Air Combat Maneuvering
Flight Procedures
go from a neutral or offensive position to a guns defense within the blink of an eye. Don’t worry
though, your death will come quickly.
Finally, don’t ever underestimate the importance of sight. A BFM error that gets the other guy to lose
his tally is not an error. You can be the most inept fighter pilot on earth, but if the bandit doesn’t have
sight, you’ll eventually kill him.
BVR Engagement
On your final 1V1 neutral flight, you will be introduced to a Beyond Visual Range set. This will expose
you for the first time to what is the most probable scenario for engaging a real-world bandit. There are
countless reasons why you might be forced to a merge, requiring the fighter to employ BFM for a kill.
Follow-on prosecution of bandits who have survived BVR weapons, late situational awareness of a
threat aircraft, or the very likely requirement to positively identify a bandit by visual means (VID) prior
to killing him are all situations which might lead a fighter to the merge. The degree of offensiveness or
defensiveness in a BFM engagement, which results from a BVR set, is very often determined by who
achieves the first “tally.” With eyeballs on, a fighter can maneuver his aircraft as necessary to achieve
either an immediate kill or a highly offensive position on the bandit.
The ability to gain sight is heavily influenced by environmentals (sun angle, haze, cloud decks, etc.),
bandit aircraft size and/or aspect, the volume of the threat sector and aircrew fatigue. Getting that
early “tally” also becomes easier the more you are exposed to this type of set. Consider all of these as
you begin fine-tuning your lookout technique.
If you are able to achieve sight first, you need to take advantage of it. If an immediate shot opportunity
presents itself, take it. If not, move your jet as necessary to either capitalize on the turning room that
exists or create the separation you need. If the bandit is blind, it should be a quick fight. If he gets
sight, evaluate your degree of offensiveness and maneuver accordingly.
If you find yourself unable to achieve a tally at the merge, keep your airspeed up and start looking aft.
You can’t have too many knots in this situation. If you pick up the bandit converting on you, evaluate
his range and either counter him defensively or keep on truckin’.
To initiate the engagement, your bandit will direct you to call a CAP (combat air patrol) station and
altitude block. The CAP stations will be separated by DME along a TACAN radial. Block altitudes will
be defined as those altitudes ending in 0 through 5 and those ending in 6 through 10. Between 5 and
6, there will be a safe zone.
Once both the fighter and the bandit are established on station and within their blocks, the fight is on
and the two jets will turn toward each other along the designated radial. The bandit should call off his
DME in 2-mile increments and you will echo his call with your own DME. Once a “tally” is obtained,
you are cleared out of your block and may proceed to humiliate the bandit accordingly.
2 V 1 MISSION PROCEDURES/MANEUVERS
THE LOOSE DEUCE DOCTRINE
Do not confuse the loose deuce tactical doctrine with the loose deuce “exercise” you performed in
TacForm. Far more encompassing in scope, the doctrine is a system by which two aircraft can safely
separate from combat spread, allowing for coordinated, sequential attacks as either a free or an
engaged fighter, optimizing mutual support in both offensive and defensive situations. Its major
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