Introduction to High Aspect Maneuvering ACM – 08x Introduction to High Aspect Maneuvering

Flight Brief ORM QOD BRIEF NATOPS EP SOP Training rules In-flight emergencies High aspect ACM One-circle engagement Two-circle engagement Energy management Controlling the merge Out-of-plane maneuvering

Introduce (Neutral maneuvering) DEMO High aspect one-circle management High aspect two-circle management Introduce (Neutral maneuvering) Neutral abeam start Neutral butterfly start Neutral unknown start (BVR) High aspect one-circle engagement (nose-low entry to initial merge)

High Aspect Focus Aggressiveness…..Kill the bandit! Determine Flow Evaluate the Bandit Visual Cues / Energy Assessment Define Roles Remember Offensive / Defensive game plans and transition as appropriate

Execution Keys to success: KEEP/REGAIN SIGHT Out of Plane Maneuvering Lift Vector Placement Airspeed Excursions Max Perform our Aircraft

Flight Brief (cont) Concepts & Definitions In-Plane Flow: 1 circle vs. 2 circle Out of Plane Maneuvering Lift Vector Placement Airspeed Excursions Controlling Merges Vertical Merges Attack Gameplan Ftr Turns Level Ftr Nose Hi Ftr Nose Low

Butterfly Set 1 3 4 3 2 2 2 3 4 1 Blind Gameplan 500ft “Take a cut away” “Shocker 2” 3 4 3 2 2.5 - 3.0nm or visual limits “Shocker 1, turning in” “Shocker 2, turning in” 2 2 Blind Gameplan 3 “Left to left” “Left to left” 4 “Fight’s on!” “Fight’s on!” 30° check turn away Throttle: mil 1 16k / 300kts 16k / 300kts

Blind Gameplan DO NOT TURN IN IF BLIND!! If blind after turning in…. Student Blind “Tiger 2 blind, descending.” Lag last known position and immediately descend 500-1000’ while lead talks your eyes on. IP Blind “Tiger 1 blind, climbing.” Lag last known position and climb 500-1000’ and wait for stud to talk eyes on. If stud is also blind, he should immediately descend 500-1000’ and call “Tiger 2 blind.” If merge is assessed to have occurred (opening A/A TCN), lead will call a KIO in the direction of the start of the maneuver at attempt to rejoin via comm.

Post-Merge Mechanics 30° check across tail - Keep sight - Evaluate bandit’s energy state - Set the flow * In Plane 1circle / 2 circle * Out of Plane

Abeam Set ? ? Discuss up/down/level gameplan. “3......2……1……fight’s on!” “Fight’s on!” ? ? Discuss up/down/level gameplan. 1.0 / 300 16k 16k

Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Real world application

Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Execution Example 1 “Tiger 2, you’re cleared to the south.” “Tiger 2.” EWA 2 3 2 “Bandit’s established in the North.” “Fighter’s established in the South.” @ > 10nm “Bandit’s turning in, fight’s on.” “Fighter’s turning in, fight’s on.” 3 1 “Screwtop, Picture.” “Screwtop, single group, (Bullseye) 150, 20, (low/high), hot, hostile.” “Tiger’s commit.” @ 10 nm “Bandit’s in the block.” “Fighter’s in the block.” 2 20 - 23 @ 5 nm “5 miles, eyes out.” 3 When tally “Tiger 2, tally 1, left 9 o’clock high (descriptive position of bandit)…..” “Tiger 2 engaged 2 circle, left 12 thousand (describe the fight).” 15 -19 150 R 10 - 14

Flight Brief (cont) FENCE out Unknown Airspeed Rdv Wingman initiates “(Callsign) fenced out L/R, G’s & fuel” Unknown Airspeed Rdv 80% 250-300 kts

Recap Overall Flow Questions

Coordination Brief

ORM Operational Requirements / Limitations Human Factors Crew Rest / Crew Day / Work Week R&I IP Currency (SOP) Warm Up Eligibility Previous Flight Incomplete? Determine Graded Items. Human Factors Life Stressors / External Factors / Personal Problems Medical Status (Rest / Nourishment / Hydration) Hazards and Controls Routine Weather Current Observations and Forecasts Crosswinds Fuel Considerations Mission Specific

TTO Who will call a TTO? What situations will the TTO be called? Safety Confusion / Misunderstanding IP Responsibilities Recognize need for TTO Explanation / Instruction as necessary Documentation on ATF When and how will training resume?

WARM UP CRITERIA ACM IP < 750 HOURS IN STRIKE/FIGHTER AIRCRAFT 1 FLIGHT WITHIN THE PREVIOUS 6 DAYS 2 FLIGHTS WITHIN THE PREVIOUS 14 DAYS (1 FLT SHALL BE A DYNAMIC HOP) ACM IP > 750 HOURS IN STRIKE/FIGHTER AIRCRAFT 1 FLIGHT WITHIN THE PREVIOUS 14 DAYS 2 FLIGHTS WITHIN THE PREVIOUS 30 DAYS SNA ONE WARM UP EVENT MAY BE AWARDED WHEN THERE HAS BEEN A DELAY OF 6 CALENDAR DAYS SINCE THE LAST EVENT IN A PARTICULAR STAGE. IF THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED CURRICULUM EVENT IS A DUAL FLIGHT, THEN THE EVENT IS BRIEFED AND FLOWN AS THAT FLIGHT IF THE SNA’S PROFICIANECY AFTER THE DELAY IN TRAINING IS CONSISTENT WITH HIS NORMAL PROCRESS AND WARRANTS CONTINUATION IN THE MODULE OF INSTRUCTIONS, THE FLIGHT SHALL BE CONSIDERED A WARMUP OF THE LAST FLIGHT EVENT COMPLETED. IF THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED CURRICUMUM EVENT IS SOLO, THE STUDENT SHALL BE AWARDED A WARMUP OF THE LAST COMPLETED EVENT. OPTIONAL WARM UP: 7-13 DAYS. MANDATORY WARM UP: GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO 14 DAYS.

ADMIN A/C - ATC C/S - Tactical C/S - Crew TIMES (Brief / Walk / Marshal / Takeoff / Land) ATC Clearance Area NUMBERS (Line / T/O / Abort / RPM) Comm Plan – Primary / Aux Nav Plan LCLS Joker / Bingo

ADMIN Launch Recovery Weather / NOTAMS / TFR / BASH Preflight / Start / Marshal / Taxi Takeoff ( 7sec or Section Go) Recovery 4 second Break, TG’s / Full Stop Instrument approach situations Section approach / Flt sep on final? RTB as singles?

Tac Admin G Warm Fence Checks G’s and Fuel checks Knock It Offs 17 unit pull to new heading Reference 300 kts in climb Fly to PADS for next set

Flow SSD 2 maneuvering x 2 non-maneuvering Warm-up set (Stud Choice) Butterfly Sets 2 circle / 1 circle demo (Fighter sets 2cir out of plane nose low, Bandit level across horizon for 360deg then break down into fighter before merge. At merge, Fighter IP demos out of plane (>45 deg nose high) 1 circle flow until offensive role established) 2 circle do 1 circle do Abeam BVR

Emergencies Ground Emergencies Abort Rwy Dep / Gnd Ejection Radio/ICS failure Loss of Navaids Lost Plane / Lost Sight System Failures Disorientation Bird strike/ Midair SAR procedures Ejection

Training Rules ADMIN BRIEF DEPARTURE/SPIN, COMPRESSOR STALL PROCEDURES, AND CURRENCY – All in flight have flown: 1 in 6 and 2 in 14 (<750 hrs), or 1 in 14 and 2 in 30 (>750 hrs) FACE-TO-FACE BRIEF OF ALL MANEUVERS FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS. ACM WILL BE CONDUCTED IN AN AUTHORIZED AREA ONLY FROM 30 MIN AFTER SUNRISE TO 30 MIN PRIOR TO SUNSET. ACM WX MINS: 5 miles visibility with a defined horizon. 11K’ between broken/overcast layers. 1 NM horizontally and 2K’ vertically from all clouds. ACM may be conducted above broken/overcast layer provided the highest layer is below 7K’ AGL for solo events and 8K’AGL for dual events. The flight lead will then establish the hard deck 5K’ above that layer and all A/C will acknowledge the new hard deck. HARD DECK SHALL BE 10,000 FT AGL MIMIMUM. SOFT SHALL BE 5,000 FT ABOVE THE HARD DECK. No sustained low speed/high AOA maneuvering (less than 120 knots AND more than 24 units) below the soft deck. ALL AIRCRAFT MUST HAVE OPERABLE UHF AND ICS (MULTI-CREW) AND MONITOR GUARD. CONFIGURATION CHANGES OTHER THAN SPEED BRAKES ARE NOT AUTHORIZED. “G” AWARENESS MANEUVER REQUIRED PRIOR TO ACM. COLLISION AVOIDANCE MAINTAIN A 500’ BUBBLE AROUND ALL AIRCRAFT. ALWAYS ASSUME THE OTHER AIRCRAFT DOES NOT SEE YOU. MAINTAIN THE ESTABLISHED TREND ON HEAD TO HEAD PASSES. WHEN NO TREND EXISTS, EACH AIRCRAFT SHALL GIVE WAY TO THE RIGHT FOR A LEFT-TO-LEFT PASS. TRANSMIT YOUR OWN INTENTIONS. LOW AIRCRAFT IN A HORIZONTAL SCISSORS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SAFE SEPARATION. NOSE HIGH GOES HIGH, NOSE LOW HAS COLLISION AVOIDANCE RESPONSIBILITY. TRANSMIT YOUR OWN INTENTIONS. COLLISION AVOIDANCE (continued) NEVER INTENTIONALLY MANEUVER TO LOSE SIGHT (NO BLIND LEAD TURNS). IF LOST SIGHT, TRANSMIT “BLIND” AND REMAIN PREDICTABLE. OTHER AIRCRAFT SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE WITH “CONTINUE” OR ‘KNOCK-IT-OFF” AS APPROPRIATE, PROVIDING DIRECTIVE COMM AS NECESSARY FOR SAFETY OF FLIGHT. ONCE SIGHT IS REGAINED, TRANSMIT “TALLY.” UP-SUN AIRCRAFT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE. IF DOWN-SUN AIRCRAFT LOSES SIGHT, BREAK OFF THE ATTACK, TURN AWAY FROM PREDICTED COLLISION BEARING AND BROADCAST “BLIND, SUN.” UP-SUN AIRCRAFT SHALL ACKNOWLEDGE WITH EITHER “CONTINUE” OR “KNOCK-IT-OFF” CALL. BREAK OFF ALL GUN ATTACKS AT 1,000’, NO FORWARD QUARTER GUN ATTACKS (45 deg of target nose). CNATRA WEAPONS ENVELOPES APPLY. TERRAIN AVOIDANCE IN A DESCENDING FIGHT, THE OFFENSIVE (HIGH) AIRCRAFT SHALL MONITOR THE DEFENSIVE (LOW) AIRCRAFT’S ALTITUDE, ATTITUDE AND AIRSPEED AND BREAK OFF THE ATTACK PRIOR TO PUSHING THE DEFENSIVE AIRCRAFT THROUGH THE HARD DECK. TERMINATION ANYONE CAN CALL A “KNOCK-IT-OFF.” EACH AIRCRAFT SHALL TERMINATE THE ENGAGEMENT, MANEUVER TO SAFETY AND ACKNOWLEDGE WITH THEIR OWN “KNOCK-IT-OFF.” WATCH OUT FOR THE MID-AIR POTENTIAL FOLLOWING A “KNOCK-IT-OFF”. KNOCK-IT-OFF FOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: Any training rule is violated. Interloper (unbriefed A/C) enters the engagement area. Any OCF flight situation develops. G-LOC experienced or suspected. (Aircrew shall RTB). Radio failure/loss of ICS. An aircraft rocking wings is an automatic “knock-It-off.” Bingo fuel state is reached Dangerous situation/loss of situational awareness/inadvertent IMC/possible overstress. Training objectives have been reached. Engaged aircraft crosses the border of the authorized training area.

Questions ?

STANDARD DEBRIEFING FORMAT The Flight Lead or Pilot-in-Command is responsible for ensuring all flight or crewmembers are thoroughly debriefed on the conduct of the mission utilizing the “S-P-B-E-MS-LL” format outlined below. (Refer to the CTW-1/CTW-2 Expanded Debriefing Guide for specific objectives). Safety Planning Brief Execution Mission Success Lessons Learned

Out of Plane Maneuvering Only significant when greater than 45° relative to Bandit’s current Plane of Motion (not necessarily the horizon). - Buys delayed reaction from Bandit - Best way to initiate 1cir flow (give examples of less effective ways) - Uncountered OOP maneuver can quickly be translated into a significant positional advantage. - Immediately recognize bandit counter or uncountered maneuvers. - If we see a bandit level we should 1) anticipate a deck transition (or) 2) Look to employ weapons and kill

Lift Vector Placement Side view Without proper LV placement, you won’t gain any significant offensive advantage using an OOP maneuver (as shown). - When going OOP, place LV on to in front of bandit….look to kill / pressure bandit. Uncountered? - LV on, then aft to drive to Control Zone. Countered? - Take advantage of turning room / angles gained at next High Aspect merge.

Airspeed Excursions Keeping 300-330kts not the focus Critical elements: 1) Intelligent trade off. Willing to bleed to do whatever it takes to accomplish objectives #1 obj = Kill bandit! Bandit trying to kill you? Take out turning room Create turning room 2) When time comes, max perform aircraft 3) Regain energy efficiently at every opportunity Examples: * Gain turning room for ourselves Both nose high, bleed - evaluate – unload & regain energy to set merge that will be advantageous (nose high vs. nose low). * Pulling below rate numbers to employ gun (only when bandit in HUD).

Controlling Merges Keys Turning Room Not one magic move, but a series of well planned and executed moves over time will defeat poor BFM. Turning Room Set the merge to create turning room If plan to go nose high, then aggressively dig to the lower inside corner and set the flow Early turn the bandit through the vertical Bandit reverses and goes nose high too - turn radius advantage Bandit counters nose low – greater angles from early turn

Vertical Merges Which fighter would you rather be? Drive the vertical merge to your advantage Fighter going down – Gravity working against you - Float over the top - Force bandit up to you Decreases his uphill energy Make merge happen horizontal Fighter going up – Gravity working for you - Force bandit down with nose pressure - Make slight check turn away to keep sight as you begin early turn prior to merge. Use “God’s G” (smaller turn radius) to help bring nose around in the oblique towards bandit.

Overshoots in the Vertical Note fighter turns in front of post, takes snapshot, and retains offensive advantage. Unlike horizontal maneuvering, bandit can’t reverse to take advantage of the overshoot due to his low energy state. Per Training Rules, be careful not to take shots forward of the 3-9 line!

In-Plane Flow 1 circle 2 circle - Radius fight - Rate Fight Fighters vying for control of same turn circle, min separation - Easier to keep sight / employ weapons - Rate Fight Fighters in own turn circle trying to rate around faster than opponent. Difficult to keep sight / employ weapons

Fighter Nose High

Fighter Nose Low

Fighter Turns Level