We’ve already mentioned that in order to get the quickest, tightest turn, you must be at corner velocity. As you start a defensive turn into the bandit, you should place your lift vector directly on him. This will give the bandit the most angle-off and aspect problems to solve. You will also deny him turning room by keeping your lift vector directly on his jet. It is easy to see why turning with your lift vector off of the bandit will give him turning room. In Figure 3-2, you can see a defending F-16 placing his lift vector below the horizon while doing a defensive turn. The attacking MiG-29 stays level and gains turning room above the defender by just driving in level.
Bandit Outside Your Turn Circle
So you have rolled your jet to place your lift vector right on the bandit and executed your best high-G turn at corner velocity: What next?
Now you must determine if your defensive turn is working. If the bandit is being forced forward from 6 o’clock toward your 3 or 9 o’clock position, then the turn is working. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle will be forced in front of your 3/9 line if you perform the defensive turn correctly. Figure 3-3 shows a MiG-29 attacking an F-16. The F-16 pilot turns with his lift vector on the bandit at corner velocity and forces the bandit in front of his 3/9 line.
Your turn is working if you push a bandit forward towards your nose. Keep in mind that he can still shoot you! If the bandit has his nose in lead as you drive him forward with your defensive turn, be ready to defend against a gun shot. Remember, in order for him to take a gun shot, he needs to meet three conditions: he must be in range, he must be in plane, and he must have his nose in lead pursuit. If the bandit’s nose is in lead pursuit, watch out! Even though he will overshoot, the bandit will probably attempt a gun shot at the pass. To defend against this type of gun shot, all you have to do is break suddenly out of plane. Because of the high line-of-sight rates involved, the bandit will not be able to correct in time and will overshoot. A bandit that starts outside your turn circle and drives in with his nose in lead for a gun shot will overshoot. Overshoots are discussed in more detail below.
Bandit Inside Your Turn Circle
What if the bandit starts at 1 nm? Your reaction should be the same. Put your best defensive turn on the bandit and see what he does. When a bandit starts close to your turn circle, he is a serious threat, and your best defensive turn may not force him forward. The bandit has one good option if he is committed to staying around and killing you: he has to fly lag pursuit to get to your turn circle entry window. When a bandit starts inside your turn circle and drives to lag, you are in for a long day. The best course of action is to continue your high-G turn and try to stick his nose in lag. There are some schools of thought that say you should unload the jet (release the G) and extend for energy. The problem with an extension is that it is very hard to judge how long to keep the jet unloaded and driving straight. When you unload and accelerate, the bandit will move quickly to deep 6 o’clock, and you will probably attract an AA-11 shot. The best course of action against a lagging bandit is to continue turning and see if the bandit has a sufficient turn rate to get his nose around on you. If he does, get ready for gun defense. Figure 3-4 shows a MiG-29 flying a good lag entry on an F-16.
The bandit may not fly perfect BFM. What if he climbs above you?
If the bandit pulls into the vertical for turning room, keep the hard turn coming with your lift vector directly on the him. As you pull up into the bandit, watch him. If he immediately pulls down to a lag position as you pull up into him, he knows what he is doing and will quickly close the range for a gun shot. If he keeps his nose high, you will end up in a neutral position on the bandit because you are slower and have a smaller turn radius. Since you have just started your turn, you should still have enough energy and turn rate ability to get around the corner and pass the bandit at high angles. Figure 3-5 shows this type of fight.
In this type of fight, you will end up in a scissors. Scissors occur when two fighters are in a line-abreast, neutral position. They both pull for each other’s 6 o’clock position and, as they pass, they roll back into each other and pull. The scissors is usually won by the fighter that can slow his forward velocity, in relation to the bandit, the quickest. Figure 3-6 shows a scissors.
Lead pursuit is another attack pursuit course that the bandit may take. If a bandit starts at 1 nm back and flies a lead pursuit course, he will probably overshoot. Remember the 2 nm setup already discussed? The same result will occur at 1 nm. In order to force the bandit to overshoot, however, you must be executing your best turn. The bandit will not overshoot if you are 50 or more knots slower or faster than corner velocity, or if you are not pulling enough G.
The last option the bandit has is a pure pursuit attack. If you see a bandit pointing at you and a missile is not coming off of his jet, you are in for a treat. A guy that points at you for more than a few seconds is clueless. This type of maneuvering is called HUD BFM. HUD BFM almost always results in a gross overshoot and a lead change — in other words, the bandit will end up in front.
Overshoots
There are two type of overshoots: the flight path overshoot and the 3/9 line overshoot. A 3/9 line overshoot is always tactically significant, while a flight path overshoot may not be. Figure 3-7 shows a 3/9 line overshoot along with two flight path overshoots. Aircraft A in Figure 3-7 slightly overshoots the F-16’s flight path. This is not tactically significant. Aircraft B, on the other hand, overshoots the F-16’s flight path far enough that he may end up line-abreast or out in front if the F-16 reverses his turn. Aircraft C is obviously in big trouble because he has blundered past the F-16’s 3/9 line. All overshoots are not created equal.
When you predict that a bandit may overshoot, note the range, angle-off, and the line-of-sight rate of the bandit. His position, in relation to you, will dictate how you will reverse. As a rule of thumb, the greater the range when he overshoots and the slower the line-of-sight rate, the less chance you have of forcing him out in front of your 3/9 line with a reversal.
When a bandit overshoots, there are basically two ways to reverse your turn to take advantage of it. If you see the bandit is going to overshoot with a high line-of-sight rate, you should perform an unloaded reversal. To do an unloaded reversal, simply release the G, roll the aircraft to position your lift vector directly on the bandit, and then pull maximum G directly at him. You should only use this reversal method when you are sure that the bandit will overshoot. This type of reversal does not “force” the bandit out in front of you; it just gets your nose on the bandit quickly when he does overshoot.
The other type of reversal should be used with caution. It is called a loaded reversal. To execute a loaded reversal, keep the Gs on the jet as you roll and pull toward the bandit. This type of reversal is used to “force” a bandit that is about to overshoot into an overshoot. Figure 3-8 shows this type of situation.