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"Almost no air-to-air combat starts out within visual range..." Until the politicians require visual confirmation of the target. Which is exactly what happene
by hga 12y ago
"Almost no air-to-air combat starts out within visual range..."
Until the politicians require visual confirmation of the target. Which is exactly what happened in Vietnam under LBJ. At which point Sparrows were dead weight with a lot of drag.
- neurotech1 12y agoThe target is usually acquired and tracked on radar first. Getting visual ID before firing the missile is a different story. In Iraq '91 they required IFF transponder status to confirm a target as hostile which isn't always reliable. By 2003, the USAF made extensive use of E-3 AWACS and fighters required clearance from Joint Air Operations Center before engaging a target. The E-3 would vector the fighters for an intercept so it wouldn't start visually.