-word saying:
"Rate kills”. The ability to move (or rate) your nose is the primary means of employing weapons.
A bandit may have a tight turn circle, but if you can rate your nose on him and shoot, the fight is
over.

Vertical Turns: Your a/c attitude affects G availability. If you pull the nose of a fighter straight
across the horizon, gravity will have no effect on your turn performance. When you pull the nose up
or down, however, gravity becomes a player. The extra G you can get by placing your nose below
the horizon when you turn can give you at least 2' per second turn advantage. Most of the time, 1G
equates to 3°-4° per second.

The effect of G can be seen in the image below. Notice that the fighter with his lift vector below the
horizon is turning tighter. What is not so obvious in this figure is that the fighter turning toward the
ground is also moving or rating the nose faster.

368 A- A Handbook
Turn Circles – Turn circles are simply the “circles” that aircraft trace as they turn in the sky.
For offensive BFM, the attacking jet must stay within the bandit’s turning circle. If you are
outside the bandit’s turning circle, the bandit will have time to completely come around, and face
you head on. Thus –
if you do not drive
your jet INSIDE the
bandit’s turning circle,
the fight will become
a “Head-On” rather
than “Offensive”
engagement.

In order to turn and

solve BFM problems
created by the bandit,
you must first drive
your jet inside the
bandit's turn circle.

Any maneuvering you

do outside the bandit's
turn circle will delay
you from getting
inside the bandit's
turn circle.

You must be inside the bandit's turn circle in order to turn and solve the BFM problem.

Anytime you can take a shot and end the fight, do it. The problem is that when you start from 1.0
to 1.5 nm behind the bandit and he turns, you will only be in AIM-9M parameters for a very short
time. Heaters don’t like the high line-of-sight rates generated by targets in tight, turning fights. You
have time for one shot. If you miss, you had better be ready to put some offensive BFM on him, or
you will end up wearing an AA- 11 Archer. The end result of your best offensive BFM will be a
gunshot. Here is how you do it.

The bandit turns. Ask yourself: "Am I inside or outside the bandit's turn circle?"

How do you know? If the bandit's present turn rate will force his nose on you or even close to you,
you are outside the bandit's turn circle. For modern fighters at high G, you are normally outside the
bandit's turn circle at ranges outside 2 nm; at 1 nm, you are normally inside the bandit's turn
circle, and between these ranges, you are in a transition zone. These ranges, of course, do not really
matter to a fighter pilot. When you start behind a bandit, you simply fight what you see. As the
bandit turns, you predict where he is going and maneuver based on this prediction. For example, if
the bandit is only pulling 4 G's, then at 2 nm you are still inside his turn circle.

If you are outside the bandit's turn circle at the beginning of the fight, you are not in an offensive
fight-you are in a head-on BFM fight. If that is the case, just think about an AIM-9M shot. The
bandit cannot shoot you until he gets his nose around to within about 40° of your jet. You should be
able to get one good missile shot at him before he forces you inside Rmin.

Remember, to fly offensive BFM, we must drive our jet inside the bandit’s turn circle.

369 A- A Handbook
Okay – let’s put the theory into practice. Let’s drive into the Entry Window…

Guns, Guns, Guns

Flying good offensive BFM against a bandit will put him right in your gun sights. You'll get him
there by under-standing the dynamics of getting into position, closing and firing.

How and when to turn to stay behind the bandit…? You are inside 1.5 nm on a hard turning bandit,
and you need turning room to get around on his six. The first step is to observe the bandit's turn. If
you are outside the bandit's turn circle, get ready for a head-on BFM fight. If you are near or inside
the bandit's turn circle, you have a positional advantage that you can keep. Shoot, if a shot presents
itself, but don't get mesmerized watching your own missile and forget to BFM.

Driving into the Entry Window: Next, drive to where the bandit started his turn. If the bandit
drops flares or chaff, he will mark the point in the sky where he started his turn. Drive to this
position. This spot is the entry window. The entry window is located inside the bandit's turn circle.
You can start your high G turn into the bandit once you arrive inside this window.

In the below image, the F- 16 drove in a lag pursuit course to a position inside the bandit's turn
circle. By driving to this position, the F- 16 gained horizontal turning room that the bandit can't use
or take away. You know you are at the entry window and must start your turn when the bandit is
approximately 30° off your nose.

When you get into this

relationship with the bandit, start
your turn.

Remember corner velocity. If you

arrive at the window too fast or
too slow, you will get stuck in lag
pursuit because you will not have
sufficient turn rate to get your
nose out in front of the bandit.

The next step is to pull 7 to 8 G's into the bandit. As you come around the corner, keep your nose in
lag. If you see the nose of your jet approaching pure pursuit, ease up on the G. Hold this lag pursuit
course until you get within 3,000 feet of the bandit. At this range, go to lead pursuit and get ready
for a gun shot.

When you arrive inside 3,000 feet on the bandit with your nose in pure or lead pursuit, your
throttle controls your overtake.

370 A- A Handbook
Remember this In close to the bandit, with your angle-off less than 45° and your nose in pure or
lead pursuit, the position of your throttle controls your closure. When you get saddled up for a gun
shot, you must match airspeed with the target. In most cases, this will require constant movement
of the throttle. In addition to banging the throttle off both stops, you may have to maneuver out of
plane to control your airspeed. If a throttle reduction and the speed brakes don’t slow you down
enough, roll the jet to orient your lift vector out of the bandit's plane-of-motion and pull. Hold this
lag pursuit pull for about two seconds; then ease off the G and watch the bandit. When he starts to
move forward on your canopy, it is time to pull back into him. Pull your lift vector out in front of
the bandit as you pull down.

Taking a Gun Shot: You are inside 3,000 feet on the bandit with your nose in lead.
You must be in range. This range varies, depending on aspect, but it is usually about 2,500 feet at
low aspect angles and about 4,000 feet at high aspect.
You must have your nose in lead pursuit. The bullets fired by the gun are unguided projectiles that
take time to get to the target. For most gunshots, the bullet time-of-flight (TOF) is .5 to 1.5 seconds.
If you point directly at the target and fire, the bullets will pass behind the target. Since the bullet is
not moving at the speed of light, you must pull lead. However – at close range - this lead may not
be very pronounced.
You must be in the bandit's plane of motion. When an aircraft turns, it carves a circle in the sky
that creates a plane. In order for you to hit the target with the gun, you must be turning in the same
plane as your target. For example, if the target is flying a loop and creating a vertically oriented
plane of motion, you have to be flying a loop in the same plane as the target.

The Gun Sight: EEGS (Enhanced Envelope Gun Sight). The EEGS
funnel allows the pilot to match the wingspan of the target with the
width of the funnel to determine the proper firing range. The other
important gun aiming cue in the HUD is the gun cross. The gun cross
represents the departure line of the bullets. You can consider the gun
High G & Shoot cross as the gun barrel. Bullets pass straight out the gun cross.

Place the gun cross out in front of the target. Picture the target with a
long pitot boom sticking out the nose. The gun cross should be placed
on this extended pitot boom. If the target changes his plane-of-motion,
then fly to place the gun cross on the new position of this imaginary
pole sticking out of the nose of the target.

Next, over lead the target by making the wingspan of the target extend
past the funnel. This will place your bullet stream in front of the target's
Ease off G while shooting nose.

Fire the gun while easing up on the G. This will move the target from
the bottom of the funnel to the top. Cease fire when the target's wings
are inside the funnel.

Cease firing

371 A- A Handbook
Defensive BFM
It was stated that offensive BFM is not a set of specific moves but rather a series of fluid maneuvers.
The same is true when you start with a bandit behind you. There are no magic moves that will move
a bandit from your 6 o'clock to your 12 o'clock. In fact, if you fly perfect defensive BFM and the
bandit flies perfect offensive BFM, you will get shot down. This statement speaks volumes about
defensive BFM; it basically tells you all you need to know about being defensive… ☺

Defensive BFM is very simple: create BFM problems for the bandit, and when he BFM's, try to
counter his BFM to buy time and survive a little longer. By forcing the bandit to BFM, you may
force him to make a BFM error.

Detecting the Bandit: Situational Awareness is PARAMOUNT. SA may mean the difference
between being “Defensive” and being “Offensive” 2. Your three primary SA enhancers are:

RADAR
TWS
VISUAL 3

Fundamental A-A Combat Rule: Fight the most immediate threat. Remember this especially
whilst defensive. So – a MiG is on your six, and he fires a missile. When that missile leaves the rail
and starts guiding on you, the MiG is no longer the biggest threat to your jet. The missile becomes
the primary threat, so you must fight the missile.

Defensive BFM Vs Missiles: Fighter pilot axiom: “Fight missiles with aspect.” When a missile is
fired at your jet in the aft quadrant, the best way to defeat it is with a maximum rate turn to put the
missile on the beam (along your 3/9 line). In this position, the missile will have the worst possible
line-of-sight rate problem to solve. Missiles fly lead pursuit courses to the target in order to achieve
maximum range. If you hold the missile somewhere on your 3/9 line, you will make the missile pull
the maximum amount of lead. You will also be moving across the missile field-of-view at the
fastest rate. So CORNER VELOCITY to put the missile on your 3/9 line. And remember to
drop chaff & flares as you turn.

Defensive BFM Vs The Bandit 4: MiG on your six…? If he fires a missile, you must follow the
Fundamental Rule and fight the missile. But – before he does that, you need to create BFM
problems for the Bandit. Make the quickest, tightest defensive turn you can make, STRAIGHT
INTO the bandit. As you start the turn, you should place your lift vector directly on the bandit.
This will give the bandit the most angle-off and aspect problems to solve. You will also deny him
turning room by keeping your lift vector directly on his jet. Remember: CORNER VELOCITY...!

So you have rolled your jet to place your lift vector right on the bandit and executed your best high-
G turn at corner velocity. What now? Now you must determine if your defensive turn is working. If
the bandit is being forced forward from 6 o'clock toward your 3 or 9 o'clock position, then the turn
is working. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle will be forced in front of your 3/9 line if
you perform the defensive turn correctly. Your turn is working if you push a bandit forward
towards your nose. Keep in mind that he can still shoot you! If the bandit has his nose in lead as you
drive him forward with your defensive turn, be ready to defend against a gunshot.

2
Fortunate people like T-Rex, for example, can always claim to be offensive.
3
Track-IR comes HIGHLY recommended by this Editor. (Thanks ddocg)
4
Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields notwithstanding.

372 A- A Handbook
Remember, in order for him to take a gunshot, he needs to meet three conditions: he must be in
range, he must be in plane, and he must have his nose in lead pursuit. If the bandit's nose is in lead
pursuit, take care…! Even though he will overshoot, the bandit will probably attempt a gun shot at
the pass. To defend against this type of gunshot, all you have to do is break suddenly out of plane.
Because of the high line-of-sight rates involved, the bandit will not be able to correct in time and
will overshoot. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle and drives in with his nose in lead for
a gunshot will overshoot.

Defensive BFM Vs Bandit Inside Your Turn Circle: What if the bandit starts at 1 nm? Your
reaction should be the same. Put your best defensive turn on the bandit and see what he does. When
a bandit starts close to your turn circle, he is a serious threat, and your best defensive turn may not
force him forward. The bandit’s best option will be to fly lag pursuit to get to your turn circle entry
window. When a bandit starts inside your turn circle and drives to lag, you are in for a long day.
The best course of action is to continue your high-G turn and try to stick his nose in lag. Unload
the jet (release the G) and extend for energy…? The problem with an extension is that it is very
hard to judge how long to keep the jet unloaded and driving straight. If you unload and accelerate,
the bandit will move quickly to deep 6 o'clock, and you will probably attract an AA- 11 shot. Better
to continue turning and see if the bandit has a sufficient turn rate to get his nose around on you. If
he does, get ready for gun defense.

With LUCK – however - the bandit may not fly perfect BFM.

What if he climbs above you? If the bandit pulls into the vertical for turning room, keep the hard
turn coming with your lift vector directly on the him. As you pull up into the bandit, watch him. If
he keeps his nose high, you will end up in a neutral position on the bandit because you are slower
and have a smaller turn radius.

In this type of fight, you will end up in a scissors.

Scissors occur when two fighters are in a line-
abreast, neutral position. They both pull for each
other's 6 o'clock position and, as they pass, they
roll back into each other and pull. The scissors is
usually won by the fighter that can slow his
forward velocity, in relation to the bandit, the
quickest.

What if he flies a lead pursuit course? If a bandit starts at 1 nm back and flies a lead pursuit course,
he will probably overshoot. In order to force the bandit to overshoot, however, you must be
executing your best turn. The bandit will not overshoot if you are 50 or more knots slower or
faster than corner velocity, or if you are not pulling enough G.

Overshoots: What if the Bandit overshoots? It depends on the nature of the overshoot. There are
two type of overshoots: the flight path overshoot and the 3/9 line overshoot. A 3/9 line overshoot is
always tactically significant, while a flight path overshoot may not be.

373 A- A Handbook
In the image to the left, Aircraft A slightly overshoots
the F- 16's flight path. This is not tactically significant.
Aircraft B overshoots the F-16's flight path far enough
that he may end up line-abreast or out in front if the
F- 16 reverses his turn. Aircraft C is obviously in big
trouble because he has blundered past the F- 16's
3/9 line.

3/9 line overshoots are always significant.

When you predict that a bandit may overshoot,

note the range, angle-off, and the line-of-sight rate of the bandit. His position, in relation to you,
will dictate how you will reverse. As a rule of thumb, the greater the range when he overshoots
and the slower the line-of-sight rate, the less chance you have of forcing him out in front of your
3/9 line with a reversal.

When a bandit overshoots, there are basically two ways to reverse your turn to take advantage of it.
If you see the bandit is going to overshoot with a high line-of-sight rate, you should perform an
unloaded reversal. To do an unloaded reversal, simply release the G, roll the aircraft to position
your lift vector directly on the bandit, and then pull maximum G directly at him. You should only
use this reversal method when you are sure that the bandit will overshoot. This type of reversal does
not "force" the bandit out in front of you; it just gets your nose on the bandit quickly when he
does overshoot.

The other type of reversal should be used with caution. It is called a loaded reversal. To execute a
loaded reversal, keep the Gs on the jet as you roll and pull toward the bandit. This type of
reversal is used to "force" a bandit that is about to overshoot into an overshoot. The problem
with a loaded reversal is that, if you execute it and the bandit doesn’t overshoot, you will have a bad
guy in your chili at close range, and you won't have the air-speed to maneuver. A loaded reversal is
used to stop your aircraft in the sky, and if doesn't work, you're in trouble.

Overshoot rules of thumb When in doubt about a bandit's overshoot, don't reverse your turn. It
is best to reverse when a bandit is overshooting your flight path inside 2,000 feet with a high line-
of-sight rate. Outside 3,000 feet, it is best not to reverse your turn. The bandit has too much room to
correct his overshoot and maintain a 3/9 advantage on you.

Guns Defense: The bandit flew perfect offensive BFM? Here comes the gunshot? When a bandit is
closing with his nose in lead, think "snap-shot'. To defend against a snapshot, break out of plane.
It is better to make it too soon rather than too late. If you go early, the bandit can correct, but when
he does, you can jink out of plane again. If you jink late, you may die. How about tracking gun
shots? In a tracking gunshot, the bandit is in a stable position behind you and will take multiple
shots. You must make multiple out-of-plane jinks. The key to tracking guns defense is to make
sudden jinks at least 70° out of plane with the attacker. Keep a tally on the bandit, and before he
gets established in this new plane of motion, jink again. This type of defense is a random guns jink.

PETE BONANNI CONCLUDES: Offensive you must remain aware of your

position relative to the bandit’s. Control your airspeed or lose the fight. Corner
Velocity + Entry Window. Defensive Put your lift vector on the bandit, pull
hard and watch what he does. NEVER give up. Push the aircraft to it’s limits at
all times, and maintain the will to survive.

374 A- A Handbook