A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it has been a component in every major war despite beliefs after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 that increasingly greater speeds and longer range weapons would make dogfighting obsolete.