"Paul Michael Brown" wrote in message
news
John Carrier wrote:

Current training often reflects the preferred methods of
engagement: AMRAAM at F-pole, break to notch the bogey's system, and
then
leave without a merge.

The best thing about this group is reading the posts from the guys who
have been there, and done that. But sometimes the jargon frustrates this
armchair naval aviatior wannabe. If the assembled august personages don't
mind, some translations please. (Using only unclassified information, of
course.)

I've read about the "F-pole" before in the group. From context, I
understand the F-pole is the ideal place in time and space to launch a BVR
missile shot. How is it calculated and why does it have such a strange
name?

F-pole is range which results in the earliest bogey kill (least raid
penetration and most chance to kill him before he kills you), maximum
effective range. A function of your speed, his, and missile flight
dynamics. Rule of thumb: 85% of maximum aerodynamic range for the missile.

What does it mean to "break to notch the bogey's system?" Again, from
context I assume this is a manuever designed to make it more difficult for
the bad guy to track you using sensors like radar (and others?). Is this
the same as "beaming?" What kind of maneuvers are used and how do they
defeat the bogey's ability to track at beyond visual range? Does this
manuever also defeat an enemy's ground-based sensors? Or does it assume
that they have been degraded by other means?

A nose low hard turn to place the bogey in the beam and high. Gives PD
radars problems (no closure, the "notch"), gives pulse radars problems
(clutter), minimizes his missile range (your vector is no longer toward his
aircraft ... you don't contribute to missile performance), creates some
problems for the missile (radar missiles generally prefer a bit of look-up
or a a lot of look down). Given modern radar/missile capabilities, not a
panacea, but if your AMRAAM is on the way, you've maximized your
opportunities and minimized his.

R / John