By Ryan "Kosmo" Cowley, 187th Avengers VFW

  What we just accomplished with this maneuver was to force the closing missile, already low on energy, to execute a hard turn in an attempt to follow. If your timing was correct it will not have enough energy to maneuver, and will over shoot, giving you another chance at the offending MiG. Better get him this time because during your maneuvering, he has closed another 15 miles and is ready to put a heater in the air with your name on it.

IR Evasion and AIM-120

There are already several good articles available on evading IR missiles. The important thing to remember here is to throw that throttle aft just as quick as possible. Nothing feels as un-natural as parking the throttle at idle at a critical time when you need all the energy you can muster to out-maneuver a MiG and his heat seeking missile.

We're all guilty of leaving that Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 cooking while attempting to spoof that "Archer In........" Well boys and girls, it isn't going to happen that way. Your hot engine is going to be a big white dot in the eyes of that archer, or a cookie if you will. Those little flares you're popping out the back are just crumbs falling off the cookie. If you have any experience with a cookie at all, you know to forget about the crumbs because the cookie is where the action is.

Now what about getting away from the infamous AIM-120. Surely by now you've tried your skill against an F-16 in a dogfight. Whether that Viper was piloted by an AI, or a friend, you're aware how lethal those slammers are. Count yourself lucky if you've ever gotten away from one. I'd like to meet the man that can consistently drive his Viper away from the business end of a slammer.

Until that time, I've developed a little strategy that is going to greatly increase your odds of walking away from an engagement with an F-16. Even today nothing gets my heart going, and makes my palms sweat, while my knuckles turn white on the HOTAS, as going up against an F-16 heavily laden with AIM-120's.

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You've all heard of "fighting fire with fire", or "the best defense is a good offense." Nothing could be more true. What does this mean to you as a Viper driver? Simple. After you detect an inbound missile launch, send one right back at the offender. Now this isn't as easy as it sounds. You're going to test your intestinal fortitude, as you try to keep your cool, and go through the steps of locking up the bandit, and getting a missile off.

You're going to be fighting the urge to engage defensive in an attempt to escape that incoming missile. Good news is that the guy who just shot at you is the same guy you just shot at. Follow? This means that he now detects an inbound missile threat, and will most likely instinctively go into a defensive posture. To do so, he will pull to put you and your missile at his 3-9 line.

What this does is cause him to lose his radar lock on you. Most likely he would have engaged you at or near the maximum range of the AIM-120, and having turned and lost radar contact, the missile will not yet have become active, tracking you via its onboard radar. The once deadly slammer is now just a flying piece of debris.

Don't pass this secret on to your buddy, and then go up and try it against one another, because it's not going to work if you both know about it. You're going to find yourself in a 450 knot chicken fight, from which you'll both be shot down. Imagine trying to explain that to St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

Happy hunting with your new skills. Remember to always push yourself. Set the game to slightly exceed your skills. That way you'll continue to grow and advance your abilities. Please feel free to contact me with your gripes or compliments. And, as always, anyone is welcome to join our nightly chats at the 187th VFW. You can access our dedicated Falcon 4 chat room from our web page www.187th.org.

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