January 22, 2012 at 3:00 am
A couple of combat accounts in the 1991 Gulf War seem to suggest Doppler notch maneuver was effective in breaking radar lock.
In the age of AESA radar and stealth, will the same Doppler notch maneuver still be effective as an anti-BVR tactics?
Iraqi MiG-25 broke radar lock by flying perpendicular to approaching F-15Cs on 19 Jan 1991 (page 49 of F-15C Eagle Units in Combat)
“Kluso” got a good lock, and was ready to shoot at targeting range, when the MiG went to the beam [perpendicular to Tollini and Pitts] and took it down low. We lost them, “Kluso” never got his missile off and we totally lost SA for a little bit.
F-15C tried to break radar lock (page 55 of F-15C Eagle Units in Combat)
I locked onto a target at eight miles and initiated my ID matrix, at which point I had an RWR indication that I had a “Slot Back” radar (MiG-29) locked onto me. I notched to the south and passed as much information to “Mole” as I could – “Altitude 8000 ft, off of my nose”. My concern was self-preservation. I had 580 knots on the jet, I was well below 5000 ft and I was trying to stay on the beam while my ECM and chaff did all that they could.
Sea Harrier FRS1’s anti-BVR tactics (pages 64 and 65 of Sea Harrier – The Last All-British Fighter)
The F/A-18 always used to play Red Air “Alamo” tactics for us and it used to be quite easy for us to defeat their AIM-7 Sparrows, turn on the beam, and then run in to the visual fight.