really dumb air combat question

[kch]

I still can’t resist the temptation to try elaborate micro managed tactics. And usually they fail miserably. Probably what struggle the most with is deciding altitudes.

[thewood1]

Be careful on some of the advice. CMO has evolved a bit since some of those posts. I noted the tactic of firing off AMRAAMs and turning for home to let another F-14 guide them. New CEC capabilities make that harder and more realistic to execute. There is a lot of good advice here, just keep that in mind as you try to apply it.

[kch]

I went back again to play out this scenario and using the advice above and it actually went quite well. I used a mixture of two tactics in order to neutralise the Venezuelan fighters. The first was a "vertical" ambush. Basically using a pair of Kfirs as bait and having another pair at low level, hiding behind the Andes, these then hit the afterburner and started climbing once the Venezuelan fighters were crossing the mountains. This allowed for some relatively easy kills with tail shots. The other tactic was 3 pairs of kfirs widely separated. The SU30s would barrel down on the fighters in the center, escorting the strike package, allowing the pairs of Kfirs on each flank to approach "almost" unnoticed (outside the radar cone), disrupting the SU30s. At the end, it cost me 1 Bronco and 1 Kfir in return for 3 F16s and 1 SU30 and a successful strike.

good fun

[maverick3320]

@Primarchx

"AA-11s are bad news"

Currently playing through the Northern Fury series...AA-11s give me nightmares. I do everything I can to stay out of their range.

[Gunner98]

AA-11 - Helmet mounted site and 'off-boresight' attack is deadly in a knife fight. And it can match or outrange a sidewinder... a tough missile to beat!

[AndrewJ]

Yeah, never merge with an AA-11 armed enemy unless you've got really good positional advantage, and a way to get away before he turns, beams, and feeds you an Archer in return. I try to stay well away. The exchange rarely goes well.