Basic fighter maneuvers

Basic fighter Maneuvering (BFM) is performed by fighter aircraft during air combat maneuvering (ACM). They are generally grouped into two categories:
* Offensive BFM
* Defensive BFMIt is easy to fall into the trap of considering BFM to be a series of set maneuvers providing a foolproof recipe for a dominant position. The reality is that BFM is a series of fluid and often improvised proactive and reactive actions, varying infinitely according to range, altitude, speed, aircraft type, weapons system type and any of an enormous range of other factors.

BFM principles

There are three basic situations in Air combat maneuvering requiring BFM to convert to a favorable result. The three situations, and the primary goals of a pilot in that situation are:
* Defensive - the pilot is in a weak position, primarily concerned with denying a shot to the opponent rather than achieving a dominant position. The goal in this situation should be to convert to a neutral situation or "extend" to escape the unfavorable position.
* Neutral - neither the pilot nor their opponent have a particular advantage, nominally defined as the ability to "point" the nose of his/her aircraft at the opponent with sufficient range to employ forward firing ordnance (missiles/gun) prior to their opponent threatening in a similar manner. Each is focused on converting to an offensive situation whilst forcing their opponent defensive.
* Offensive - the pilot is in a dominant position, primarily concerned with prosecuting their advantage for a "kill".

References

*Robert L. Shaw, "Fighter Combat: Tactics and Manoeuvring", ISBN 0-87021-059-9. (One of the better books on BFM and ACM in general.)

External links

* [http://www.f-16.net/glossary.html Basic Fighter Manoeuvring Terminology] Overview of BFM terminology at F-16.net.