Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

56 FIGHTER WEAPONS
will exhibit large, jerky course changes as it attempts to guide on different
targets. These maneuvers tend to increase aerodynamic drag and reduce
maximum range. As the missile approaches the terminal phase it may
simply guide on a point near the centroid of the target mass, resulting in a
wide miss on any individual target.
Passive seekers have a similar problem. When confronted with several
hot tailpipes in close proximity, a heat seeker, for instance, may guide on
the centroid of the target group based on the relative intensities of the
various sources.
These limitations may be exploited for defensive purposes by large
numbers of aircraft flying in carefully spaced formations, usually called
"cells." This tactic is more effective against missiles with remote tracking
platforms, such as command and beam-rider weapons, where the tracking
radar is at greater range than the missile itself. A homing missile is less
susceptible since, as it nears the target cell, its tracking beam encompasses
fewer and fewer targets, possibly allowing the weapon to "cut one out of
the pack."
Although such tactics may be very effective against selected threats
under some conditions, many radar missile systems, particularly SAMs,
have alternative optical tracking, which is not susceptible to glint. Highly
maneuverable fighters usually have other defensive options which are
more dependable and somewhat less nerve-racking for the pilots than
flying straight-and-level and watching missiles whiz through their
formations.
No matter how many SAMs a pilot might defeat, he respected them. Each
SAM call brought doubts of survival and numbing fear. They were never
faced complacently.
Commander Randy "Duke" Cunningham, USN
A broad classification of defensive techniques is known as electronic
countermeasures. These methods can be subdivided into two categories:
noise and deception. Noise jamming is an attempt to produce a strong
signal that will overpower the target return when it is received by the
enemy radar. The attacker ideally obtains a very strong return along the
LOS to the target, but he cannot get range information, since the reflected
pulse is overpowered and indistinguishable in the noise. Doppler radars are
generally less susceptible to this technique, since they do not require pulse
timing.
The effectiveness of noise jamming is related to the ratio of the jamming
power received by the enemy radar to the strength of the target return.
Since reflected target energy is much more sensitive to target range than is
the received noise, this method is very effective at long distances, but as
range decreases the radar return power increases at a faster rate, possibly
allowing "burnthrough" and target detection. Noise is also more effective
if it can be concentrated in a narrow beam at the enemy radar, rather than
being radiated in all directions. The jamming may be done by the target
itself, or by a "stand-off jammer/' which attempts to conceal other aircraft
with its noise. Noise jamming actually may allow the radar receiver to