Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

192 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, DISSIMILAR AIRCRAFT
the attack is unseen; but, as discussed, scoring against an evasive helo can
be quite difficult and may subject the fighter to return fire. In addition,
most radar lead-computing gunsights are more than worthless in this
environment because of ground clutter and rotor-blade effects. The attacker
may find a simple fixed sight more effective, especially at low
altitudes. Stories are told of an Israeli fighter pilot who made eight gun
passes on a helo before switching to a fixed gunsight for the kill. Unguided
rockets, fired in large salvos, can be lethal weapons, since greater dispersion
increases the probability of a hit, and increased firing range can keep
the attacker outside the helo's effective guns range. The helo pilot's not
likely to do much shooting anyway once he sees a flock of rockets headed
his way! Rockets fired singly, however, offer little chance of success.
Although any real fighter pilot hates to admit it, bombs may be the best
low-altitude anti-helo weapon. The kill mechanism here is not necessarily
a direct hit, which would be very difficult to achieve against an evasive
target, but the rather large fragmentation pattern. With a typical 500-lb
bomb, a 500-ft miss would probably be sufficient to do some damage to a
low-flyrng (i.e., below 1,000 ft) helicopter. Even this degree of accuracy is
not easy to achieve, however, against a moving, evasive target that must be
led considerably when the bomb is released. Retarded bombs are usually
best for this purpose. (Retarded does not relate to the bomb's intelligence
level, but refers to high-drag devices that retard the bomb's speed after its
release, allowing the bomber greater separation from the frag pattern
before weapon impact.) Retarded weapons allow the bomber to release
much lower and closer to the target for improved accuracy, and their
shorter time of fall (because of a closer release) allows the target less time
for evasive action. Although such close releases may bring the fighter
within the target's gun range, the helo pilot is likely to lose all offensive
intentions once the bomb is in the air.
One notable exception to this technique occurs when the helo is
equipped with all-aspect heat-seeking missiles. In this case a low-altitude
bomb run at high speed and power setting may allow the helo a forwardquarter,
look-up missile shot before the fighter reaches the bomb-release
point. A better method of attack would be to approach the helo at high
altitude and low power setting, well above its missile's max-range, then
make a steep dive-bombing run at idle power, at least until inside the
threat missile's min-range. After release of the bomb or bombs the fighter
should make a low-altitude pull-out and extend at high speed and low level
out the bogey's extended six o'clock. Afterburners, which increase the
fighter's IR signature by an order of magnitude, should not be required after
a dive from high altitude and should not be used. Low-drag (unretarded)
bombs are generally best for this tactic because of reduced time of fall from
a high release. With either retarded or low-drag bombs, fuzes set to explode
instantaneously on ground impact, or even slightly before, are optimum
because of the resulting frag-pattern increase.
Cluster bombs (bombs that dispense large numbers of small "bomblets"
after release) can also be effective against helos, but they are usually
inferior to general purpose bombs for this mission because of the greatly