Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

52 FIGHTER WEAPONS
then slowing the launching fighter as much as practical, allowing the
weapon to gain greater separation. The firing fighter may also be able to
turn away from the target by some amount after launch/ further increasing
target range at missile intercept. Slowing down and turning away from a
target in the forward hemisphere also tends to reduce the opponent's
effective firing range.
Missile Defense
Here come the SAMs! The trick is seeing the launch. You can see the steam.
It goes straight up, turns more level, then the booster drops off. If it maintains
a relatively stable position, it's coming for you and you're in trouble. You're
eager to make a move but can't. If you dodge too fast it will turn and catch
you; if you wait too late it will explode near enough to get you. What you do at
the right moment is poke your nose down, go down as hard as you can, pull
maybe three negative Gs up to 550 knots and once it follows you down, you
go up as hard as you can. It can't follow that and goes under. In a two-minute
period [the North Vietnamese] once shot thirty-eight SAMs at us. 5
Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF
The philosophy of successful missile defense is parallel to guns defense,
discussed earlier. First, prevent the missile from being launched at all.
Failing this, attempt to present the shooter with the least favorable shot
opportunity, and then endeavor to make the missile's task as difficult as
possible by attacking the capabilities and limitations of its various subsystems.
The more of these subsystems with degraded performance, the less
the chance of a successful missile shot. Guided missiles are normally
much more complicated than gun systems, and they have more subsystems
to attack. Usually the firing ranges and projectile speeds involved
also will result in greater TOF, allowing the defender more time to defeat
the weapon.
In order to prevent a missile firing, it is necessary to deny the shooter his
required launch parameters, usually including range, aspect, and aim. The
ability to achieve this objective depends on knowledge of the threat
weapon system, largely based on intelligence information and prior experience.
The more the defender knows about his adversary's capabilities and
limitations, the more effective can be his defensive tactics. Ideally, this
knowledge should include launch envelopes such as those presented in
Figure 1 -9, as well as any other restrictions, such as aiming requirements,
threat-aircraft radar capabilities, and expected tactics.
Once these factors are known, the defender is faced with the same
problem he encounters in employing his own missiles; namely, envelope
recognition. The task here is often made more difficult for two reasons: the
defender does not always know the type of missile he is facing, and in
defensive situations his own fire-control system may not be effective in
assessing his position relative to the threat envelope.
Even allowing for these limitations, there are some basic tactics which
are generally effective in reducing the size of the launch envelope for
missiles within broad categories. Altitude probably has the greatest effect
on missile range and effectiveness. In general, the range of both jet- and