Air Combat Maneuvering
Flight Procedures
DEFENSIVE
The name of the game in defensive ACM is to prevent the bogey from shooting you down. This means
you must never give up, never be predictable, and if you find the opportunity to take the offensive, take it!
But realize in all your efforts you must first neutralize the bogey’s threat.
BACKGROUND
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As you read about defensive maneuvering,
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you will notice that some of the same
exercises and maneuvers as in the offensive
section are discussed. The only difference is
that you are now the aircraft in the defensive
position in the setup. Instead of offensively
maneuvering against an instructor acting as
a bogey, the instructor is now a bogey
attacking from an offensive position. To
prevent the bogey from shooting you down,
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you must deny the bogey a firing solution and
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work to gain the advantage or disengage.
SNAP GUNS DEFENSE EXERCISE
The purpose of the snap guns exercise (from
the defensive perspective) is to practice
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defending against a high angle-off guns
attack while maintaining sufficient energy to
counter the next attack.
Figure 17 shows the same exercise that you
1. Combat Spread
read about in the offensive section, except
that you are now the defensive aircraft
2. Snap Guns
against the instructor acting as the bogey.
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3. Combat Spread
From level combat spread, the lead acting as
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the bogey transmits, “In as the shooter,” and
4. Snap Guns
executes a hard turn into you. You respond
5. Combat Spread
by transmitting, “In as the target,” and turning
with 45-60 degrees AOB into the attack. The
bogey reverses as the fighter approaches 10/
2 o’clock to achieve a snap guns solution of
60-90 degrees AOT. Maneuver aggressively
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out-of-plane prior to the bogey’s nose coming
on you. Anticipate his move, and depending
upon the bogey’s position relative to your
aircraft, minimize your cross section (make
Figure 17: SNAP GUNS DEFENSE
yourself a smaller target) by putting your
wingtip on the bogey and pull out-of-plane.
Pulling in the same plane as the bogey allows him greater tracking opportunities by providing him with a
larger target with minimal relative maneuvering.
Following the bogey’s overshoot, both you and the bogey return to the original heading in combat spread
ready to initiate subsequent attempts.
T-45C Revision 1
Page 26
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