Dissimilar air combat training (DACT) was introduced as a formal part of US air combat training after disappointing aerial combat exchange rates in the Vietnam War.
Traditionally, pilots would undertake air combat training against similar aircraft. For example, pilots of single seat Vought F-8 Crusaders would seldom train against the dual seat McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs, and almost never against Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft and never as part of a formal syllabus. From 1965 to 1968, US pilots found themselves over the skies of North Vietnam pitted against the smaller, more nimble subsonic SovietMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 and the supersonic Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. US pilots in USAFRepublic F-105 Thunderchiefs were barely able to exceed parity and pilots in Phantoms and Crusaders were not able to achieve the hugely lopsided win–loss ratio achieved over Korea and in World War II. In fact, air combat maneuvering (ACM) was not practiced by all fighter squadrons for a variety of reasons.
The USAF had deemphasized ACM because most air combat doctrine since the late 1950s centered on delivering nuclear weapons over Europe or firing missiles at beyond-visual-range (BVR) at bombers, and not on daylight dogfighting which was thought to be obsolete in the missile age. The primary US fighter used against North Vietnamese MiGs, the F-4 Phantom, did not even have an internal gun. US pilots were finding themselves hard-pressed to prevail over the nimble Vietnam Peoples Air Force MiGs which by late 1966 had grown to be a real threat to US aircraft operating over the North.
Even more vexing were rules of engagement (ROE) that did not even permit BVR firing of missiles. Radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrows experienced high failure rates, and the short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder was ineffective in many dogfighting maneuvering situations. Phantom training against other Phantoms did not reflect the reality of a target that was smaller, smokeless and more agile. Ever since the success of the American Volunteer GroupFlying Tigers in World War II, aerial tacticians have advocated exploiting differences in aircraft to maximize one's own advantages while minimizing the disadvantages of one's own platform, thus neutralizing the superior maneuverability and climbing speed of, for example, a Mitsubishi Zero compared to the rugged, fast-diving and powerfully armed Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk.[1] US pilots found themselves the victims of VPAF MiG-21s using the Flying Tigers "hit and run" tactics against them.
The U.S. Air Force began to reinstate DACT in 1966 in Air Defense Command. Its Convair F-106 Delta Dart interceptor squadrons had been tasked with a worldwide mission to send expeditionary forces overseas to conduct air defense operations as necessary. Realizing that they would encounter MiG fighters, not Soviet bombers, in distant hotspots, the Command set about to teach itself dissimilar air combat tactics. Convair F-102 Delta Daggers and Lockheed F-104 Starfighters functioned as adversary aircraft for the F-106s, and DACT competency became a required portion of an interceptor pilot's training.[2]
In 1968, the US Navy took a hard look at its air-to-air problems over North Vietnam and tasked Captain Frank Ault to come up with recommendations to improve the situation. His report became known as the Ault Report.[3] It resulted in the establishment of TOPGUN and incorporation of DACT into the syllabus. The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School adopted the nimble subsonic A-4 Skyhawk to simulate subsonic Soviet fighters, while the Northrop F-5E Tiger simulated the supersonic MiG-21 fighter. Both the Skyhawk and Tiger were used in the 1986 film Top Gun. After aerial combat resumed again in 1972 over North Vietnam the Navy had numerous TOPGUN graduates who were ready to take on the VPAF MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21 pilots that had also been training and were prepared for the resumption of hostilities. The Navy's win/loss exchange ratio soared to over 20:1 before the loss of a Marine Phantom brought it back to 12.5:1 by 1973; an unqualified testament to the value of the TOPGUN approach and DACT. The USAF did not improve its exchange ratio at all in the same period and hurriedly began to adopt DACT, even to the point of inviting Navy Crusaders to visit a base in Thailand in 1972 to conduct DACT with the F-4 Phantoms based there.
In 1970 the Marine Corps and the Navy found out about Air Defense Command's DACT training program, Operation College Dart, and began to fly practice air-to-air combat missions with F-106 squadrons in the summer of that year.[4]Tactical Air Command finally began to participate in late 1972 when it sent F-4Es to function as adversaries for the F-106s of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.[5] In the summer of 1973, the 64th Fighter Weapons Squadron became operational at Nellis AFB with T-38s as its "red team" aircraft.[6]
Davies, Steve. Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs. New York: Osprey Publishers, 2008.
Fino, Steven A. Tiger Check: Automating the US Air Force Fighter Pilot in Air-to-Air Combat, 1950-1980. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.
Parsons, Dave, and Nelson, Derek. Bandits - History of American Adversarial Aircraft. Motorbooks International, 1993.
Rossi, J. R. "AVG American Volunteer Group - Flying Tigers".
Weaver, Michael E. "Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag". Air Power History, Winter 2013, Volume 60, Number 4. pages 18-31.
Wilcox, Robert K. Scream of Eagles: The Creation of Top Gun and the U.S. Air Victory in Vietnam. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990.
November 16, 2023
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Not to be confused with the Dominican Republic airline RED Air This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dissimilar air combat training news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2006 Learn how and when to remove this template message The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate December 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Dissimilar air combat training DACT was introduced as a formal part of US air combat training after disappointing aerial combat exchange rates in the Vietnam War A US Navy Douglas TA 4F Skyhawk and a Grumman F 14 Tomcat both belonging to VFC 13 engage in dissimilar air combat trainingTraditionally pilots would undertake air combat training against similar aircraft For example pilots of single seat Vought F 8 Crusaders would seldom train against the dual seat McDonnell Douglas F 4 Phantom IIs and almost never against Douglas A 4 Skyhawk attack aircraft and never as part of a formal syllabus From 1965 to 1968 US pilots found themselves over the skies of North Vietnam pitted against the smaller more nimble subsonic Soviet Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 17 and the supersonic Mikoyan Gurevich MiG 21 US pilots in USAF Republic F 105 Thunderchiefs were barely able to exceed parity and pilots in Phantoms and Crusaders were not able to achieve the hugely lopsided win loss ratio achieved over Korea and in World War II In fact air combat maneuvering ACM was not practiced by all fighter squadrons for a variety of reasons The USAF had deemphasized ACM because most air combat doctrine since the late 1950s centered on delivering nuclear weapons over Europe or firing missiles at beyond visual range BVR at bombers and not on daylight dogfighting which was thought to be obsolete in the missile age The primary US fighter used against North Vietnamese MiGs the F 4 Phantom did not even have an internal gun US pilots were finding themselves hard pressed to prevail over the nimble Vietnam Peoples Air Force MiGs which by late 1966 had grown to be a real threat to US aircraft operating over the North Even more vexing were rules of engagement ROE that did not even permit BVR firing of missiles Radar guided AIM 7 Sparrows experienced high failure rates and the short range AIM 9 Sidewinder was ineffective in many dogfighting maneuvering situations Phantom training against other Phantoms did not reflect the reality of a target that was smaller smokeless and more agile Ever since the success of the American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers in World War II aerial tacticians have advocated exploiting differences in aircraft to maximize one s own advantages while minimizing the disadvantages of one s own platform thus neutralizing the superior maneuverability and climbing speed of for example a Mitsubishi Zero compared to the rugged fast diving and powerfully armed Curtiss P 40 Tomahawk 1 US pilots found themselves the victims of VPAF MiG 21s using the Flying Tigers hit and run tactics against them The U S Air Force began to reinstate DACT in 1966 in Air Defense Command Its Convair F 106 Delta Dart interceptor squadrons had been tasked with a worldwide mission to send expeditionary forces overseas to conduct air defense operations as necessary Realizing that they would encounter MiG fighters not Soviet bombers in distant hotspots the Command set about to teach itself dissimilar air combat tactics Convair F 102 Delta Daggers and Lockheed F 104 Starfighters functioned as adversary aircraft for the F 106s and DACT competency became a required portion of an interceptor pilot s training 2 In 1968 the US Navy took a hard look at its air to air problems over North Vietnam and tasked Captain Frank Ault to come up with recommendations to improve the situation His report became known as the Ault Report 3 It resulted in the establishment of TOPGUN and incorporation of DACT into the syllabus The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School adopted the nimble subsonic A 4 Skyhawk to simulate subsonic Soviet fighters while the Northrop F 5E Tiger simulated the supersonic MiG 21 fighter Both the Skyhawk and Tiger were used in the 1986 film Top Gun After aerial combat resumed again in 1972 over North Vietnam the Navy had numerous TOPGUN graduates who were ready to take on the VPAF MiG 17 MiG 19 and MiG 21 pilots that had also been training and were prepared for the resumption of hostilities The Navy s win loss exchange ratio soared to over 20 1 before the loss of a Marine Phantom brought it back to 12 5 1 by 1973 an unqualified testament to the value of the TOPGUN approach and DACT The USAF did not improve its exchange ratio at all in the same period and hurriedly began to adopt DACT even to the point of inviting Navy Crusaders to visit a base in Thailand in 1972 to conduct DACT with the F 4 Phantoms based there In 1970 the Marine Corps and the Navy found out about Air Defense Command s DACT training program Operation College Dart and began to fly practice air to air combat missions with F 106 squadrons in the summer of that year 4 Tactical Air Command finally began to participate in late 1972 when it sent F 4Es to function as adversaries for the F 106s of the 5th Fighter Interceptor Squadron 5 In the summer of 1973 the 64th Fighter Weapons Squadron became operational at Nellis AFB with T 38s as its red team aircraft 6 The A 4 Skyhawk has since been replaced by the McDonnell Douglas T 45 Goshawk a navalized version of the British BAE Hawk trainer General Dynamics F 16 Fighting Falcons have been used to simulate later generation Soviet fighters such as the MiG 29 The now retired Grumman F 14 Tomcat was also used in various paint schemes to simulate Iranian F 14s as well as the large Sukhoi Su 27 The USAF has reportedly also used captured or purchased Soviet fighters for DACT on occasions 7 See also editAggressor squadron 4477th Test and Evaluation SquadronNotes edit Smith Robert T 1986 TALE OF A TIGER From The Diary Of Robert T Smith Flying Tiger part 4 Planes and Pilots Of World War Two Weaver Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag Air Power History Winter 2013 p 20 21 Wilcox Scream of Eagles pp 103 05 Weaver Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag p 25 Weaver Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag p 27 Weaver Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag p 28 Davies Red Eagles p 43 References editDavies Steve Red Eagles America s Secret MiGs New York Osprey Publishers 2008 Fino Steven A Tiger Check Automating the US Air Force Fighter Pilot in Air to Air Combat 1950 1980 Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2017 Parsons Dave and Nelson Derek Bandits History of American Adversarial Aircraft Motorbooks International 1993 Rossi J R AVG American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers Weaver Michael E Missed Opportunities before Top Gun and Red Flag Air Power History Winter 2013 Volume 60 Number 4 pages 18 31 Wilcox Robert K Scream of Eagles The Creation of Top Gun and the U S Air Victory in Vietnam New York John Wiley amp Sons Inc 1990 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dissimilar air combat training amp oldid 1169933058, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
