In the Fighter game, if you can't fly good BFM then you'll never amount to a hill of beans.
The F/A-18 Hornet is a great fighter, but let me tell you a MIG-29 is no slouch.

BFM is all about spending ENERGY for NOSE POSITION, you spend knots for a tactical placement in a high-speed furball.

The ability to leave a fight is greatest right at the pass, you may choose to merge to a one-circle or two-circle fight, away from the bandit or into the bandit.
Do not go for turning room E.G. Vertical turns at the merge, as you may give the bandit optimum turning room for a Guns shot.

Instead, keep a lag, pure or lead persuit on the bandit, and keep him infront of your 3/9 line.

One Circle - Will tend to jam both fighters inside minimum range (Rmin) and a chance for a Mike (AIM-9M All-Aspect Missile) or a Guns shot referred to as a "Knife Fight in a Phone Booth".

Two Circle - Gives you a better chance at a head-on missile attack.


COMM Brevity

1. BANDIT - Known enemy aircraft; does not necessarily give us authorization to employ
weapons.
2. HOSTILE - A BANDIT whose engagement Rules of Engagement (ROE) has been met,
allowing us to employ weapons.
3. BOGEY - A radar/visual contact whose identity is unknown.
4. TALLY - Sighting of a target/bandit/bogey; opposite of “NO JOY”
5. VISUAL - Sighting of a friendly aircraft; opposite of “BLIND” (typically used during 1v1
BFM as our opponent is actually still our wingman)
6. NO JOY - No visual contact with target/bandit/bogey; opposite of “TALLY”
7. BLIND - No visual contact with friendly aircraft; opposite of “VISUAL” (typically used
during 1v1 BFM as our opponent is actually still our wingman)
8. KNOCK-IT-OFF (KIO) - Term used to stop an entire multi-plane engagement/exercise.
In the context of 1v1, used to end a specific engagement/exercise (e.g., Snapshot Drill).


Weapons Geometry

Parameters for 5,000ft - 20,000ft MSL and Bandit in a stern chase.
Rmin - Minimum Range.
Rne - Lethal Range.
Rmax - Max Range.
AON- Angle Off Nose.
AOT - Angle Off Tail.

Radar

Rmin - 4nm
Rne - -4-15nm
Rmax - 15-25nm

AOT - 10nm 20° Aspect

Heat (IR)

Rmin - 2.5nm
Rne - 2.5-10nm
Rmax - 10-15nm

(Sidewinder Envelope)
AON - 2.5nm 45° Right Aspect
AOT - 2nm

Guns

Rmin - (No Rmin)
Rne - 1500-4500ft
Rmax - 4500-6000ft (1nm)

AON - 3000ft Aspect.


Guns Jink

Offensive Guns means taking the gun cross and pointing it infront of the target (Lead Persuit) this means the gun cross needs to be placed right off the nose of the bandit, if that aircraft jinks then take that gun cross and move it to the new position.

A good way to imagine it is projecting a long Pitot Boom right off the nose of the bandit and if the bandit jinks take the gun cross and move it infront of the nose and then let the funnel catch up.

First you must move the gun cross because that displays the true departure line of the bullets then take then funnel and make the shot.

Defensive guns means denying the opponent one of three things...
1. Range - getting out of range of guns means the bandit cannot accurately shoot you.
2. Lead - can you deny your opponent lead persuit? pulling the best you can with the most G's while flying defensive could mean life or death.
3. Plane of motion - rolling your aircraft atleast 70°-80° out of plane with a defensive guns jink, doing it too soon is bad, but doing it too late is worse!

Defending Against Missiles

If you find yourself on the recieving end of a warhead, remember that you need to fight missiles with ASPECT.

This means you need to turn your nose to 45-90° left or right aspect relative to the missile or put the missile right on your lift vector line. Once a hostile missile has been launched, disregard BFM and focus on defeating the Missile.

Gaining speed and turning makes the hostile missile lose ENERGY, if you can get that rocket motor to burn out before it reaches you... You will have defeated the missile.

Turning room is acheived by using the aircraft's optimum airspeed, in a superhornet, a 7G turn at 440KIAS is the most efficient rate.



Never intentionally maneuver to lose sight (no blind Lead turns).

In training, an up-Sun aircraft is responsible for collision avoidance. Knock-it-off anytime
deconfliction is not assured. If the down-Sun aircraft lost sight, transmit “(call sign), blind Sun” and turn away from predicted collision bearing. If the up-Sun aircraft still has sight of the down-Sun aircraft and safe separation can be maintained, the up-Sun aircraft shall immediately broadcast “(call sign,) continue,” otherwise knock-it-off.

If you are in the Sun, you are using a tremendously powerful tactic because it blinds the bandit. But because he is blind, it is your responsibility to maintain safe separation.
If the weather is hazy, the Sun creates a 22° halo effect when you are looking down with the Sun at your back. If the bandit is in the halo area, they cannot see you.

Combat use of this tactical implication, is useful when taking the fight vertical or using the "tactical egg" maneuver. A vertical turn is usually never done at the initial pass, almost all fights go two-circle because you want to have a chance to shoot the bandit with a Mike.

Fighters with similar characteristics starting with similar energies, the fight will usually end up getting lower and slower as you spend ENERGY for POSITION. At some point in that fight you can take the fight vertical with enough energy and use "God's G" to gain turning room and lead the bandit down the back-side.

A Sunny day can provide a perfect oppurtunity to take the fight vertical by creating a shadow in the cockpit, meaning the bandit can't see you in the glare of the Sun.

Going vertical in a cold, blue sky gives a hostile Heat(IR) missile a huge benefit as you become a hot and easily-visible target to the seeker head against the cold, blue sky...

Never lose sight of your opponent. lose sight, lose the fight!
And remember, you've got to train like you fight, and fight to win!

The Aerial Refueling Store (ARS) is a missionized in-flight refueling pod which may be carried on station six and used to provide fuel to aircraft through a hose/drogue system.

The ARS control panel provides power, fuel transfer, fuel status and fuel scheduling controls.The panel may also be used to jettison the transfer hose.

In addition to sending fuel offboard (standard tanking), the ARS can also be used to replenish ownship fuel in an emergency by using the transfer (FROM) function. If the pod is low on fuel it may also be refilled from internal stores (STORE/TO).



(POWER SWITCH)
Power(PWR) Switch - The PWR switch provides electrical and hydraulic power to the store. it is not possible to power the pod when no pod is present. When the pod is powered, the LED display will illuminate

ON Electrical power is routed in the store and the ram air turbine (RAT) unfeathers, which provides hydraulic power

OFF Feathers the RAT and removes electrical and hydraulic power

DUMP Disabled in real life




(STORE SWITCH)
The STORE switch controls fuel transfer between the store and tanker (ownship)

FROM Pressurizes the store to transfer fuel from store to own aircraft.

OFF Depressurizes store

TO Replenish ARS with own aircraft fuel



(REFUEL LED DISPLAY)
The four digit display indicates fuel (in pounds) delivered or scheduled, based on the position of the Data Display switch (see below), or a three digit BIT code. The display initially powers up with 2,000lbs scheduled assuming the display switch is placed in the SCH position.



(REFUEL DATA DISPLAY SWITCH)
The refuel data display switch is a three position toggle switch. The switch can be toggled to the DEL (delivered), SCH (scheduled), or BIT CODE positions and the REFUEL display will reflect the selected data:

BIT CODE - Three digit number indicates a malfunction code

DEL - Pounds of fuel being transferred (25lb increments)

SCH - Pounds of fuel scheduled to be transferred. When scheduled point is reached, automatic transfer is terminated. 2,000lbs automatically scheduled at power up.



(REFUEL SLEW SWITCH) - The SLEW switch is a three position toggle switch. If the refuel data display switch is in the SCH position, moving the switch up increases pounds of fuel scheduled for transfer, and down decreases the fuel scheduled for transfer.



(REFUEL RST BUTTON)
A momentary pushbutton that returns LBS scheduled or delivered to the original powerup settings. Pounds scheduled returns to 2,000lbs or previously scheduled quantity. Pounds delivered returns to zero.



(ALERT INDICATORS)
There are two ALERT lights on the right side of the ARS panel:

LOW RESV - A red warning light illuminates when the hydraulic reservoir level drops below ½ full and begins flashing when the reservoir level drops below ¼ full.

DUMP - ARS DUMP is not supported in real life



(HOSE SWITCH) - The three position switch controls the hose reel:

RETR - The hose retracts or remains retracted

EXT - The hose extends or remains extended

RESET - Reset is used to establish a new reference pressure (after release to EXT) when airspeed varies more than 10 KCAS from the last reference airspeed (either at extension or at the time of the last RESET)



(TRANS SWITCH)
The three position transfer switch controls fuel transfer to the receiver aircraft:

OVRD - The ARS fuel pump is turned on regardless of hose position, fuel schedule, or fuel remaining in the store. The OVRD position should only be used during emergency refueling situations.

AUTO - When connected to receiver aircraft, fuel flows when the following conditions are met:
The hose is within the refueling range (approximately 5 to 20 feet of full trail)
ARS (fuel is above 175 pounds) is not low on fuel
The scheduled amount of fuel is not exceeded

OFF - Turns the pump off regardless of hose position



(STATUS LIGHTS)
There are four green status lights on the ARS control panel:

STOW - comes on when hose is approximately one foot from complete stowage If hose/drogue is not fully stowed, the indication is through a MASTER CAUTION and aural tone, and the ARS DROGUE caution appears on the DDI.

RDY - illuminates when the hose is fully deployed

PRESS - illuminates when hydraulic pressure drops below 1,700 psi. Light goes out when pressure exceeds 2,000 psi

XFR - illuminates when a minimum of 20 gallons/min of fuel is being transferred to the receiver



(DIMMING (BRT/DIM) SWITCH) - The BRT/DIM switch controls the intensity of the lights on the ARS control panel displays. BRT is used for day operations, and DIM is used for night operations.



(HOSE CUT/SAFE SWITCH)
The HOSE CUT/SAFE switch is a two position guarded switch:

SAFE - Normal position

CUT - Refueling hose is cut, jettisoned and crimped. Obviously once the cut takes place, the ARS may no longer be used.





Please ensure the following procedures are followed:

Do not extend the drogue when the landing gears is down
Do not actuate the speed brake function during any part of the refueling operation
Do not activate afterburners when the hose is extended
Avoid use of barometric altitude hold in turbulent conditions or whenever receiver is having difficulty achieving basket contact

9 Line
1. IP/BP (Ingress Point) - As ATO (Air Tasking Order)

2. HDG To Target - E.G. 270° Offset.

3. Distance To Target (In Nautical Miles) - E.G.10.4NM.

4. Target Elevation (In Ft MSL) - E.G. 300

5. Target Description And Ordnance Needed - E.G. Tank, Foot Patrol Etc... GBU-12, JDAM.

6. Target Coordinates (LAT - LON) Or Grid Reference.

7. Target Marked - E.G. Smoke, Laser (Laser Code)

8. Egress Route.

Call Outs.
Callsign
Playtime - Until Bingo Fuel E.G. 30 Minutes.
Aircraft Type - F/A-18, A-10.
Abort Code - Clear.
Hazards And Threats - Terrain, AAA, SAM.
Clearance - Cleared Hot.

Pre Briefed SEAD

Harm Training.
PRG1 - RIMP(AC)
LT - (MU) N 22.018697 (DCML)
LN - (MU) W -160.096056 (DCML)

ALT - 0.
TYPE - Land.
CLASS - SAM.
PRIORITY - Primary.
PULL UP - A/C.

Baghdad SEAD.
PRG1 - BDAD.
LT - (MU) N 32.562774 (DCML)
LN - (MU) E 44.380423 (DCML)

ALT - 0.
TYPE - Land.
CLASS - Unkown.
PRIORITY - Primary.
PULL UP - HARM.

TACAN

Carrier (CV) CVN-68 T/R, R - 47X.
Carrier (STN) CVN-74 T/R, R - 74X
Tanker (TNKR) A/A - 37Y.

ILS

(CV) ILS - 111.000.
(STN) ICLS - 11

IFF

IFF1 - 11.
IFF2 - 2222.
IFF3/A - 1200.
IFF4 - 1111.
MODE C - Set.

Laser Code

LTD - 1706.
LST - 1511. (Buddy Laser Track)