The Art of the Kill: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Air Combat

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Art of the Kill has been designed to teach you the fundamentals of Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM). As the name implies, BFM is the cornerstone of tactical fighter aviation. Since its principles are rooted in the laws of physics, geometry and aerodynamics, they are non-negotiable and cannot be finessed.

Depending upon what your expectations were when you purchased Art of the Kill, a couple of learning outcomes are possible. If you watch the videotape only once as you flip through this book, you will probably be mildly entertained and may even retain a few basic principles of BFM. If on the other hand, you read this book in conjunction with repeated reviews of Pete Bonanni’s excellent videotaped presentations, you’ll learn and understand the imperatives of how to maneuver aircraft in a visual engagement environment. I can guarantee you that such knowledge will serve you well.

There is a growing myth that the technological sophistication of the modern fighter aircraft has turned aerial combat into a “push button” form of high-tech warfare. So you may be wondering why, in an era of pulse-doppler radar, low observable technology and sophisticated missiles, should one devote time and energy to learning something as old-fashioned as BFM. Why not simply “shoot ’em in the face” before they ever see you? More than a few sincere advocates have been making that argument for years. As an aspiring fighter pilot in the 1950s, I first heard the same siren song when the F-86 was armed with the original AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. The story line then was that missiles of that ilk, used in combination with radar control, were going to make “dogfighting” a thing of the past with the fighter pilot being relegated to a role of pushing “magic buttons” upon command.

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