Dynamics of air combat

TLDR

The study defines key aerodynamic and combat parameters such as drag, energy, thrust, and speed for analyzing air combat. The paper discusses the impact of new short‑ and medium‑range weapons on fighter design requirements. The authors analyze typical flight conditions—turn rates, climb rates, longitudinal acceleration, power and energy management—for both short‑ and medium‑range engagements, comparing their characteristics. New short‑ and medium‑range air‑to‑air weapons alter maneuver characteristics, favoring head‑on engagements, increasing the importance of instantaneous maneuver capability, and shifting combat to a maneuver‑type, supersonic regime.

Abstract

New short- and medium-range air-to-air weapons have been analyzed by means of computerized and manned air combat simulation. As a result of their peculiar capabilities, air combat maneuver characteristics are expected to change significantly. The all-aspect capability of new short-range weapons leads to a dominance of head-on engagements and thus to an increase of importance of instantaneous maneuver capability over the classical sustained performance. Typical flight conditions are analyzed in terms of turn rates, rates of climb and rates of longitudinal acceleration and in terms of the resulting power and energy management. The guidance and performance capabilities of new medium-range weapons lead to a maneuvering-type combat in the supersonic speed regime. Typical flight conditions and power/energy management characteristics of medium range air combat engagements are analyzed similar to short-range combat and mutually compared. Finally, the impact on fighter design requirements is discussed. Nomenclature D = level flight drag E - total energy g = gravity h = altitude MR = medium range SR = short range t = time T = propulsive thrust V = speed of flight Vs = sink/climb speed W - aircraft weight AD = drag increment due to turning SEP = specific excess power