If you are fighting a similar aircraft, such as the MiG-29, you will not normally be able to stay in lead and will be forced into an overshoot. The problem with establishing a lead pursuit course too early is that you will overshoot the bandit when you get in close unless you have a significant turn rate advantage. Flying a lead pursuit course is the fastest way to get to the bandit because you cut him off in the sky. Lead pursuit is used to close on the bandit and is also used for gun shots. This image shows how holding a pure pursuit course will lead to an overshoot.

For this reason, you should only point at the bandit when you are going to shoot. Flying a pure pursuit course all the way into the bandit will lead to an overshoot. Pure pursuit is used to shoot missiles at the enemy. If the bandit can turn at a higher rate, he can keep your nose stuck in lag and keep you from shooting him. The reason? In order to shoot a missile or the gun at the enemy, you must pull your nose out of lag. You must have the ability to out-turn the bandit in order to fly lag pursuit for any length of time. Lag is also used any time an attacking fighter maneuvers out of plane (that is, not in the same plane of motion as the fighter under attack). Lag pursuit is used primarily on the approach to the bandit. If you are pointing in front of the bandit, you are in lead pursuit. If you are pointing directly at the bandit, you are in pure pursuit. If you are pointing your aircraft behind the bandit, you are in lag pursuit. These pursuit courses are lag pursuit, pure pursuit and lead pursuit. When you start an attack on the bandit, there are three distinct paths or pursuit courses you can follow. Aspect angle is important because, if you know the aspect angle and range to the target, you then know his lateral displacement or turning room from the target-and lateral displacement is very important in BFM.Īttack geometry describes the path that the offensive fighter takes as he converges on the bandit. If your aircraft is in the right hemisphere, you have right aspect in the left hemisphere, you have left target aspect. In order to determine if the angle is left or right aspect, start at the target's 6 o'clock facing the target. Along with a measure in degrees from the target's tail. Note that the aspect angle stays the same, regardless of which way your aircraft is heading. Aspect angle has nothing to do with your heading. Aspect angle is important because it indicates how far away your aircraft is from the target's 6 o'clock position. For example, a range to the target of 9,000 feet would be displayed as 1.5 nautical miles.Īspect angle is the number of degrees measured from the tail of a target to your aircraft. Outside one nautical mile, range is measured in miles and tenths of miles. In most HUDS, range is measured in feet, out to one nautical mile(6,000 feet). Range is the distance between your jet and the bandit. If the angle-off were 90 degrees, your fuselage would be perpendicular to the bandit. For example, if the angle-off between you and a bandit were O degrees, you would be on a parallel heading with the bandit, and the two fuselages would be aligned. This angle provides information about the relative fuselage alignment between the pilot's jet and the bandit's. Now, in order to perform BFM, a fighter pilot must understand his positional relationship to the target from three perspectives: positional geometry, attack geometry and the weapons envelope.Īngle-off, range and aspect angle are terms used in BFM discussions to describe the relative advantage or disadvantage that one aircraft has in relation to another.Īngle-off is the difference, measured in degrees, between your heading and the bandit's. In order to become a great fighter pilot, you must preform great BFM. : Introduction to the Geometry of Air Combat

Greatest air combat jet maneuvers