- 4 months ago
For educational purposes
Today's combat pilots have to fly and fight at speeds and ranges unthinkable only a few years ago.
The USAF's mighty F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter blasts up into a dogfight at more than 50,000 feet a minute, while NATO's Tornado streaks in at the speed of sound at tree top level to lay a carpet of 4,704 submunitions in front of enemy armour.
AIR COMBAT TODAY puts you at the controls of these and many other fighting jets as they deploy the latest weaponry.
The powerful F-14 Tomcat fires iss AIM-54C Phoenix missiles against targets over 100 miles away, the A-6 intruder uses its TRAM turret during practice attacks with Snakeye bombs, the latest F-111F uses Pave Tack laser and infrared sensors to deliver Paveway guided bombs with deadly accuracy, Harriers go in with the 68mm Sneb rocket.
Then on to the training ranges where you'll join Red Flag, the biggest and most exciting military air exercises in the world.
Top pilots and aircraft from all over the Free World learn how to defeat even the most cunning and agile enemy as they hone their skills with live weaponry, monitored by computers watching and analysing every dogfight.
The superb footage is accompanied by a detailed script by BILL GUNSTON.
Today's combat pilots have to fly and fight at speeds and ranges unthinkable only a few years ago.
The USAF's mighty F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter blasts up into a dogfight at more than 50,000 feet a minute, while NATO's Tornado streaks in at the speed of sound at tree top level to lay a carpet of 4,704 submunitions in front of enemy armour.
AIR COMBAT TODAY puts you at the controls of these and many other fighting jets as they deploy the latest weaponry.
The powerful F-14 Tomcat fires iss AIM-54C Phoenix missiles against targets over 100 miles away, the A-6 intruder uses its TRAM turret during practice attacks with Snakeye bombs, the latest F-111F uses Pave Tack laser and infrared sensors to deliver Paveway guided bombs with deadly accuracy, Harriers go in with the 68mm Sneb rocket.
Then on to the training ranges where you'll join Red Flag, the biggest and most exciting military air exercises in the world.
Top pilots and aircraft from all over the Free World learn how to defeat even the most cunning and agile enemy as they hone their skills with live weaponry, monitored by computers watching and analysing every dogfight.
The superb footage is accompanied by a detailed script by BILL GUNSTON.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00:00War
00:00:29War in the air involves every kind of attack and defense.
00:00:35Weapons include guns, rockets, missiles, and bombs.
00:00:43Over the years, the aircraft and the technology have changed, while the basic principles have remained the same.
00:00:51And as always, people are all important.
00:00:54With modern pilots being taken to the edge of their physical endurance by the amazing new capabilities of their mounts.
00:01:01Here in 1943, TBF Avengers depart to attack Japanese targets.
00:01:19While F4U Corsair fighters, escorted by Army P-38 Lightnings, go out to hit Japanese positions on Okinawa.
00:01:38Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers sank more Japanese ships than any other aircraft.
00:02:07Curtiss Hawk fighters were used widely.
00:02:12But a later type shot down this Japanese Ki-46 Dyna fast reconnaissance aircraft.
00:02:17The clock moves on to Korea in 1968, where North American F-100 Super Sabres, designed 17 years earlier, leave their protective revetments on an attack mission with GP bombs.
00:02:39The F-100 was one of the rare aircraft equally good at fighting or attack.
00:02:50Powered by an after-burning J-37 turbojet, it could fly at supersonic speed on the level, though not with bombs.
00:02:57Powered by an after-burning J-37 turbojet, it could fly at supersonic speed on the level, though not with bombs.
00:03:02Powered by an after-burning J-37 turbojet, it could fly at supersonic speed on the level, though not with bombs.
00:03:12Some were F-100F two-seaters.
00:03:19Internal armament comprised four M-39 revolver cannon of 20-millimeter caliber.
00:03:27Here, a heavy attack is mounted with normal M-82 free-fall bombs from medium altitude.
00:03:42For low-level attack, a favored weapon was the snake-eye retarded bomb, pulled back by its air brakes to allow the aircraft to get clear of the burst.
00:04:03On most missions until 1972, enemy opposition was almost non-existent, making Vietnam an unusual kind of war.
00:04:20Now the scene changes dramatically to the mighty carrier air wings of the U.S. Navy.
00:04:34In 1972, the Grumman F-14A Tomcat set an utterly new level of fighter capability, and it is still unequaled today.
00:04:43Steam catapults hurl the 30 or more tons of fighter off the bows, and would do so even if the twin TF-30 engines were switched off and the parking brake left on.
00:04:58Takeoffs and landings are always made with the swing wings at minimum sweep, giving the maximum span for high lift at low speeds.
00:05:15For supersonic speeds at up to Mach 2.3, the wings are pivoted right back.
00:05:39Here, an F-14 at the Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu is about to test the new AIM-54C version of the Phoenix.
00:06:04This is the West's biggest air-to-air missile, weighing 1,000 pounds and costing one million dollars.
00:06:12It's carried only by the F-14, which can fire up to six simultaneously, all against different targets.
00:06:22This takes a team of two, pilot and radar intercept officer.
00:06:27They have to manage an airplane that can detect and track up to 24 targets at ranges up to 195 miles.
00:06:36In favorable conditions, Phoenix missiles can be launched at ranges of well over 100 miles.
00:06:41They fly to their targets at Mach 4, finally homing with the AIM-54C.
00:06:44They fly to their targets at Mach 4, finally homing with the AIM-54C.
00:06:46the aid of the missile's own nose radar.
00:07:07They fly to their targets at Mach 4, finally homing with the AIM-54C.
00:07:12They fly from the AIM-54C.
00:07:15They fly to the AIM-55M, but they are the ones with a dose of no radar.
00:07:18Oh, my God.
00:07:48F-14 crews hone their skills in top gun exercises.
00:08:11Behind the bogey, now you can re-attack from the advantage position being above the bogey.
00:08:18The F-5 has a primary job of finding, engaging, and tying up the F-14s.
00:08:26A-4s hauled chili.
00:08:28Let's go for it.
00:08:29Here, F-14s take off for just such a workout.
00:08:44Off two go the adversaries, played by A-4 Skyhawks and F-5E Tiger IIs.
00:08:51For the pilots involved, it is the most realistic and tough training that can be devised.
00:09:11But real missiles are not fired.
00:09:14After each exercise, electronic records prove who did what.
00:09:17That's a big deal, Roger.
00:09:19And I went straight down, going for the A-4s over there, and just never saw you back there as you shot me.
00:09:27Roger called me back, and by then it was too late.
00:09:30The temptation was to try to go up into the fight, but we stayed over at the ship, according to the game plan, and it worked.
00:09:37This F-14, launching an AIM-7 Sparrow, is on a firing range.
00:09:54Occasionally, an F-14 is able to fly direct from such practice back to his ship.
00:09:59Stretching out wings, gear, and hook, the sleek fighter turns into a gaunt, long-legged bird,
00:10:06searching for the deck, and if possible, the number three wire.
00:10:14While the F-14s are the defenders of the fleet, the Grumman A-6E intruder is its offensive muscle.
00:10:22Built like a tank by what is popularly called the Grumman Ironworks,
00:10:26the A-6 is about the same size and weight as an F-14.
00:10:31But in design, it is totally different.
00:10:34Pilot and navigator sit side by side,
00:10:37so the pilot can watch his partner calmly tapping computerized keys
00:10:41as the preparations go ahead for the brutal cat shot that will fling them off the ship.
00:10:56A-6s have been flying 30 years, but have been kept in the front line by continual improvements,
00:11:10especially to the radar and avionics.
00:11:12Some have a target recognition attack multi-sensor, or tram turret, under the nose,
00:11:20containing an interlinked laser and infrared sensor
00:11:23to assist target recognition and attack in bad weather or at night.
00:11:28Practice attacks are often made with snake-eye bombs.
00:11:31if it is a- Originim gentleman
00:11:34itatesודה
00:11:38A-3
00:11:40�
00:11:42A-3
00:11:45A-3
00:11:46A-3
00:11:50A-4
00:11:55We will glide
00:11:57In recent years, some of the attack load has been taken by the McDonnell Douglas F-A-18
00:12:27Hornet. Evolved from a Northrop light fighter, the Hornet is powered by two F-404 augmented
00:12:34turbofans and has exceptional all-round performance and versatility.
00:12:47It was designed to replace the F-4 Phantom in the fighter role and the A-7E Corsair II
00:12:52in the attack role. Very few aircraft have ever been designed from the start to fly
00:12:59both missions. Thus, the Hornet pilot can make a precision attack on a surface target
00:13:04and then start shooting down enemy aircraft. The prototype Hornet failed to meet the Navy's
00:13:10requirements for rate of roll. But watch this.
00:13:17The Hornet pilot
00:13:33One of its many pluses is that it set an entirely new standard in cockpits,
00:13:52replacing nearly all the traditional dial instruments by three big multicolored TV-type displays,
00:13:57each of which can be reprogrammed by touching a button to show different kinds of picture or information.
00:14:03Today, Hornets fly not only with the Navy and Marines, but also with several export customers,
00:14:20including Canada, Australia, and Spain.
00:14:23Hornets fly not only with the Navy and Marines, but also with the Navy and Marines.
00:14:32Back in 1965, the Jaguar was designed jointly by Britain and France as a light supersonic attack trainer,
00:14:40but it matured as a very formidable strike and reconnaissance aircraft.
00:14:45This is despite having two tiny afterburning engines and a span of less than 29 feet.
00:14:50Jaguars are seen here in India and over the desert of Oman,
00:14:59one of the customers who appreciated its combination of long range, heavy weapon load,
00:15:04precision delivery, reliability, and low cost of operation.
00:15:07Up to 10,500 pounds of attack missiles, bombs, or rockets can be loaded,
00:15:16and a reconnaissance pod can be attached under the fuselage.
00:15:23Those Jaguars pose us problems.
00:15:26Those boys truly part the sand and shave the rocks.
00:15:30They have a nice airplane.
00:15:31They fight aggressively, and their low-level tactics are good.
00:15:35Very good.
00:15:35They've got the hang of terrain masking their Jaguars.
00:15:48We find them hard to acquire visually,
00:15:50and when we do pick them up, they're sure no easy kill.
00:15:54That was an assessment by a U.S. pilot
00:15:57after one of the tough red flag exercises in Nevada.
00:16:00Another of the advantages of Jaguar,
00:16:23which in any real war might make the difference
00:16:25between destruction on an airfield and survival,
00:16:28is that the long, soft-tired landing gear
00:16:31enables these aircraft to operate from grass,
00:16:34sand, or, in this case, a motorway under construction.
00:16:37Sadly, many air forces fail to practice such off-airfield operations.
00:16:57Some Jaguars are two-seaters,
00:16:59and this is the view of a back-seater.
00:17:08With small, highly loaded wings,
00:17:11the Jaguar gives a smooth ride
00:17:12even in the dense, rough air at near-ground level.
00:17:15Most versions have an inertial navigation system,
00:17:31which drives the head-up display
00:17:32and a moving map display,
00:17:34which were innovations a quarter-century ago.
00:17:37Some Jaguars have unusual overwing pylons
00:18:01for such air-to-air missiles as Sidewinder and Magic,
00:18:04giving a powerful self-defense capability
00:18:07without cutting into the underwing attack load.
00:18:14The great survivability factor we feel
00:18:16is that we've got an aircraft
00:18:18which you can virtually guarantee
00:18:20to make a fast, low-level, accurate single-pass attack.
00:18:34Newest of the world's tactical attack aircraft is AMX,
00:18:40jointly produced by Air Italia of Italy
00:18:42and Embraer of Brazil.
00:18:45About the size, weight, and power of a hunter,
00:18:47and with generally similar performance,
00:18:50it is, in fact, 40 years newer in concept
00:18:53and has all the latest avionics and technology
00:18:55needed to fly today's missions.
00:18:57The engine is an un-augmented Spey turbofan
00:19:10made under license in the two participating countries.
00:19:14Like Jaguar, the AMX has a small wing
00:19:17for smooth flight at full power at low level,
00:19:20yet fitted with effective slats and flaps
00:19:22for high lift during low-speed takeoffs and landings.
00:19:25Carrying external weapons weighing up to 8,377 pounds,
00:19:34the AMX has an excellent attack radius
00:19:37and a modern head-up display for accurate delivery
00:19:39of free-fall bombs or rockets.
00:19:43The Italian version has an internal 20-millimeter M61
00:19:47multi-barrel gun,
00:19:49while the Brazilians chose two 30-millimeter cannon.
00:19:52Self-defense sidewinder or similar missiles
00:19:55can be fired from rails at the wingtips.
00:19:58Though quite small, AMX can tackle anything.
00:20:20It is quite capable of destroying this large ship, for example.
00:20:23So perhaps could the French Dassau-Bruget Mirage 2000,
00:20:43but this is a bird of a different feather.
00:20:46Its whole design was centered on supersonic speeds
00:20:50at up to Mach 2 at high altitude
00:20:52and for the air combat mission
00:20:54rather than surface attack.
00:20:58Thus, it is an excellent airshow performer,
00:21:01combining the power and noise
00:21:03of an after-burning M53 turbojet
00:21:05with the high-lift capabilities
00:21:07of a tailless Delta airframe
00:21:09a generation later
00:21:10than that of the familiar Mirage III.
00:21:20All Mirage 2000s have a wide range
00:21:23of adionics, equipment, and weapon options,
00:21:26including twin 30-millimeter guns,
00:21:29many kinds of missile and advanced radars,
00:21:32cockpit displays,
00:21:33and electronic countermeasure systems.
00:21:35The chief missiles on the 200C
00:21:38are the Super 530 and Magic.
00:21:42Several versions have a prominent fixed refueling probe.
00:21:46Dassau also made a single example
00:21:59of the Mirage 4000.
00:22:02This is essentially an enlarged Mirage 2000,
00:22:05powered by two of the same kind of engine.
00:22:08It first flew in 1979
00:22:10and for some years has been assisting
00:22:13the development of the later Rafale.
00:22:15In particular,
00:22:17it has been exploring the behavior
00:22:18of a Delta fitted with canard foreplanes,
00:22:21especially in turbulent air.
00:22:23Dassau hoped that a foreign government
00:22:27such as Saudi Arabia might fund the development
00:22:30of a production version.
00:22:31But this large and quite capable aircraft
00:22:35has remained a single prototype.
00:22:37Dassau hoped that a foreign government
00:22:38such as Saudi Arabia might fund the development
00:22:42of a production version.
00:22:43But this large and quite capable aircraft
00:22:46has remained a single prototype.
00:22:48painted in Dassau's house colors of white with red and blue trim.
00:22:51Dassau's house colors of white with red and blue trim.
00:22:57There could be no greater contrast than to arrive at RAF Wittery,
00:23:01which from early 1969 was the home of the jet lift Harrier.
00:23:03Here for many years, number 233 OCU taught pilots to fly the Harrier GR1 and then the GR3 as seen here.
00:23:07The GR3 introduced the longer nose housing a laser ring
00:23:13and the laser ring with a laser ring with a laser ring with a laser ring with a laser ring.
00:23:14There could be no greater contrast than to arrive at RAF Wittery,
00:23:19which from early 1969 was the home of the jet lift Harrier.
00:23:23Here for many years, number 233 OCU taught pilots to fly the Harrier GR1,
00:23:30and then the GR3 as seen here.
00:23:33The GR3 introduced the longer nose housing a laser ranger and marked target seeker
00:23:39and antennas on the tail for passive radar warning receivers.
00:23:45One of the chief weapons of these early Harriers is the 68mm Sneb rocket,
00:23:50which can pierce all but the thick frontal armor of a main battle tank.
00:23:56Produced in France, 19 rockets can be rippled or salvoed from each launcher.
00:24:03Harriers almost always make a short rolling takeoff, though with the restricted load,
00:24:10they could lift off vertically.
00:24:12Arriving at the firing range, this GR3 proceeds to rack up a typically good score.
00:24:18Though simple aircraft, the GR3 has a combination of inertial navigation system,
00:24:33laser ranger, and head-up display that enable a skilled pilot to put rockets,
00:24:38free-fall bombs, or 30mm shells directly on the target.
00:24:42The Harrier also scores by being an extremely small and elusive target,
00:24:47with great agility and a smokeless engine.
00:24:51After each mission at Wittering, the turnaround usually takes only a few minutes.
00:25:00Aircraft serviceability is always close to 100%,
00:25:04and refueling and rearming with experienced ground crews has to proceed in parallel.
00:25:11Reefening and aircraft serviceability is always close to 100%.
00:25:16The Harrier is always close to 100% of the Umaie's Sea,
00:25:20where Bondur and Burt'sаж are are the same people.
00:25:23But especie is the same people that are all over the ground.
00:25:25The Harrier is always close to 100%.
00:25:29Usually, the first thing is to replace the perforated aerodynamic front cowl of the
00:25:44Matra 155 rocket pod, while 19 fresh snabs are loaded at the back.
00:25:57With a different pilot, the GR3 is very soon back in the air, often demonstrating its ability
00:26:02to hover, which in war can mean the difference between death on an airfield and survival in
00:26:08a dispersed location.
00:26:27Here, the Harriers have the luxury of paved taxiways leading to their camouflaged hides.
00:26:46These aircraft bear the markings of number 3 and 4 squadrons, based at Gütersloh in Germany.
00:26:53This happens to be nearer the Warsaw Pact forces than any other NATO airbase.
00:27:00So, the Harriers are expert at disappearing into camouflaged hides in a way that no other
00:27:09NATO aircraft can emulate.
00:27:11NATO Aircraft
00:27:12This happens to be nearer the Warsaw Pact forces than any other NATO airbase.
00:27:17So, the Harriers are expert at disappearing into camouflaged hides in a way that no other
00:27:22NATO aircraft can emulate.
00:27:24NATO Air Force
00:27:25This happens to be nearer the Warsaw Pact forces than any other aircraft.
00:27:28NATO Air Force
00:27:29Sister to the GR3, the Sea Harrier normally operates at sea.
00:27:45It needs no catapults and no arrestor wires.
00:27:49And so could, in theory, operate from a helicopter pad or the top of a merchant ship container.
00:27:56And in the Falklands War, Sea Harriers operated in weather that would have prohibited all flying
00:28:01from any conventional carrier.
00:28:04Seen from below, this Sea Harrier shows its twin 30-millimeter gun pods, underwing tanks
00:28:10and sidewinder missiles.
00:28:13During the Falklands War, 190-gallon tanks were introduced, as well as twin sidewinder launches
00:28:20on the outboard pylons.
00:28:22Moreover, the Royal Navy's 2-inch rockets, seeing here being rippled away from a Sea Harrier,
00:28:29were in the Falklands also carried by RAF Harrier GR3s.
00:28:34Though smaller than the Sneb, the 2-inch, or 50.8-millimeter, has very high velocity,
00:28:40and instead of carrying 19 rockets, the launcher can fire 36.
00:28:45This makes a really impressive salvo, which Royal Navy pilots launch against towed splash
00:28:50targets on the sea surface.
00:28:53In the case of the Sea Harrier, the sidewinder is used not so much for defense as for offense,
00:28:59because the Sea Harrier operates in the fighter role.
00:29:05In the attack mission, one of the most effective weapons is the BL-755 cluster bomb, weighing
00:29:12611 pounds and each dispensing 147 deadly bombs.
00:29:18BL-755 is equally effective against armor or infantry.
00:29:24Today, the Harrier GR3 is fast being replaced by the GR5 Harrier 2,
00:29:30developed jointly by McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace.
00:29:34In the nose is the Hughes angle-rate bombing system, which enables free-fall stores
00:29:39to be put down with the precision of dual TV and laser target tracking and ranging.
00:29:45Here again, BL-755 cluster bombs are being carried.
00:29:50But for any given mission, the Harrier 2 can carry at least double the load of the GR3.
00:29:56In fact, the maximum weapon load is 9200 pounds, carried on up to 11 pylons.
00:30:11In this view, the totally new wing can be seen, which makes it all possible.
00:30:15Made almost entirely of carbon fiber, it also houses 50% more fuel than in earlier Harriers.
00:30:22This gives either double the mission radius or double the weapon load.
00:30:26And the new Harriers are also far easier to fly, with an up-to-date cockpit and advanced avionics and flight control.
00:30:33Coming in to hover or land, the giant flaps are lowered, giving extra lift in partnership with the thrust from the vector.
00:30:40the vectored nozzles of the Pegasus engine.
00:30:56Coming in to hover or land, the giant flaps are lowered, giving extra lift in partnership with the thrust from the vectored nozzles of the Pegasus engine.
00:31:04Flaps are also set part way down on take-off.
00:31:29Even with a heavy roll, the Harrier 2 can get away with a ground roll of two or three fuselage lengths.
00:31:36The biggest operator of Harrier 2 is the U.S. Marine Corps, which calls it the U.S. Marine Corps.
00:31:43The biggest operator of Harrier 2 is the U.S. Marine Corps, which calls it the AV-8B.
00:32:07Taxiing out, this 8B shows off its new bulged high visibility canopy and retracted flight refueling probe above the inlet duct.
00:32:25More than any other aircraft in the world, this is really survivable air power.
00:32:44It will still be there fighting, even after the enemy has wiped out all our airfields.
00:33:01Here an 8B lands after a training mission with pylons empty.
00:33:0610% off in a faut-queous.
00:33:07Today'sлон has formed this last mission in the archaeological view très much.
00:33:09There is also an 8B allí that then goes off the surface.
00:33:10multiplied with our G-8 T every rear view of St. Paul's mobilityator from theحم webcam.
00:33:13råinhaدي
00:33:14with ops at Smithbrook.
00:33:15At Smithbrook.
00:33:16It will get more of its tahun, in order for its final size.
00:33:171 minutes before before the stairs the path is indicated to be believed.
00:33:183rd cancers in the hatch yet wave as expected,
00:33:195 PhD Esper Chloe Th
00:33:33Of course, in this condition, it does not need any kind of airstrip at all
00:33:39and could make a VL, a vertical landing, such as sometimes practiced and is seen here.
00:33:51The Marines need to make VLs when they go to sea
00:33:54because each man has to put down on his designated deck spot.
00:33:58This is much easier than with the older AV-8A.
00:34:03Takeoffs at sea are fast rolls made with nozzles aft and then quickly vectored down to about 55 degrees
00:34:11as the aircraft comes to the end of the deck.
00:34:18Thanks to the ARBS in the nose, all AV-8Bs can designate targets for paveway laser-guided bombs,
00:34:26making precision attacks with almost 100% effectiveness.
00:34:30The Marines are now getting the night attack carrier with a forward-looking infrared and many other extras.
00:34:38In the RAF, a rather different new version is the GR-7.
00:34:46The GR-7
00:34:47The GR-7
00:34:48The GR-7
00:34:50The GR-7
00:34:51The GR-7
00:34:52The GR-7
00:34:54The GR-7
00:34:56The GR-7
00:34:58The scene now shifts to a NATO base for conventional aircraft,
00:35:28which are tied to long runways,
00:35:30and so everything possible must be done to protect them on the ground.
00:35:34The aircraft and alert crews live in hardened shelters,
00:35:38which are proof against small conventional bombs,
00:35:41and where sounding the alarm results in things happening very quickly.
00:35:45Running feet, warbling sirens, and the sound of TF-30 engines starting up
00:35:50means the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing is springing into action.
00:35:58Soon, the 50-ton F-111 attack aircraft is outside and heading for the runway.
00:36:23Before it gets there, the Weapon Systems Officer, or WSO, extends the pave tack beneath the aircraft
00:36:36for an end-to-end boresight check of its laser and forward-looking infrared sensors,
00:36:41which must be exactly parallel for accurate delivery of the paveway laser-guided bombs under the wings.
00:36:54Pave tack interfaces with the F-111 avionics and side-by-side cockpit for navigation, target acquisition, and weapon aiming.
00:37:02The F-111 F, by far the best of this family of swing-wing attack aircraft, can cover almost the entire European battle area from its English bases.
00:37:12Near the target, the pave tack is extended into the operating position.
00:37:20At first, the terrain monitoring mode provides a night window using the infrared to present the WSO with a clear picture of the terrain in the run-up to the target.
00:37:38As the target comes into view, the paved tack is queued to it to provide accurate steering for the pilot.
00:37:59It's usual to initiate a HUD attack pass using the head-up display for guidance.
00:38:15The WSO tracks the target on the pave tack video screen for accurate steering, using the laser for accurate ranging to determine the release point of the weapon.
00:38:25At this point, the weapon is released and the pilot initiates an escape maneuver.
00:38:31At this point, the weapon is released and is released and is released and is released.
00:38:59The weapon falls free until about 10 to 12 seconds from impact, when it enters an imaginary basket in the sky.
00:39:10Then the WSO resumes laser tracking, illuminating the target so that the weapon homes and scores a direct hit.
00:39:18I never thought that we'd be able to introduce it and get it online and play with it in the short time that we have.
00:39:26It's supportable, and it works, and it's a tremendous increase in capability for SACUR and our NATO commitment.
00:39:34The river, check around.
00:39:40The river, check around.
00:39:41Yep.
00:39:42We can get you four.
00:39:43Coming on now.
00:39:44Lasers on.
00:39:45Lasers on.
00:39:46Looking for a ready.
00:39:47Okay.
00:39:4822.
00:39:4920 seconds.
00:39:50There comes the ball.
00:39:52Tracking, tracking, tracking.
00:39:5554. Coming on now, lasers on.
00:40:03Lasers on.
00:40:05Looking for a ready.
00:40:08Okay.
00:40:0922. 22.
00:40:12There comes the ball.
00:40:13Tracking, tracking, tracking.
00:40:19Got it. Good hit, buddy. Good hit.
00:40:21After the attack, the WSO retracts the paved tack back into the weapon bay.
00:40:26It multiplies the effectiveness of each F-111F.
00:40:30Europe's counterpart of the F-111 is Tornado,
00:40:56which is similar in capability apart from having slightly shorter range,
00:41:00but appreciably smaller and, in most respects, newer in technology.
00:41:06These are RAF Tornado GR1s.
00:41:08Tornado is a very, very comfortable aeroplane to fly.
00:41:21It handles very nicely.
00:41:23Weather, it doesn't bounce around as much as some of its predecessors,
00:41:26and it's particularly quiet.
00:41:27The air conditioning is a real break.
00:41:30It's variable geometry when we talk about tight maneuvering.
00:41:33Part of this is valley flying.
00:41:35We can get down below the valley walls into the bottom of the valley
00:41:39to hide from any defender's radar.
00:41:42And if it's a very tight valley,
00:41:44we can put the wings forward, the maneuver flat down,
00:41:46and make a very, very tight turn,
00:41:48reversing the wings back as we go.
00:41:51560 knots.
00:41:52We're showing about four early, which is okay.
00:41:54Okay.
00:41:55I've got 11 miles to target.
00:41:57Yeah, that checks. Looks good.
00:41:58One minute. Starting the attack sequence.
00:42:00Roger.
00:42:00We've got 540 ground speed.
00:42:03You can put that up a bit.
00:42:04I've got Barrow I in.
00:42:06Okay, I've got low loss selected.
00:42:07Ready for symbology?
00:42:08Target symbology's in.
00:42:10Target slightly left.
00:42:11Okay, stand by.
00:42:12Radar's on.
00:42:12Correcting slightly left as well.
00:42:14Okay, I've got it.
00:42:15It's a good mark.
00:42:16Light and speed.
00:42:18Fox away, 55 seconds.
00:42:20Weapon package looks good.
00:42:21Correction coming in short.
00:42:24I'm correcting slightly right.
00:42:26There you go.
00:42:27That's the right-hand correction.
00:42:28Got it.
00:42:2945 seconds.
00:42:30Seven miles.
00:42:32Weapon switch is live.
00:42:34Height and speed are good.
00:42:35It's looking good.
00:42:36Stand by for reheat.
00:42:38Ready.
00:42:39Reheat's coming in.
00:42:40Nozzles again.
00:42:41Phase two.
00:42:42Pulling up.
00:42:42Mark's confirmed.
00:42:43Committing the attack.
00:42:45It's looking good.
00:42:46It's looking good.
00:42:471,000 on the way up.
00:42:49Through 1,500.
00:42:53Weapon's gone.
00:42:54Bomb's gone.
00:42:55Throttle's out mid-setting.
00:42:56Let's get back down to the deck and get the hell out of here and go home.
00:43:07Very similar aircraft are used by the federal German Luftwaffe,
00:43:11though some of the German weapons and countermeasures pod are different.
00:43:14Weapon's quy elephants add no one.
00:43:16After this...
00:43:17Weapon's drowned in there.
00:43:185-6000 times.
00:43:19Weapon was required to hitproof again.
00:43:19Weapon was Анд incentivized vehicles.
00:43:202,500 times.
00:43:203,500 men left.
00:43:212,500 men left.
00:43:233,500 men left.
00:43:243,500 men.
00:43:253,500 men left.
00:43:273,400 men left.
00:43:284,500 men.
00:43:304,500 men left.
00:43:325,000 men left.
00:43:334,000 men right.
00:43:345,000 men left.
00:43:346,400 men left.
00:43:357,500 men left.
00:43:36Another user is Italy's Aeronautica Militare, which again uses some different weapons and equipment.
00:44:06Yet another user is Germany's Marine Flieger.
00:44:21These four customers together fly over 660 tornadoes, not including fighter or export versions.
00:44:28The Luftwaffe and Marine Flieger use the bulky MW-1 bomblet dispenser system, which can pump out 4,704 submunitions on a single pass.
00:44:48Another Marine Flieger and Aeronautica Militare weapon is the Kormoran anti-ship guided missile.
00:44:58The RAF uses a quite different version of Tornado, the F3 long-range all-weather interceptor.
00:45:12Better than any other aircraft in the world, this can stand ready to go at a moment's notice and then scramble to identify an intruding aircraft anywhere from the northern tip of Norway to Iceland, no matter what the weather.
00:45:28Such missions often require flight refueling.
00:45:43Good, we're going to be able to have a moment's notice and look at that.
00:45:46We're going to be able to have a moment's notice but, I'm going to be able to have a moment's notice.
00:45:47Well, come back to the F3, I've been able to have a moment's notice.
00:45:49R2-0, I'm a moment's notice.
00:45:50Nice breath in.
00:45:53Content, pushing in.
00:45:56Green on.
00:45:581-4-6-6, fuel flags.
00:46:011-4-6-6, fuel flags.
00:46:06Green on.
00:46:07A result.
00:46:08Green on.
00:46:08Red帶 on.
00:46:12The F-3 seldom needs to demonstrate its agility except at airshows, but it has few limitations.
00:46:35After prolonged hiccups, the advanced radar works well, and the crew can do everything
00:46:41they're supposed to do with a 27-millimeter gun, and a choice of missiles including the
00:46:45big radar-guided Sparrow, or SkyFlash.
00:46:49An active SkyFlash is under development, but the American AMRAAM is planned as the future
00:46:54medium-range missile.
00:46:57To ensure a clean separation, the Fraser-Nash launchers thrust the missile well away before
00:47:02release.
00:47:09France's contender for the world market in the 1990s is the Dassault Breguet Rafale, a
00:47:21word meaning squall or hurricane.
00:47:33A representative of the new breed of basically unstable fighter, kept pointing the way it's
00:47:35going by fast-acting computers.
00:47:36Rafale is a Delta with powered canard foreplanes, and two M88 engines to give more than double
00:47:43the thrust of earlier Mirages.
00:47:49With such thrust and a big high-lift wing, Rafale could hardly fail to be a spectacular performer
00:47:56at both very high and very low speeds.
00:48:02Here, in a slow fly past, it's possible to see the angle of the canards in this flight condition.
00:48:25At higher speeds, the pilot can pull 9G in a turn, or roll at some 300 degrees per second.
00:48:48Like the Mirage 2000, but unlike older Mirages, the wing-leading edge carries full-span slats,
00:48:55giving extra lift at low speeds, as in photographic sorties.
00:49:08It's planned to put two versions into production, Rafale-D for the Air Force and Rafale-N for
00:49:14the Navy.
00:49:16On the 30th of April, 1987, the sole Rafale prototype made a series of approaches and wave-off
00:49:23overshoots on the carrier Clemenceau without actually hitting the deck to confirm satisfactory
00:49:29handling and pilot view.
00:49:33One trouble is that the existing Crusader fighters must be replaced from 1993, while the Rafale-M
00:49:40will not be available until at least 1998.
00:49:47Red Flag is an exercise that we operate in the Tactical Air Command for all of the fighter
00:49:54forces of the United States Air Force.
00:50:07Briefly, Red Flag is an exercise that we operate in the Tactical Air Command for all of the fighter
00:50:16forces of the United States Air Force.
00:50:19We have additional participation from all of the other tactical forces of the Navy and
00:50:26Marines, as well as our allies.
00:50:29Increasingly, we are experiencing participation with the Strategic Air Command and our Military
00:50:35Air Lift Command forces in what has become the largest and most complex composite force exercise
00:50:43that's run anywhere in the world today.
00:50:47Red Flag is the biggest and most exciting military air exercise in the world.
00:50:52Aircraft arrive from all over, like this F-111D and this F-16A.
00:51:04The composite force exercises that we run at Red Flag are run in other places in some ways.
00:51:10However, we have the unique opportunity here to run them on the best range, overland range,
00:51:18that exists anywhere in the world today.
00:51:20Additionally, this overland range here at the Tactical Fighter Weapons Center is highly instrumented
00:51:26and extremely sophisticated in order to be able to provide feedback to the air crews measuring their effectiveness
00:51:35in how they accomplish their missions and how they accomplish their mission objectives.
00:51:40The training that crews experience when they come to Red Flag starts with extremely detailed mission planning
00:51:48for large force attacks on interdiction-style targets whereby all facets of tactical aviation are practiced.
00:51:57That involves the offensive counter-air role, airfield attack, suppression of enemy air defenses,
00:52:05electronic warfare, battlefield air interdiction, and defensive counter-air for those few forces that get to participate on the red side.
00:52:15Red Flag normally operates with approximately 100 aircraft on station here at Nellis for a six-week period.
00:52:31Everything about Red Flag is for real.
00:52:34Here, live snake eyes go aboard an F-111.
00:52:38Ordnance consumption is considerable.
00:52:45yaa.
00:52:563
00:53:10Like knights in the jousting lists, the crews come out to do battle.
00:53:13battle. Every crew checks ordnance, safety wires, and pins to make sure no accidents
00:53:24can happen. F-16s from Hill Air Force Base don't have far
00:53:42to come. F-15s get airborne. An essential part is played by the EF-111A Raven Electronic Warfare
00:53:57Platforms. Visitors can include Mirage F-1s and Jaguars from friendly nations, as well
00:54:03as F-15s, F-4Es, EF-111As, Tornadoes, and A-10s.
00:54:10. . . .
00:54:38. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
00:55:08An A-10 tries to run in among the weeds.
00:55:32Computers record, measure and provide evidence.
00:55:36An F-15 returns.
00:55:45Another F-15 takes off and, for the photographer, makes a near vertical maximum rate climb.
00:56:03Here, four F-15Cs go looking for targets.
00:56:11They come all the way from Bitburg, Germany.
00:56:13Bitburg, Germany.
00:56:21Here they can actually fire missiles, just like the missile and gun test firings carried
00:56:36out by gaily painted F-15 prototypes.
00:56:50F-5E Tiger IIs act the role of hostile aggressors.
00:56:59Often, they have to take on the F-15s in close combat, where the big fighter has fewer advantages.
00:57:18Every pilot has to fly to the limits.
00:57:21Only this can hone a pilot's skills to the razor edge that means victory and survival.
00:57:26Sometimes, an F-15 makes a mistake and is caught in the gun sight.
00:57:45More often, the sight latches onto an F-5.
00:57:50Joining the fray, F-15s of the home unit, the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing at Nellis.
00:57:55There is simply no substitute for the tough sparring that goes on in the instrumented sky over
00:58:01the Nellis ranges.
00:58:03No simulation can achieve the same results.
00:58:07F-15s of the home unit, the other one is 50 GME.
00:58:11Roger, visual.
00:58:12Closed.
00:58:13Two is coming left, the other bandage's going to let's turn at 15,000.
00:58:16One, roger.
00:58:20Press yours.
00:58:21Mine is trying to take it down.
00:58:23I got everybody in charge.
00:58:26Two sides going up, but I'm going for gun.
00:58:30Snap shot, F-5, right turn.
00:58:35Two, come off left.
00:58:37My man's coming up after you.
00:58:39You're coming left.
00:58:44He's still coming after you.
00:58:47One's right behind me.
00:58:52Track and kill, F-5, right turn.
00:59:02Pickle two is engaging the other bandage.
00:59:05Snap shot.
00:59:06Snap shot.
00:59:07There.
00:59:08There.
00:59:09There.
00:59:10He's trying to run.
00:59:13Box two kill.
00:59:14One, roger.
00:59:15They're both in.
00:59:16Nickel one, knock it off.
00:59:17Nickel two, knock it off.
00:59:18Nickel two, knock it off.
00:59:19When you go through a red flag exercise, you feel your enemies really are your enemies,
00:59:28and you surpass yourself trying to beat them.
00:59:31As a result, everyone becomes a master of war in the air.
00:59:40And, both the red flag is passing.
00:59:42You're gonna have to go through the air.
00:59:43Now
00:59:44and then we're going to let you race.
00:59:45And then we're going to take the ground.
00:59:46I'll have to go through all that.
00:59:47I'll have to roll through it.
00:59:48In the air.
00:59:49That's a good way.
00:59:50It's a fine area.
00:59:51So if you go through the air.
00:59:52Well I'm off.
00:59:53And then we're going through the air.
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