Snapshot Drill

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS (BFM)

CHAPTER TEN

From a trail formation, the wingman will "chase" the lead through a wide range of random

maneuvers. Using pursuit curves while controlling his closure and "angles off the tail," the

offensive aircraft will demonstrate the different segments of the guns envelope. During the tail

chase exercise, the defensive student will strive to maintain sight of the attacking aircraft. Proper

body positioning is the key to maintaining sight as the defender. At the completion of the first

tail chase, the IPs will demonstrate a verbal lead change and the students will swap the offensive

and defensive roles during a second tail chase.

Snapshot Drill

The snapshot drill (SSD) is a cooperative maneuver designed to teach employment of the gun at

high angles off (Figure 10-12A). Equally important, exposure to the snapshot drill will

familiarize students with the defensive sight picture as an attacker prosecutes a high aspect guns

shot. The snap shot is used when attacking at medium to high angles off (review the gun

envelope in Chapter 9) in an attempt to achieve a quick kill.

The snap shot is a quick opportunity shot. It is employed with high angles-off, high track

crossing rate, and high closure. This dynamic type of shot requires the shooter to solve three

basic parameters for a valid shot:

The shooter must align the bullet stream (gun bore) within the target's plane of motion.

The shooter must be within gun range (3000-1000 ft), the closer, the better.

The shooter must shoot with sufficient lead established.

The SSD will be set up at 250 KIAS and 14,000 feet. The shooter and target aircraft will be

abeam with 1/2 3/4 NM separation. As with all BFM set-ups, the drill will begin with "Speed

and Angels" calls from each IP once the PADS parameters are achieved. The lead IP will always

initiate the drill comm, regardless of whether he is offensive or defensive. The comm will be

"Turbo 1, in as the shooter." The wing IP will reply "Turbo 2, in as the target."

The two aircraft will turn in towards each other. When the shooter calls "Trigger down, snap,"

the target student should evaluate the nose position of the shooter. The "trigger down" call

should be made with sufficient lead. The "snap" call is made as the target flies through the

simulated bullet stream. This is immediately followed by an evaluation of the shot by the

shooter. The shooter can call "Missed High/Low" etc. The more specific it is, the better as a

debriefing tool.

Generally, three snapshots will be flown for each student as illustrated in Figure 13. On the last

snapshot, the lead IP will call, "Lead in as the target/shooter, maneuvering." As the shooter

approaches the snapshot envelope, the target student will call for a "Guns-D." At this command,

the target IP will put their wingtip on the attacker and maneuver out of plane to defeat the

snapshot.

10-27

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS (BFM)