Enjoy!

Thanks, Terry.

BVR focus was pretty well-established with the F-4 in both the Navy and USAF in the 1960s, managing the BVR timeline working with the RIO or WSO. That focus continued into the F-14A for the Fleet Air Defense mission, while USAF F-15A/C Weapons School really set the pace globally for the best BVR management tactics. Proof of that manifest when TOPGUN got F-16Ns and wanted to learn how to employ it best in the BVR realm, when they brought in F-15C Weapons School Instructors to teach how to employ it in A2A, even though they had never flown it until they went through conversion training with the other TOPGUN instructors at Luke AFB before going over to Miramar. It’s also interesting because the F-16N didn’t get the F-16C’s APG-68 Radar, but had the older APG-66 from the F-16A, but with a C model cockpit.

@@LRRPFco52 wow what an awesome analysis! Fascinating stuff. I didn't realize BVR was so "legacy". With that said - will you venture a guess as to what the paradigm shift in tactics was?

@@paulloveless9180 One of the biggest enablers of enhanced tactics was a Radar that could actually look-down/shoot-down, with missiles that worked better than the AIM-7E2, AIM-9B/D/G, and AIM-7F. F-14A/AWG-9 could look-down/shoot-down over the water and clutter-reject the ocean surface, but didn't do this well over land because of limits in computing power when it was developed. F-15A with the later generation solid state APG-63 set a new, very high bar to reach with true look-down/shoot-down over land capability, as well as some immediate developments in Non-Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) that became baseline in the F-15C and F/A-18. After AIMVAL in the 1970s, significant improvements were made over the AIM-7F, particularly in the Weapons Employment Envelope for the new AIM-7M that started to field in the mid 1980s. Distance was basically 27nm with -7F, over 40nm with -7M, which pushed hostile aircraft outside of any real all-aspect IR missile WEZ during SARH guidance of the -7M to the TGT(s). That was the interim missile until we could get AMRAAM fielded, which extended the range and no longer used SARH, but had its own active seeker. They also developed the AIM-9L so you could face-shoot with it vs having to get into rear quadrant solutions. Once the F-14D came along, it brought a modern avionics suite and basically the Radar from the F-15E, which was a dramatic change over the AWG-9. Those developments represented some significant leaps in how the BVR fight could be managed, with better detection, tracking, and earlier PID ranges, with weapons that could reach out farther. There were also some upgrades to the RHAWS gear the F-14 finally got in the 1980s, and ASPJ in the F-14D, which was a game-changer for automated self-protection in a high SAM and other threat environment. The all-aspect AIM-9L changed closure from BVR transition to WVR merge with a face-shoot option, provided the crew had PID, which was something the RIO could do if they had TCS. F-14D had Radar-slewed TCS and IRST for a superior PID option in that space. The input from the F-15C Weapons School Instructors, combined with the technology enablers, combined into something significant for Navy Fighter Weapons School tactics from what I've been able to gather. The capability sets just from technology were dramatically different between a: * 1970s F-14A with AWG-9/AIM-7F/AIM-9G/no TCS, limited/no TOPGUN vs * 1990s F-14D with APG-71/ASPJ/AIM-7M/AIM-9M/TCS/IRST and later TOPGUN trained/influenced crews.

@@LRRPFco52 that's quite alot to digest. I'm very grateful you took the time to provide such an expert analysis even if admittedly I'm not completely sure what to do with all of that info! You must be a former air crew, no? When can we expect to hear you as a guest on Jello's kickass show?

@@paulloveless9180 We worked on a lot of these types of systems on the USAF side from the 1970s-2000s, but were right near the Naval Weapons Test Center at China Lake, as well as Point Mugu. The Final Countdown was the first movie I remember showcasing the F-14A, in Jolly Rogers livery. USAF was very insular regarding F-15, so rarely worked with any outside companies other than their own internal film in the early 1980s. You can see that on Amazon Prime if you search for it. Corporate Air Force culture is very protective, while presenting kind of a glossy image of the force that has too clean of a polish. US Navy is more visceral in how it advertises itself in recruiting, and isn't afraid to bring in Hollywood to illustrate that. As a result, aviation enthusiasts and taxpayers have never really gotten a realistic picture of the choreographed industrial techno-brutality the USAF brings to the table. If someone made even a halfway-accurate film on Desert Storm, I think it would shock a lot of people, especially the highway of death and something that could capture the OCA side of things. USAF is happy to keep all of that hidden though, because many of the things are still relevant today.

Thanks! I am up to page 70, one page at a time…

Jennifer Connelly is too busy acting to worry about Top Gun.

@@alexnutcasio936 no! don't give me this "too busy for Top Gun" shenanigans!

@@DaveWhoa OK, I’ll play. She’s a single mom with a bar and a 37 year old kid named Viper….

@@alexnutcasio936 hahaha :)

🤔

End which program?

Controversial topic.🙄

Everything is going swell according to the Russians. Their ships double as submarines and there is plenty of opportunity to be a General.

They've lost: 1x Su-35S 5x Su-30SM 9x Su-34 8x Su-24 So far...

Thought that came up during the interview...?

@@FighterPilotPodcast not sure but as soon as I finished the first one I was asking about it. id love to read his stuff. ill check the library

Transitioning from military life to the civilian sector is one of the biggest challenges for veterans because we’re used to a totally different culture of getting things done quickly, with a shared sense of focus. It’s especially difficult for guys who were in all-male units with a very competitive nature and almost no room for compassion or acceptance of weakness.

You trying to make him say something sexist? Get a life