Air Combat Maneuvering
Glossary
C
Check Left/Right (Degrees): To alter heading any number of degrees to the left or right.
Combat Air Patrol Station (CAPS): The area of
responsibility when a
section is on
patrol in
the
fleet.
Contact: Initial and subsequent detections of an object by any detecting device.
Counterflow: A tactic in section engagements where the engaged fighter forces the bandit into a
predictable flight path, while the free fighter maneuvers out-of-plane, going counter to the direction of
the fight for a kill.
D
Daisy Chain: A situation where the free fighter pulls for a shot without sufficient lateral separation,
misses the shot, and is forced into an in-phase engagement with the wingman and the bandit,
resulting in both fighters being engagedone offensively and one defensively.
Displacement Roll: An offensive maneuver used to reduce excessive closure while displacing the
aircraft to a different plane of maneuvering. Used in low to medium AOT and medium range
situation.
E
(The) Egg: A theoretical, three-dimensional sphere showing the effects of gravity and the resulting
vectors from maneuvering in all three planes.
Energy Package: The combination of the aircrafts altitude (potential energy) and airspeed (kinetic
energy) making up the aircrafts total energy.
Engaging Turn: An efficient combination of turn rate and radius that maintains energy.
Engaging Turns: The type of turns used by a section to engage an enemy contact, i.e., Tac turns
(both into and away), in-place turns, and crossturns.
Eyeball: Identifies the fighter who has a tally/radar contact and will take bandit close aboard to
obtain visual identification (VID) in section forward-quarter tactics. This pass usually facilitates his
wingman acquiring a tally for a shot.
F
Feet Dry/Wet: Quick description for being over land or water.
Force Mix: The number and type of friendly vs opponent aircraft to be taken into account when
considering ACM strategies and tactics.
(10-98) Original
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