Essah's rules of survival in Modern Air Combat

[Essah]

So In style of the Dicta Boelche rules of World war 1 I developed a set of rules for 21st century air combat as experienced in Lock on, Flaming Cliffs 2.

 

Some of it may need adjusting and there might be more to add but I think it's pretty good and accurate so far. feel free to discuss and test them or maybe even benefit from them:smartass:

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

Essah's rules of survival in Modern Air Combat

 

to understand following rules following 3 terms and phrases must be known:

ARH (Autonomous Radar Homing)

SARH (Semi-Autonomous Radar Homing)

WVR (Within Visual Range)

AMRAAM turning Active (also known as going Bulldog)

 

1. Exploit your advantages over your adversaries as much as you can.

 

2. Try to keep all your enemies on the defensive all the times,

only then can you maintain the upperhand and get close enough to get high kill-probability shot.

Don't plan on having to evade missiles. The best fight is one where the enemy never gets a shot off.

Of course keeping your opponent defensive is no guarentee for victory if he's able to maintain lock on you meanwhile, or able to launch ARH missiles.

 

3. Never do anything just 50% or 60%. Always put at full effort into your action.

If you are gonna do evasive DO EVASIVE, if you only do it half heartedly you might as well

not as the missile WILL hit you. on the other hand don't overdo 130% as this will just be wasted energy and time.

lost time and energy that will result in keeping you in truble.

 

4. Better fire a missile too much than too little. Don't assume 1 missiles is enough.

If your adversary has space to shoot back you'll regret you didnt fire 2 or more.

The Exception is when you do not expect your missile to have any reasonable kill probability.

In those cases its better to save the missile for later, One missile is enough to force the opponent into defensive

 

5. Don't be greedy. If you have an AMRAAM turn active on you, don't wait just another

second to get within range. or if you are strafing a ground target don't wait that extra

second to get your guns the target, - If it means you are going to hit the ground

or get within enemy weapons envelope.

 

6. be very wary about flying around a combat zone alone. A Pair is more than twice as

effective as a solo plane for a lot of reasons.

 

7. Stay high, sneaky attacks from below will only work in the best of cases.

You will have much more control of the fight from high altitude.

Remember: Speed is life, Altitude is Insurance, although less so in the Jet Era

 

8. If you have a good shot take it, you might not get another one.

 

9. Just because you have an ARH Missile, doesn't mean you don't still need to guide it into the enemy's neighbourhood.

Don't make the mistake of breaking lock immidiatly after launch resulting in your missile going ballistic.

 

10. If you have, or think you have, merged with the enemy start popping flares regularily!

there won't be time to react or even tell if someone has fired A heatseeking missile at you from somewhere unknown

 

11. Don't underestimate the danger of a bandit within Heat seeker or guns range,

they can end your career very very quick if you are careless

 

12. Don't fly straight and level for mor than about 10 seconds in a WVR combat environment.

It is imperative to spot, maneuver on and kill all close threats as quick as possible.

 

13. The ability to evade a missile while maintaining target lock,

is an art that can turn tables during an SARH Duel.

Diving zigzag turns in 3 planes of motion works well along with deployment of countermeasures,

be careful not to lose lock and thus missile guidance while doing so, as this will prolong the fight

 

14. Knowing your enemy's Capabilities and shortcomming is important to best plan your tactic and exploiting your advantages.

most importantly: What plane does he fly? does he have Jammers? What missiles does he have´and are they SARH or ARH or maybe only Heatseaking?

 

15. Know when to disengage and bug out. If you are down to 1 or 2 or even complatly out of medium/longe range missiles it might be a good idea to get out of dogde

 

16. Keep in mind that western fighters armed with ARH Missiles is a whole different league than those armed only with SARH Missiles.

This is due their ability to put a missile in your neighbourhood with no warning until they turn active on you,

at which point Evading gets really tricky, if the missile is not already relativly low on energy

 

Disclaimer: All Rules have been worked out using Lock On, Flaming Cliffs 2 and may or may not apply in other flight simulations or real life.

There will be exception to all rules but the rules generally apply

[Frostie]

Hi Essah, nice list.

Basically, know the enemy, make sure you shoot first, don't wait for actives expect them, never fly straight at bandits, use flares in a merge, and never save weapons for later or else there may not be a later.

 

Just a couple of things that weren't crystal for me.

AMRAAM turning Active (also known as going Bulldog)

 

An ARH going active on a bandit is a pitbull not a bulldog, an ARH on the loose looking for any target is a maddog.

 

1. Exploit your advantages over your adversaries as much as you can.

A list of advantages and disadvantages would be great.

 

2. Try to keep all your enemies on the defensive all the times,

only then can you maintain the upperhand and get close enough to get high kill-probability shot.

Don't plan on having to evade missiles. The best fight is one where the enemy never gets a shot off.

Of course keeping your opponent defensive is no guarentee for victory if he's able to maintain lock on you meanwhile, or able to launch ARH missiles.

If your opponent is locking you he isn't defensive, if he is using SARH's then he will keep lock on you always, if he is using actives he will go defensive right before you die.

 

3. Never do anything just 50% or 60%. Always put at full effort into your action.

If you are gonna do evasive DO EVASIVE, if you only do it half heartedly you might as well

not as the missile WILL hit you. on the other hand don't overdo 130% as this will just be wasted energy and time.

lost time and energy that will result in keeping you in truble.

I think 130% is impossible, if you do anything in this game 50% then why bother.

I think you mean, by approaching with the right mindset, you will achieve better results.

or

Better to retire and save your aircraft than push a bad position. Charlie, jump in here any time.

4. Better fire a missile too much than too little. Don't assume 1 missiles is enough.

If your adversary has space to shoot back you'll regret you didnt fire 2 or more.

The Exception is when you do not expect your missile to have any reasonable kill probability.

In those cases its better to save the missile for later, One missile is enough to force the opponent into defensive

What are the variables here? Better fire a missile too much, one missile is enough.

So, just fire then.

If you want to stay in the fight better not spam those missiles, one missile will do the job in BVR unless its not tracking or the bandit has made some maneuveurs.

7. Stay high, sneaky attacks from below will only work in the best of cases.

You will have much more control of the fight from high altitude.

Remember: Speed is life, Altitude is Insurance, although less so in the Jet Era

Below your target you can notch him and screw up his SA especially if there are more of you.

 

13. The ability to evade a missile while maintaining target lock,

is an art that can turn tables during an SARH Duel.

Diving zigzag turns in 3 planes of motion works well along with deployment of countermeasures,

be careful not to lose lock and thus missile guidance while doing so, as this will prolong the fight

Not really sound survival advice.

Actives work, if you want to survive fly away or notch.

14. Knowing your enemy's Capabilities and shortcomming is important to best plan your tactic and exploiting your advantages.

most importantly: What plane does he fly? does he have Jammers? What missiles does he have´and are they SARH or ARH or maybe only Heatseaking?

You can't really know this, he may have all or he may have non, all that matters is how you react when you realise what your up against because any planning goes out the window if you were expecting something else.

 

15. Know when to disengage and bug out. If you are down to 1 or 2 or even complatly out of medium/longe range missiles it might be a good idea to get out of dogde

1 or 2 is good for 1 or 2 bandits or supporting your buddies, stay and support, even an empty ship is still an added problem for the enemy.

 

16. Keep in mind that western fighters armed with ARH Missiles is a whole different league than those armed only with SARH Missiles.

This is due their ability to put a missile in your neighbourhood with no warning until they turn active on you,

at which point Evading gets really tricky, if the missile is not already relativly low on energy

But don't underestimate how effective SARH missiles can be, its easy to throw some actives out but you need to be closer than you would like, to get some telling ones against a well placed SARH.

[Krebs20]

Only have one tip to add. Fly with mil power unless you are engaging or engaged. Use afterburners only if needed. Having more fuel in an engagement means you can fight longer.

[combatace]

 

16. Keep in mind that western fighters armed with ARH Missiles is a whole different league than those armed only with SARH Missiles.

This is due their ability to put a missile in your neighbourhood with no warning until they turn active on you,

at which point Evading gets really tricky, if the missile is not already relativly low on energy

 

 

Ya, well you can't tell how far SARH missile is but you can surely know where ARH is in Russian fighters. For me there is nothing more advantageous than this.

[FLANKERATOR]

Ya, well you can't tell how far SARH missile is but you can surely know where ARH is in Russian fighters.

 

Actually, you can estimate how far the 1st SARH missile is, based on the launch warning and distance/altitude at launch, providing music is off.

 

You can know where an ARH missile is after Pitbull, using both SPO and TEWS, i.e. in both Russian and Western Fighters.

Edited August 19, 2011 by FLANKERATOR

[Essah]

Hi Essah, nice list. thanks

Basically, know the enemy, make sure you shoot first, don't wait for actives expect them, never fly straight at bandits, use flares in a merge, and never save weapons for later or else there may not be a later.

 

Just a couple of things that weren't crystal for me.

 

An ARH going active on a bandit is a pitbull not a bulldog, an ARH on the loose looking for any target is a maddog.

 

True, thought it sounded wrong...

 

 

A list of advantages and disadvantages would be great.

could be many many things depending on a long range of variables.

 

If your opponent is locking you he isn't defensive, if he is using SARH's then he will keep lock on you always, if he is using actives he will go defensive right before you die.

 

well partially defensive then.

even if he's using ARH missiles you can still force him defensive that he will never get a missile off if you can shoot first albeit it will be very tricky.

 

I think 130% is impossible, if you do anything in this game 50% then why bother.

I think you mean, by approaching with the right mindset, you will achieve better results.

or

Better to retire and save your aircraft than push a bad position. Charlie, jump in here any time.

 

doing 130% would be doing wild evasive long after the missile has missed because you do not check if you still have a missile tracking on you, which is wasted effort.

 

What are the variables here? Better fire a missile too much, one missile is enough.

So, just fire then.

If you want to stay in the fight better not spam those missiles, one missile will do the job in BVR unless its not tracking or the bandit has made some maneuveurs.

 

one missile is not enough if it misses your target and he get's a moment to shoot back after evading it.

 

if you are stingy with your missiles you will be dead before you have fired them all off anyway.

 

 

Below your target you can notch him and screw up his SA especially if there are more of you.

 

tried and failed at that enough times to say it only works in best of cases *

 

 

Not really sound survival advice.

Actives work, if you want to survive fly away or notch.

Going defensive is not a way to win a SARH duel, only prolong it while putting yourself in a worse position. you might not have ARH Missiles available to you

 

You can't really know this, he may have all or he may have non, all that matters is how you react when you realise what your up against because any planning goes out the window if you were expecting something else.

 

In a realistic scenario you would have intel on who your enemy is, what he flies etc.

 

1 or 2 is good for 1 or 2 bandits or supporting your buddies, stay and support, even an empty ship is still an added problem for the enemy. if supporting a buddy, true, if alone it is just suicide.

 

 

But don't underestimate how effective SARH missiles can be, its easy to throw some actives out but you need to be closer than you would like, to get some telling ones against a well placed SARH.

 

* I should probably add that this list is worked out while practicing against AI on High difficulty level, not human players.

[GGTharos]

AI aren't anywhere near as clever or dangerous as human players.

 

Nor as varied: Online you'll run into guys who'll intercept your missile with their forehead long after it has run out of energy to hit them; you'll also run into guys who'll make you look like the guy above :D

[Cali]

Like GG said, AI and human players are a different beast. The last few days I have had flanker pilot shooting at me from way too far out. Yes I know why they are doing it, to get me to go defensive. But then they have became target fixated on me and get killed by a buddy or when I turn around on them. I bet they are saying "where'd he go" and his wingman saying where'd who go........splat! And they are still flying with their jammers on the whole time catching 120's to da face!

[Frostie]

Not really sound survival advice.

Actives work, if you want to survive fly away or notch.

Going defensive is not a way to win a SARH duel, only prolong it while putting yourself in a worse position. you might not have ARH Missiles available to you

If the missile is low on energy fair enough, but you won't win a duel by trying to dodge every missile that comes your way, better to swallow your pride and lose the fight by extending, than lose it by pulling high risk moves into a burning wreck. The enemy will do everything to avoid being hit as well, if you think your losing act upon it without shame.

 

You can't really know this, he may have all or he may have non, all that matters is how you react when you realise what your up against because any planning goes out the window if you were expecting something else.

 

In a realistic scenario you would have intel on who your enemy is, what he flies etc.

 

More often than not, if at all, the enemy doesn't possess just one plane type.

In a realistic scenario you'd know the threats, which could range from say an F-15C to a MiG-29A to an F-4.

How could you know which of those you're facing, because everyone of those i've listed has something different, be it payload, sensors, jammers etc.

You plan to meet an F-4 and exploit its weaker radar and payload, then suddenly you have a TWS ARH in the face fom an F-15.

You plan to meet an F-15 by being sneaky but get an IR up your tailpipe from a MiG using EOS.

The contact on your scope is a threat, whether it's a bomber or a fighter you don't know, you simply treat it with caution and only when you start engaging can you try to assume what your up against.

Unless using labels, then everything gets clearer.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Frostie

[EtherealN]

In other words:

He who runs lives to fight another day.

 

Not glamorous, not hollywood, but hey. Better to go defensive once and reposition for a new fight than do go down in flames. And of course, if you're in a rote, you going defensive can be nothing other than a setup for your wingman to get his shot. ;)

[Reaper-6]

So In style of the Dicta Boelche... [/i]

 

Essah, is there another callsign you fly online ?

 

I check the top online stats and forums a couple times a month too see if someone is getting the lions share of the kills and I have never seen your name.

 

Have you recently changed your callsign ?

 

If the answer to both is no, then nevermind.

[combatace]

Actually, you can estimate how far the 1st SARH missile is, based on the launch warning and distance/altitude at launch, providing music is off.

 

You can know where an ARH missile is after Pitbull, using both SPO and TEWS, i.e. in both Russian and Western Fighters.

 

But there is a difference in looking them on a scale and looking them on map.

[Essah]

Essah, is there another callsign you fly online ?

 

I check the top online stats and forums a couple times a month too see if someone is getting the lions share of the kills and I have never seen your name.

 

Have you recently changed your callsign ?

 

If the answer to both is no, then nevermind.

 

As written earlier this rules are developed while fighting AI on High Difficulty level, not online and may not apply against other players.

and no I haven't played FC2 online very much.