Page 3

Another attack, which increases surprise and survivability when a restricted final attack heading is not required, is the split attack.

In the split attack, dash two takes a separation maneuver similar to the one performed in the same side attack, again at about eight miles. This time, however, he separates opposite the direction of lead's briefed offset. The attack is named for the direction of lead's offset, in this case, split-side right. Since lead is offsetting right, dash two splits to the left. Lead's attack and dash two's separation are nearly identical to that executed in the same side attack. At time 2, dash two's nose is coming around to the target area as lead approaches roll-in. As lead comes off target at time 3, dash two is approaching roll-in. At time 4, lead has eyes in the target area as dash two starts his attack. Lead arcs around the attack cone during dash two's run, coming across his nose from left to right. As dash two exits the target area at time 5, lead turns hard left in order to arrive back in combat spread.

This is by far no all-inclusive list of possible target attacks. Each fighter community has it's own set of pre-planned target tactics. The most important thing to take away from this discussion of target area tactics is that these attack procedures are not written in stone. Instead, they are starting points for planning an attack, and should be tailored to meet the requirements of that flight. For instance, in the split attack shown above, if the flight wants to egress back in the direction from which they came, it might be better for lead to turn left off target and arc around to the south during dash two's run. Then two could come off target to the right and the flight could rejoin heading back east out of the target area. Another tactic is to have lead come in from low altitude while dash two follows from high altitude.

The myriad combinations of terrain, weather, and threat should always dictate your tactics, and you should plan each attack so as to make the best possible use of mutual support for that situation. Remember, keep your head on a swivel and realize that the threat that you don't see is the one that's going to kill you. Good target area mechanics will help you see the threat and survive to fight another day.

Click to join a discussion about this article.

 

© 1997 - 2000 COMBATSIM.COM, Inc. All Rights Reserved.