Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS 65
attacker with high AOT. It may not be possible for the defender to complete
this option before a guns or missile defense maneuver is required,
depending on the actual ranges and weapons involved. The attacker's
angular position advantage may be reduced or eliminated in this manner if
he can be met with high AOT.
Pure Pursuit
Holding the attacking aircraft's nose directly on the target also provides
closure, unless the target has a significant speed advantage and AOT is
very small. Although pure pursuit does not generate as much closure as
lead pursuit under most conditions, neither does it cause AOT to increase
as rapidly. In addition, pure pursuit presents the minimum frontal area of
the attacking fighter to the target pilot, increasing the defender's visual
problems.
Months of preparation, one of those few opportunities, and the judgement of
a split second are what makes some pilot an ace, while others think back on
what they could have done.
Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC
28 Victories, WW-II
Lag Pursuit
In lag pursuit the attacker places his nose at an angle behind the target
aircraft. This tactic is useful in slowing or stopping closure to maintain a
desired separation from the target while simultaneously maintaining or
decreasing AOT. Using lag pursuit, even a faster fighter can maintain a
position in the rear hemisphere of a maneuvering target aircraft. Figure 2-3
illustrates the use of lag pursuit to attain a stabilized position in the rear
hemisphere of a slower opponent. In this example the attacker finds
Figure 2-3. Lag Pursuit