Tail-chase engagement
Encyclopedia
A tail-chase engagement (or rear-aspect engagement) is one where a surface-to-air missile
system or jet aircraft
engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying away from the attacker. This makes engagement with cannon
s or infra-red homing missiles easier because of the minimal lateral target movement relative to the attacker and the fact that the hot engine exhaust nozzle(s) are pointing directly at the attacker, making the infra-red seeker's task of tracking the target much easier.
Missiles typically have a very high chance of hitting a target in a tail-chase engagement because of the much reduced closure rate. If the missile is travelling at Mach
2.5 and the aircraft at Mach 1, the combined overtake rate of Mach 1.5 means that the missile should be easily able to respond to any evasive maneuvers the aircraft might perform. Missiles can typically maneuver faster than aircraft and in a tail-chase engagement the target has no real advantage over the missile. Its only real hope is to fly away from the missile fast enough that the overtake rate is reduced to virtually nil, and then force the missile to follow it through several turns, bleeding off its residual energy and causing it to fall away.
It has the disadvantage, however, of meaning that any missiles or cannon rounds fired at the target must be able to reach and overtake it despite the speed at which the target is moving away. This greatly reduces the effective range at which these munitions can be used. Many missiles have an effective range in a tail-chase engagement on the order of one-third or one-quarter of that in a head-on engagement
. In addition, in the case of an engagement between two aircraft, the attacking aircraft will probably have to engage afterburner
and chase the target down, using up a lot of fuel in the process.
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
system or jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying away from the attacker. This makes engagement with cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s or infra-red homing missiles easier because of the minimal lateral target movement relative to the attacker and the fact that the hot engine exhaust nozzle(s) are pointing directly at the attacker, making the infra-red seeker's task of tracking the target much easier.
Missiles typically have a very high chance of hitting a target in a tail-chase engagement because of the much reduced closure rate. If the missile is travelling at Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.5 and the aircraft at Mach 1, the combined overtake rate of Mach 1.5 means that the missile should be easily able to respond to any evasive maneuvers the aircraft might perform. Missiles can typically maneuver faster than aircraft and in a tail-chase engagement the target has no real advantage over the missile. Its only real hope is to fly away from the missile fast enough that the overtake rate is reduced to virtually nil, and then force the missile to follow it through several turns, bleeding off its residual energy and causing it to fall away.
It has the disadvantage, however, of meaning that any missiles or cannon rounds fired at the target must be able to reach and overtake it despite the speed at which the target is moving away. This greatly reduces the effective range at which these munitions can be used. Many missiles have an effective range in a tail-chase engagement on the order of one-third or one-quarter of that in a head-on engagement
Head-on engagement
A Head-on engagement is one where a surface-to-air missile system or jet aircraft engages another aircraft while the target aircraft is flying towards the attacker. This makes engagement with infra-red homing missiles more difficult because the hot engine exhaust nozzle of the target are pointing...
. In addition, in the case of an engagement between two aircraft, the attacking aircraft will probably have to engage afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
and chase the target down, using up a lot of fuel in the process.