Airforces

86 // OCTOBER 2018 #367 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Column

NEXT MONTH:

Combat clouds.

particular area or time, even if

only for long enough to achieve

a limited mission objective.

Arms race in the air

Policy might seem a strange

category, but if your defence

strategy is to develop and procure

a highly advanced air capability

with platforms such as the

Eurofighter Typhoon, F-22 or F-35,

you are effectively seeking to invest

in air dominance at the outset.

It is this approach that results in

an air control ‘arms race’, and the

last decade has seen numerous

developments in the air-to-air

domain between leading military

nations. China and Russia in

particular have recently developed

a number of air superiority fighters

and weapon systems in order to

counter recent US advances.

Today, the most critical

technology areas in air-to-

air combat are linked more to

detection, identification and

engagement. This is in contrast

to the past, when the physical

attributes of the platform were

more important, and an air combat

would be invariably won by the

faster and more manoeuvrable

aircraft. Now, the aircraft that

engages the earliest and at the

greatest range is far more likely

to prevail. That said, an aircraft’s

ability to fly high and fast, and

turn quickly, are still important

attributes that discriminate in a

beyond-visual-range (BVR) fight,

as the physics of missile fly-

outs and escape manoeuvres

remain an important part of the

calculation of kill probability.

However, it is fair to say that

the advent of improved methods

of detection, data links enabling

multiple aircraft tactics, and longer-

range and more lethal missiles have

changed the nature of air-to-air

combat beyond recognition. Guns

and close-in missiles are now more

suitable for low-intensity warfare

and warning shots than the ‘cat

and mouse’ tactics of modern air-

to-air combat. Here, fighter pilots

will be thinking as much about

not losing as winning, especially

in an era where political risk

appetites, smaller fleet purchases,

long procurement cycles and pilot

training pipelines of three years or

more are not conducive to multiple

air losses in a short space of time.

A2/AD challenge

But as the above example of the

Soviets in Afghanistan demonstrates,

air control goes beyond just air-

breathing platforms pitched against

each other. In order to counter a

significant Western dominance in

air-to-air platforms and systems

since the 1960s, the Warsaw Pact

and, more recently, Russia has

pursued a sophisticated programme

of surface-to-air systems that have

created a concept or threat that

has become known as anti-access/

area denial (see Unpicking the A2/

AD threat, January, p86-88).

In the air domain this is merely

an extension of the concept of

air control; although defensive in

nature, the ranges and capabilities

of modern air defence systems

have gone a long way to negate

the majority of an opposing air

forces’ capabilities. Defeating

or negating these A2/AD

threats is now the first phase of

seeking to impose air control.

Modern air-to-air combat is now

a very different beast, and due to

the advent of active, hypersonic

missiles, stealth techniques

and multiple-source intelligence

aiding detection, it is now a game

that more resembles 3D long-

range chess than a ‘dogfight’.

So, next time you hear

someone debating the relative

manoeuvrability of an aircraft

based on its airshow display

sequence, or marvel at the wonder

of some aerial stunt that seems

to defy the laws of physics,

remember that modern air combat

has come a long way since vapour

trails were seen over Kent.

Opposing fighter pilots don’t wave

at each other much nowadays;

indeed, they will rarely see each

other, except as a symbol on a

cockpit display that will probably

encompass the equivalent area

of several counties at once.

Above: Harrier GR3s of No 1 Squadron RAF parked alongside Royal Navy Sea

Harrier FRS1s and a Sea King helicopter on the flight deck of HMS ‘Hermes’ in

May 1982. In the Falklands campaign the UK fought against great odds to gain

air control. Crown Copyright Above left: A member of a two-man Stinger surface-

to-air missile team holds an FIM-92 Stinger trainer while the other member

scans the horizon for incoming aircraft. US delivery of these weapons to Afghan

insurgents was a serious threat to Soviet air power in the conflict. US DoD Left:

The Su-57 is typical of ‘threat’ systems that have been developed to counter

Western dominance in the air-to-air arena. Among its innovative features are

L-band radar antennas in the wing leading edges to deal with stealth targets

that can evade targeting by higher-frequency radio waves. UAC

Above: Rafale B301, operating from France’s Cazaux flight test centre,

undertakes a test of MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile

(BVRAAM) in October 2012. Ultra-long-range missiles, especially when allied

with improved methods of detection and data links, represent a game-changer

in air-to-air combat. MBDA

AFM

84-86 Bagwell AFM Oct2018.indd 86 9/7/2018 3:31:07 PM