8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
1/19
Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
Successful prosecution of the BVR engagement relies heavily on a
simultaneous execution of both offensive and defensive tactics, when
dealing with high threat bandits such as Su-! and "i#-$S%s& Both the
Flan'er and Fulcrum (Sierra) model are **-+ capable, ma'ing them the
most lethal Red aircraft in the s'y& *s such, Prosecution tactics will be
discussed with regards to them&
he Soviet *dder indeed has a longer range than that of the
*"R**", however it%s less maneuverable and its radar%s cone of vision is
slightly smaller than that of the *"-+.& hese two deficiencies can almost
entirely negate the longer range of the Soviet missile, if exploited properly&
n facing the **-+ in combat, there are several primary methodseach of which have their own benefits and deficiencies/
he Beam
he concept of the beam is based on exploiting a flaw inherent to
most modern Radar& n order to reduce ground clutter on the radar scope,
modern radars filter out what they see as stationary ob0ects through the use
of the 1oppler 2ffect& 3hat that this means to you as a pilot, is that if youwere able to ma'e you aircraft appear stationary to the hostile radar, it will
indeed filter you out 0ust as it does buildings on the ground& nitially you
might thin' this not possible, however (Beaming) your bandit does exactly
this&
he term (Beam) refers to your 4 and $ o%cloc' lines& So following
logic, to beam or the act of beaming refers to placing the ob0ect in 5uestion
along that axis of your aircraft& 3hen that ob0ect is a Pulse 1oppler type
radar the end result is that you have effectively 6eroed your speed relativeto
the radar& he only closure the radar senses is that of its own aircraft%s speed&
*t this point you are filtered out as being nothing more important to theradar than a tree& *t best this will prevent the bandit from loc'ing you
solidly enough to engage, but more realistically it will ma'e their life more
difficult by providing intermittent chances of loc'ing&
n order to apply this techni5ue in a BVR fight the Bandit
should be identified and loc'ed by no closer than a . nm range& his will
give you ade5uate time to set up for a head on engagement, which is
+
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
2/19
desirable in this situation& 3hile head on, 'eep a close eye on your range to
target, his aspect, and closure rate& 7ou may launch at anywhere inside .nm
and possibly ac5uire a 'ill, but generally spea'ing +-+8nm is preferred
depending on closure and aspect 9aspect simply put is the number of degrees
you are off your target%s nose:& ;aunches at the longer ranges 9+8nmotice Range/ +?nm, @eading +A+degrees, Speed/ ? 'nots& >ear @ead Cn orientation to bandits& Dammer on&
mmediately after launching on the Bandit the Beam is executed& hisis performed by a high # turn either left or right, roughly $. degrees& Should
the Slotbac' still have his radar active, the R3R will provide an excellent
reference to place the boogey on your 4 or $ line& Should his radar be
intermittent or off entirely, some estimation is re5uired as you%re sure to bust
gimbals 9lateral range of your radar: in this maneuver, which means you had
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
3/19
better been paying close attention to his headingEaspect before going into
your turn& *t this point the defensive maneuvers are begun&
Figure +b/ >ose down attitude, speed increasing extending from bandits& @eading, !? degrees, nearly a
perfect beam 9$4 degrees of original heading of +A+:&Dammer off&
f your launch range approached +8nm, it%s a safe bet that the Slotbac'
has launched on you& Remember, always defeat the threat, and when amissile is launched it becomes the threat and the launching aircraft should be
secondary in your mind& but still on your mind&
Cnce the Bandit is Beamed several actions must be performed as
5uic'ly as possible in order to ensure survival& *ny Dammer in use "GS be
turned off& >egating closure rate to a radar guided missile, while ma'ing you
invisible to the missile, does nothing to hide the emissions your 2H" pod is
broadcasting, and the **-+ is very capable of loc'ing on to those
emissions in @CD 9@ome on Dam: mode& *t the same time a nose down
9anywhere from +.-. degrees is sufficient:, full mil to *B attitude should
be established while scanning visually for the missile and several bundles of
chaff should be pumped out& his serves a couple purposes&
First, it increases your energy state as you increase your speed,
sometimes upwards and past A..'ts
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
4/19
forcing it to continually lose ground in the energy fight& Remember, with
less than a +. second burn time any missile%s energy is limited, while that of
your 0et is relatively infinite&
n addition, you%ll eventually level out at close to ground level& f you
haven%t beat the missile at this point, the unfilterable ground clutter will help
mas' your presence, possibly spoofing the missile& Furthermore, radar
guided missiles fly a lead pursuit 9a course that points their flight path ahead
of yours for intercept:& *s a result, radar guided missiles have been 'nown to
smac' into the dec' while trying to maintain a lead pursuit on a lower level
aircraft& Finally, being at a low level often allows the option to place a large
ob0ect 9i&e& mountain: between you and the chasing missile&
1uring your descent a slight turn into the missile helps maintain a
proper aspect for beaming& he missile flying a lead pursuit already as an
inherent angle on you, small enough to negate the effect of beaming so in
order help remove this advantage, a slight ban' of +.-+8 degrees oftencreates 0ust enough of a constant change in flight path to maintain effective
beaming&
Cnce on the dec', the priority becomes visually ac5uiring that missile&
he missile may not be present on your R3R, but that is not to say that you
have beaten it 0ust yet& *ll too often overconfidence in the situation has
prompted a pilot to turn bac' into a missile still loo'ing for a target and
found himself the target& Visual ac5uisition can be relatively difficult at this
point as the missile%s motor is spent, removing from view the very easy to
spot smo'e trail& @owever, once ac5uired visually, immediate recognition of
whether you are still its target is re5uired& his is done by observing its
relative motion&
?
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
5/19
Figure +c/ he Beam is established and maintained at this point, maintaining a heading roughly !. degrees
off from original at fullE*B& "issiles are effectively beaten and need only be outrun at this point prior to
reengagement&
* visual target, and this applies to aircraft as well as missiles, that has
no relative motion 9i&e& it is not moving in your canopy: is on a collision
course for you 9also 'nown as a lead pursuit:& 3ith this information at handwe can deduce that if the missile is visually moving to your aft, it has lost its
loc' on you and is now without a target, or at the very least, you are not its
current target& f this is the case, maintaining your defensive stance and
current heading or a turn into the missile%s point of origin, should spoof the
missile entirely&
Should the relative motion be towards your nose, a high # turn into
and past the missile should be enough to place it behind you with no hope of
reac5uiring you&
n the case of no relative movement, it should be considered trac'ing
you, regardless of R3R information& *t this point you are in a position of
considerable advantage as the missile has been nearly depleted entirely of
any sort of effective energy and a well timed high # turn into or above the
missile will effectively beat the missile&
8
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
6/19
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
7/19
good for a defensive disengagement, but poor on offense after your initial
launch&
he 1rag
(he 1rag) concept is the most simple of the options and
should be learned to proficiency first& t offers a high chance of survival,
however it also diminishes you ability to maintain accurate Situational
*wareness, and by its very nature forces you into a very defensive stance&
he techni5ue involves a mid to max range shot on the bandits 9+-
.nm miles: and a Split-S maneuver to reverse and extend from the
incoming threat 9the **-+:& his is most effective in a nearly head on
engagement&
Figure a/ nitial setup for the 1rag& @ead on engagement, range +?nm, positive radar contact on lead bandit&@eading +A, speed well above corner speed& Dammer on&
he bandit needs to be identified and loc'ed on to by no later than +8nm in
order to ensure success& 3hen this is accomplished, preferably prior to
.nm, wait patiently for the range to pass +8nm, unless a low P= shot is
desired with the hopes of pushing the bandits to go defensive& n either
!
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
8/19
event, once your *"R**" is off the rail a negative Split-S maneuver is
performed, reversing your course +A. degrees, accompanied by several
bursts of chaff&
Figure b/ he offensive launch has been performed and the Split-S is commenced, reversing heading, increasing
'inetic energy state& Dammer is off&
Several things are accomplished through the Split-S& First and
foremost, you are increasing your 'inetic energy 9speed: while establishing a
heading that is more or less directly away from the bandit and its missiles,
reducing the closure rate as well as the missile%s P= on you& he increase in
'inetic energy improves your situation should you need to defeat the missile
close in&
1uring the reversal, specifically during the vertically nose down
portion of it, you are essentially a target with no relative speed and for a
brief moment ma'ing it difficult for the hostile radar to maintain loc',
effectively beaming the bandit 9as discussed above:& his in and of itself willnot prove effective enough to spoof the missile entirely, however it may
provide you with a very few valuable seconds to add to your defensive time&
*s with the (Beam) above, ma'e sure that your 2H" are off, preventing a
@CD situation during the maneuver&
he downward vertical velocity of your aircraft ensures that your
chaff bursts will be as effective as possible& nstead of being merely between
A
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
9/19
you and the missile 9leaving you as a still very lucrative target in front of the
chaff: the chaff are now independent targets while your aircraft is 5uic'ly
trying to exit the cone of sight of the hostile missile&
Cnce a reverse heading is established, maintain a +.-+8 degree nose
down attitude, preferably in full *B, for the drag& *t this point the inbound
missile will be 0ust a few miles aft of you in full pursuit, with more than
li'ely a solid loc' on your aircraft& Regardless of the loc', you have a very
high chance of defeating the missile in the energy fight& *ll that is left to do
ideally is to maintain best possible forward speed until the hostile missile
has lost all its energy and drops from the s'y& Should enough distance still
separate you and the missile at this point, it will be li'ely that the hostile
aircraft is still loc'ed on to you and guiding the missile, as the missile hasn%t
closed within range to go active with its own radar guidance 9pitbull:&
Figure c/ View from the **-+s as the 1rag is finished, leaving the aircraft only needing to maintain speed and
heading as the missiles lose energy and ultimately, the fight&
he benefit in this is that one of two things may happen, either the
launching bandit must go on the defensive leaving its missile blind and
searching, or your *"R**" will destroy the hostile, again leaving the
missile blind and searching& n either event the hostile missile still has the
opportunity to reac5uire you, but you%ve gained another few valuable
seconds in the fight&
$
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
10/19
1uring the drag, it%s advisable to scan your aft hemisphere for the
missile& 3hen the maneuver is performed flawlessly, simply out running the
missile will beat the missile& @owever, rarely in a high threat environment
do things go exactly as planned& Padloc'ing the missile will allow you to
decide whether you have the missile beat, or if a high # maneuver as
described in the above section is needed&
Figure d/ he inbound **-+ is visually ac5uired, however being directly on the aircrafts o%cloc' ma'es padloc'ing
impossible& he missile is outlined in red, barely noticeable even at this range&
*s with the Beam tactic, the 1rag is enormously effective and very easily
executed& f timed correctly and performed at 0ust the right range, a H*
loaded F-+ can easily dispense of two Slotbac's, with a high chance of
survival& he 1rag is also the most reliable tactic with regards to evading
multiple missile launches as it 'eeps all missiles launched at you in your rear
hemisphere with little to no change in heading on your part to evade&
2ffectively, this lines up the multiple missiles directly behind you and you
need only use the same tactic to spoof them all&
he downside, again as with the Beam, is the immediate loss of radar
contact, situational awareness and most hope of visually ac5uiring your
bandit& Should the bandit evade your launch, he 1rag places him in your
+.
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
11/19
rear hemisphere, should he choose to maintain the offensive& 1efensively
you are in a safe position, high energy with good separation and the option
to completely disengage form the fight or drag into friendly controlled
airspace& Should your bandit go on the defensive and perform a similar
evasion tactic, the separation will be much greater at which point you have
the option to bug out or reengage& Should you reengage, the separation and
comparative energy states should be such that you have effectively
neutrali6ed the fight& @owever, 'ill confirmation is difficult at best in both
the 1rag and Beam often ma'ing it a tough decision to re-engage or bug out&
Support from any trailing flights in your pac'age or *3*HS can help
alleviate this problem&
Re-engagement or re-establishing original heading from a 1rag
evasion can be dangerous and should be performed only when ade5uate S*
has been reac5uired&
3hile the Beam and 1rag are primarily defensive in nature the
remaining two tactics offer a more aggressive engagement that allow for
maintaining S* and an offensive stance&
he Cffset
he Cffset is first and foremost a missile evasion techni5ue& 3hen
performed correctly it allows for a high chance of survival while at the same
time maintaining the highest P= possible& S* is maintained, and
reengagement if necessary is possible in an offensive position with regards
to both BVR and transitioning into a 3VR fight&
*gain begin with a loc' at ranges preferably greater than .nm,
ideally with the bandit roughly off your nose& *t roughly +?-+8nm,
contingent on aspect, speed and closure, launch your Slammer& hroughout
this maneuver you will maintain radar loc' until well past the time your *-+. goes autonomous, further increasing your P=&
++
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
12/19
Figure 4a/ he aircraft is in perfect position to implement an Cffset maneuver& @ead on, +?nm range, and at high cornerspeed 9??.=ts:, Dammer on& >ote heading of roughly 4.&
mmediately after launch, a turn opposite of the bandit 9offset:
roughly ?. degrees is performed and the new heading maintained putting the
bandit%s bearing at roughly your or +. o%cloc' position& he radar targetshould be approaching gimbal limits at this time& 1uring the turn
simultaneously add or decrease throttle to establish max corner speed 944.-
??. 'ts: or slightly higher&
he assumption is of course that the adversary has already launched
his missile, so a visual scan is commenced for the missile inbound& t is
imperative that the missile be visually ac5uired for a successful outcome&
he missile should be inbound from roughly the same bearing as your
bandit& Cnce ac5uired, maintain padloc' on the missile as well as your
current heading&
+
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
13/19
Figure 4b/ he initial Cffset is seen here, after launch, establishing a left offset roughly 8. degrees left of originalcourse 9+A.:& Cnce wings level, the pilot will immediately go to visual scanning for the **-+ 9in this example a *"-
+. is being used as the hostile missile:, also shown here& "usic and Radar off, as the remainder of the maneuver is
strictly visual, until reengagement&
*pproximately 8- seconds before the missile is expected to impact, a
high # turn opposite of your initial offset is executed, .-!. degrees 9or .-
4. degrees opposite your initial heading:& he end result should be that
inbound missile tries desperately to correct for and maintain a lead pursuit
but the angle and distance proves to be too much for its current energy state&
he missile will, if the offset is properly timed and executed, either fly
harmlessly past you completely unable to reac5uire you, or detonate
somewhere in your rear 5uadrant as it sense your aircraft is within its
proximity blast radius& Should the missile explode, it is still very li'ely that
your aircraft will be left unscathed as your angle and velocity allow you to
escape the blast radius&
+4
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
14/19
Figure 4c/ he high # turn opposite of original offset angle to a heading of ?. beats the missile entirely&
Should the initial *im-+. launch miss its target, the hostile aircraft
will be somewhere in the forward 5uadrant in a perfect position for either
another *im-+. launch, or an intercept into a 3VR fight& o be sure a
5uic' scan visually before referring bac' to the radar scope is advisable& neither event, the follow up is relatively simple as the bandit is sure to be
either still performing or 0ust recovering from his defensive maneuvers&
3hen dealing with multiple missiles inbound, some issues arise with
this tactic& f the missiles are launched relatively close together, the Cffset
should defeat them both& But as the distance between the lead and any
missiles in trail increases so does the trailing missiles ability to correct for
and maintain its lead pursuit& 2xtreme distances between missiles may allow
for a follow up Cffset to be performed, in the opposite direction, to spoof thesecond missile&
he Cffset relies entirely on a visual ac5uisition of the hostile missile
and as a result some practice is re5uired to be able to not only consistently
ac5uire such a small ob0ect but to become proficient at 0udging 0ust the right
moment to offset opposite and beat the missile& his sort of practice should
+?
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
15/19
be attained only in the 1ogfight environment prior to utili6ing this tactic in a
campaign type mission&
Very high in offense, the Cffset is e5ually effective defensively when
mastered& @owever, it does almost guarantee a 3VR fight should your
initial launch miss its target, a fact that must be ta'en into consideration&
Gnder ideal circumstances your initial launch will have forced the bandit
into a reversal placing you in his rear hemisphere in perfect position to
continue prosecution of the fight in the manner most suitable&
*t most, this tactic should used against +v+ or +v situations& n v
or v?< situations the friendly flight should ma'e sure to split the opposing
? ship into elements prior to launch&
Gnder and Cver 9Crthogonal Brea':
Honceptually, this tactic is similar to the Cffset& t differs only in the
techni5ue deployed to evade the missile&
*fter launch, given the same set up as in the Cffset, a +. degree roll
is performed followed by a high # pull into a ?.-8. degree nose down
attitude ma'ing small corrections to ma'e sure that the bandit%s bearing is at
your or +. o%cloc' position& Speed should be ad0usted to maintain well
above max corner speed 9??.'ts: as the maneuver 5uic'ly bleeds energy&
+8
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
16/19
Figure ?a/ he roughly +. degree roll dive is shown here, inducing a turn placing the **-+ high and at +. o%cloc'&
he Hhaff is clearly visible as well&
*s with the above tactic, visual ac5uisition is all important& he
missile ought to be off your forward 5uadrant and high as a result of your
dive&
+
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
17/19
Figure ?b/ he missile is visually ac5uired by this point and the defensive (over-the-top) maneuver is commenced&
Shortly before impact, a climbing turn above and into the missile is
executed, defeating the missile& he premise is the same as with the Cffset,
yet a vertical element is introduced, which further helps to spoof the missile
+!
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
18/19
8/10/2019 Basic Prosecution of the BVR Fight
19/19
here are myriad variations for every scenario& he importance of
every maneuver is to understand its parts and how they constitute a whole&
Beaming as a BVR tactic is only one use of the techni5ue& Gnderstanding its
effects and limitations allows you to incorporate its use into all sorts of
practical applications& ;earn to recogni6e a high P= shot opportunity, as a
result of constant scanning of target aspect, speed and closure information
without a (Shoot) cue as in all the above mentioned tactics a (Shoot) cue
will never be displayed on the @G1&
Five *H"s are included as support to the above concepts& Four
outline the individual maneuvers while the fifth is a demonstration of these
tactics in a practical, if wholly unrealistic, application 9+v Su-!:& 1espite
the final *H" being an ultimately unsuccessful engagement ? of the
bandits were damagedEdestroyed while spoofing .< **-+ launches, thus
validating the implementation of these tactics&
3ith a little practice all of these maneuvers can be executed at rangesthat almost guarantee a successful 'ill& "astering these fundamental
maneuvers provides a staging point for more complex tactics&
-Haptain Hhris (1ax) 3idic'
JEC, +ndFast and Furious
+th*HH3 Flying igers
+$