Air Combat Maneuvering
Flight Procedures
Tactical lead: “Out of the turn, Bogey on my nose 1 mile, Slam’s the eye ball, right-to-right.”
Free fighter: “Tally visual, Bronto is the shooter.”
Engaged fighter: “Shoot, shoot, MIG.”
Should the bandit attack from the abeam without sufficient lateral separation for a successful Tac turn,
the inside fighter maneuvers to maximize his AOT and attempts to meet the bandit head-on. After the
pass, or when the bandit switches to the outside fighter, the inside fighter extends to gain separation for
a shot. The outside fighter in this scenario initiates a turn into the bandit to avoid exposing his six and
meets the bandit head-on. The outside fighter attempts to force the bandit into a predictable flight path.
As before, the fight may develop into a scenario similar to multi-switch engagements.
In a visual forward-quarter attack, Figure 43, the bandit will attack from the 11-1 o’clock position. In the
fleet, this situation may be a shot opportunity. However, in the Training Command, the fighters must
maneuver for a rear-quarter shot. As in the abeam attack, the section will attempt to force the bandit
between the section to ensure the bracket. The fighter closest to the bandit will designate himself as the
eyeball and take command of the section as tactical lead. His wingman will be designated the shooter
and will maneuver, if necessary, to gain increased lateral separation and airspeed while maintaining
sight of his lead. If the bandit attempts to fly outside the section, the eyeball will call appropriate check
turns to ensure a bracket.
At approximately 1-1/2 miles from the pass, the eyeball will call for the shooter to begin his turn for the
shot and will continue to communicate the bandit’s range and position if the shooter has failed to acquire
a tally. It is the eyeball’s responsibility to pass the bandit close-aboard, while calling the pass to facilitate
the shooter gaining a tally. When directed, the shooter will begin his engaging turn toward the eyeball.
He will continue his turn, even if he has not acquired a tally, and position his nose on the eyeball
throughout the turn. By the time the shooter places his nose on the eyeball, the pass should occur,
allowing the shooter to obtain the tally and maneuver for an offensive position. After gaining the tally, the
shooter will call his tally and inform the eyeball of his intentions. The eyeball, now the free fighter, will
extend to set up a counterflow for a shot.
A number of situations could develop during a visual forward-quarter intercept depending on the initial
move of the bandit. At the pass, the bandit can maneuver in one of three directions: straight ahead,
across the eyeball’s tail, or reverse toward the shooter. If the bandit was properly bracketed, any
maneuver other than reversing toward the shooter should result in an immediate kill.
When neither fighter is in a position to take the bandit close aboard, the bandit can split the section. In
this situation, both fighters early turn prior to the pass, forcing the bandit into a predictable flight path.
Here, each fighter maneuvers out-of-plane and calls his intentions as the fight develops. When the roles
are defined, the free fighter extends to gain separation and comes back into the fight using counterflow
tactics for a shot.
In all cases throughout section tactics, the free fighter must gain the proper separation during his
extension to ensure the quickest kill. If the situation arises where the free fighter pulls for a shot without
sufficient lateral separation, the free fighter ends up missing the shot and is forced into an in-phase
engagement with the wingman and the bandit. This is a situation commonly referred to as a “Daisy
Chain,” where both fighters are engaged—one offensively and one defensively. This violates the Loose
Deuce doctrine of one engaged fighter and one free fighter. If the offensive fighter is unable to get an
(10-98) Change 1
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