ARE THE DAYS OF DOGFIGHTS OVER? AN IN-DEPTH AIR COMBAT ANALYSIS
Alex Hollings | May 22, 2022
With at least two next-generation fighter programs now drawing funds from Pentagon coffers, there’s one looming question dominating the airspace over internet forums, the world’s military installations and advanced aviation research facilities alike: are dogfights really dead?
The most recent air-to-air kill scored by an American aircraft came in 2017, when a U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian-flagged Su-22 as it bombed American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the Raqqa province of Syria. The interaction wasn’t much of a dogfight, but it was the first air-to-air engagement carried out by an American fighter since Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999. But the last time American aircraft truly found themselves in some serious mid-air scraps was in 1991, over Iraq. With more than three decades now separating today’s aviators from America’s last dogfights and stealth increasingly becoming the norm, it’s no wonder the Defense Department seems to be leaning away from the idea that air-to-air combat in close quarters should be a priority.
There’s no denying that technological trends back that growing sentiment. But this isn’t the first time the United States has questioned the future of air combat, and as many aviation buffs and historians will tell you, assuming dogfights were dead because of the introduction of new technologies didn’t pan out quite like America would have hoped the last time we found ourselves having this debate. (For a deeper analysis into what really went wrong in the dogfights over Vietnam War, make sure to read our full analysis of it here — because it’s more complicated than something as simple as a lack of guns.)
It’s hard to deny the fact that, after more than two decades of conducting counter-terror operations around the world, the vast majority of America’s aviators and even senior leaders at this point have spent the entirety of their careers operating in uncontested airspace against adversaries with few or no air assets to put up a fight. It seems logical, then, to question whether or not the collective experiences of operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere could potentially be skewing the perspective of today’s prevailing wisdom.
https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/are-the-days-of-dogfights-over-an-in-depth-air-combat-analysis/
