A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requiring the use of individual basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) to attack or evade one or more opponents. This differs from aerial warfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon and an F-14 Tomcat engaged in a mock dogfight as part of U.S. Navy TOPGUN training
Head-up display of an F/A-18 Hornet during dogfight simulations
An Incident on the Western Front, view of a dogfight involving five aircraft. In the upper foreground a biplane of the Royal Flying Corps flies towards a stricken German biplane, which is falling towards the ground leaving a trail of smoke in its wake (Imperial War Museum).
Memorial erected by German airmen in Palestine, in memory of British and Australian airmen killed in their lines during 1917
Air combat manoeuvring (ACM) is the tactic of moving, turning, and situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Commonly associated with dogfighting, air combat manoeuvres rely on offensive and defensive basic fighter manoeuvring (BFM) to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent.
A United States Marine Corps F/A-18A Hornet engaged in air combat maneuvering training with IAI Kfir and F-5E Tiger II aggressors near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in 1989
A flight envelope diagram showing VS (stall speed at 1G), VC (corner speed) and VD (dive speed)
