Air Combat Maneuvering
Background
BACKGROUND
The overall goal of ACM is twofold: 1) to gain a firing solution and destroy an aircraft, and 2) to deny
a firing solution from another aircraft. More explicitly in the Training Command, the goal is also
twofold: 1) to execute maneuvers and participate in practice engagements to reach a firing solution,
and 2) to deny the bandit a firing solution.
ACM ENVIRONMENT
Before discussing the type of maneuvers and
engagements and the procedures for executing them,
you should understand something about the airspace
in which ACM takes place, so that you can exploit it to
your best advantage. The ACM environment
(Figure 1), like any other arena, has dimensions you
can measure with rules and limitations, beyond which
you are severely penalized. Even though the environ-
ment is larger and more dynamic than a simple arena,
it is a three-dimensional environment through which
you will maneuver in an infinite number of planes,
ranging from the pure vertical, through the oblique, to
the pure horizontal. The limitations stem from a
combination of the effects of gravity, your energy state
and airspeed, your aircraft’s limitations, and your
individual situation given a “snapshot of time” during
an engagement, all of which we will consider before
we talk about specific procedures. Why? Because
the procedures are only a means to an end. When
you enter the three-dimensional ACM environment in
Figure 1: ACM ENVIRONMENT
an aircraft like the T-45A that does not have a thrust-
to-weight ratio greater than one, your energy package
is finite and ACM becomes a series of tradeoffs—a continuous series of decisions based on what
you know about your aircraft and your situation. Because in the Training Command we will consider
only rear-quarter weapons as you engage a bandit, your basic strategy will be to bleed the bandit’s
energy to the point where you can maneuver to his six o’clock and employ your weapon within the
appropriate weapons envelope before he can do it to you.
In ACM, unlike previous blocks, your target will be maneuvering to reach your six in an attempt to
employ his weapons just as you are trying to maneuver against him. If you allow a bandit to force
you into a situation where you have spent your energy to the point where you can no longer counter
his assault, you have reached the point commonly referred to as being “out of airspeed and ideas.”
In the Training Command, this simply results in a “Knock it off” call. In the real world, you usually
only reach that point once.
To summarize, the following two concepts depend on each other: 1) energy is paramount (speed is
life), and 2) choosing the right maneuver at the right time and aggressively managing your energy as
you out-fly and out-think the bandit will prevent you from ever finding yourself “out of airspeed and
ideas.” We will first consider those elements that affect your turning performance with the concept of
the “tactical egg.” Then we will discuss how you can successfully manage your energy based on
concepts related to operational maneuverability.
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