Strike TTPs

Kill Box
Kill Box
● Fire Support Coordination Measure
● 3-dimensional area used to coordinate Joint fires
● Procedures
○ Free employment of ordnance within kill box dimensions AND at the ‘kill box active’ timings
○ Exceptions marked: No Fire Areas (NFAs) (no ordnance within that area)
○ No friendlies allowed in the kill box unless protected by an NFA
○ Avoiding collateral damage and positive target ID are the responsibilities of the pilot!
○ List of priority targets to be engaged will be provided. Do not waste ordnance on the rest!
Kill Box tips
● Brief your wingman on how you want to search within the kill box
○ Split sectors of responsibility to cover the entire box more quickly
○ Prioritise areas where enemy positions are likely (based on intel / look for vehicles near roads)
● Don’t neglect a visual search. Large targets with huge signatures (dirt trails)
will be easier to find visually than ‘through the soda straw’
● Stick to your height blocks and airspace. There’s other stuff flying around. If
you stray outside, ‘big sky small bullet’ applies. Good luck!
Risk Estimate Distance
● Ref JFIRE (2007)
● Used to estimate collateral
damage risk (to humans,
danger close)
● Use TGP yardstick to
estimate
Safe Escape Maneuvers
Safe Escape Maneuvers (SEM)
● Perform after weapons delivery
● Ensures no CFIT or own weapons frag, foils hostile tracking
● Common SEM
○ Level Straight Through (LST)
○ Climbing (CLM)
○ Turn (TRN)
○ Turn Level Turn (TLT)
● Common Errors
○ Excessive G during recovery (aircraft performance loss and stress)
○ Exceeding bank angle prior to achieving nose high (CFIT)
○ Not completing maneuver or not maintaining G (CFIT, weapons frag, hostile track)
Level Straight Through
● Simplest SEM
● Level constant speed, no turn profile
● Maintain for 3 seconds after last bomb impact
● Only used with level release profile
Climbing
● Used for high angle dive attack profile (20-60 deg)
● 4G pull up within 2 seconds after weapons release
● MAX or MIL as necessary, maintain 4G until velocity vector is 20 deg above
horizon
● Relax pull until 30 deg climb
Turn
● Descending turn profile
● Seldom used compared to TLT; usage dictated by tactical considerations
● Valid for attacks up to 20 deg dive
● MAX or MIL as necessary after weapons release, simultaneous 4G loaded
roll to 60-85 deg bank.
● Aim for 5 deg dive, increasing bank angle to maintain 4G for at least 60
degree heading change
Turning Level Turn
● Most common
● Valid for attacks up to 20 deg dive
● MAX or MIL as necessary after weapons release, simultaneous 4G wings
level pull up within 2 seconds
● As velocity vector nears horizon, perform 2-4G loaded roll and maintain 4G
level turn for at least 60 degree heading change
Formation and Attacks
Formations and Attacks
● Flight Lead decides attack formation and role for each member
● Fighter-to-Fighter Brief
○ Ingress Formation
○ Roles (by flight position)
○ Weapons (by flight position)
○ Timing (from weapon impact)
○ Additional Remarks (ingress egress directions, target sort etc)
● Example: “Wedge, Shooter Shooter, Bombs Guns, 30 seconds, In from the south,
off to the west, sort East”
● Assumptions
○ Assume shooter if not specified. If only one role assigned it applies to all members.
○ If only one weapon assigned it applies to all members
○ If no time given it is based off ingress formation
● Minimum comm plan for hasty attack is formation and weapon
○ “Wedge/Guns”
Ingress Formation
● Wedge
○ Flexible and maneuverable
○ Easy on wingman to
balance with terrain lookout
and formation keeping
○ Good for shooter/cover
● Trail
○ Good for attacks with
interval
○ Good for support of lead
○ Poor in threat area
● Line
○ Good for simultaneous
employment or area targets
Roles
● Shooter
○ Responsible for putting munitions on target
● Cover
○ Responsible for providing mutual support to the other flight member
○ All attention to giving visual, comm and firepower support
● Suppressor
○ Engage defenses which can interfere with the attack
● Decoy
○ Create confusion, deny or delay enemy defence off attacking aircraft
● Eyeball
○ Responsible for TGP IR/Laser marking and/or weapon guidance.
Attack Contract
● Wingmen ingress on outside of formation, looking through lead elements
towards the target
○ Choose your side so that you see through your lead at the target
● No forward firing ordnance with friendly aircraft in HUD FOV
● Leads will come off target AWAY from wingmen
● Wingmen come off target in same direction as lead, threat permitting
Medium Altitude Methods
Methods
● Box Pattern
● Wheel Pattern
● Arcing
● Parallel Attack
● Other Attack Patterns & Principles
Box and Wheel Pattern
● Box
○ Identical to training range pattern
○ Suitable when in proximity to friendly forces with restricted run-ins
○ Place downwind leg over friendly forces to minimise exposure to threat
● Wheel
○ Circle, flown in trail around the target
○ Can be used in random or restricted run-in
○ Suitable in threat-free environment with benign target
○ Lead to establish
■ Wheel direction
■ Distance to suit desired dive angle
■ Altitude at or above base altitude
Arcing
● As “shooter” rolls in, “cover” arcs the target
● Considerations: Arc
○ far enough to see entire target area
○ close enough to maintain visual on “shooter”
during his roll-in and recovery
● Technique:
○ keep target area on your canopy rail, which gives
approx 45 deg dive angle for roll-in if required
○ When possible, arc in the direction of the pull-off
location of the “shooter”
● Drawback: “cover” tends to be separated by
the target from the “shooter” after the
attack.
Parallel Attack
● As “shooter” rolls in, “cover” tracks a
parallel path to the attack axis
● Brief the attack axis prior to attack
● Be in position to employ ordnance,
monitor target area and “shooter”
● Be in predictable point (pull-off axis) to
aid “shooter” in regaining visual
Other Attack Patterns (illustration only; see next slide!)
Principles
● “Do not memorise the pattern, but understand the principles. The pattern will
follow, young grasshopper.”
● Below are my “epiphanies” after digesting the patterns, welcome more
interpretation
● Preceding patterns are developed naturally because:
○ Initial positioning: Wingman is always looking through lead towards the target. So change sides as
necessary at the action point
○ SEM: There is usually a significant heading change after attack.
○ Contract: Lead comes off target, away from wingman
○ Shooter-shooter: second shooter always offsets outside of leads run-in angle
○ Shooter-shooter: Lead continues turn when coming off to provide support for second shooter,
resumes egress direction after second shooter is off.
○ Shooter-cover: Cover seeks to maintain target area in front of 3-9 and be back on same side of lead
after lead recovers.
● Practice, practice, practice