Pairs Maneuvres in Air Combat

Pairs Maneuvres

A single aircraft in a hostile environment is extremely vulnerable. Therefore fighters fly in elements of two. Although larger formations are often used for specific tasks, the pair is the basic element. Combat spread, also known as wide battle, is the most commonly used formation. Combat spread is a widly spaced formation, 5,000 to 9,000ft (roughly 1,520 to 2,740m) laterally, with between 3,000 and 5,000ft (900 to 1,520m) of altitude seperation, exact distances depending on the visibality conditions prevailing at the time. The The high man is always the pilot flying furthest from the angle of the sun.

A pair working as a team is much more effective than two fighters working individually. They guard each other's visual blind spots and, hunt as a co-ordinated unit. The wide spacing is dictated by two factors: the long reach of contemporary weaponry, and the large amounts of sky needed for maneuvre at high subsonic or transonic speeds. There are few set maneuvres for the pair, just a few general tricks to meet certain situations.

Other pages I've made

My main page
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Main maneuvers page
The Break
The Scissors
The High G Barrel Roll
Jinking
The Spiral Dive
The Vertical Rolling Scissors
The Slpit S
The High-Speed Yoyo
The Rollaway
Lag Pursuit
The Low-Speed Yoyo
The Barrel Roll Attack
Some Skills needed for Air Combat Pilots