Fighter pilots are one of the most highly regarded and desirable positions of any air force. Selection processes only accept the elite out of all the potential candidates. An individual who possesses an exceptional academic record, physical fitness, healthy well-being, and a strong mental drive will have a higher chance of being selected for pilot training. Candidates are also expected to exhibit strong leadership and teamwork abilities. As such, in nearly all air forces, fighter pilots, as are pilots of most other aircraft, are commissioned officers.
Fighter pilots must be in optimal health to handle the physical demands of modern aerial warfare. Excellent heart condition is required, as the increased "G's" a pilot experiences in a turn can cause stress on the cardiovascular system. One "G" is equal to the force of gravity experienced under normal conditions, two "G"s would be twice the force of normal gravity. Some fighter aircraft can accelerate to up to 9 G’s. Fighter pilots also require strong muscle tissue along the extremities and abdomen, for performing an anti-G straining maneuver (AGSM, see below) when performing tight turns and other highly accelerated maneuvers. Better-than-average visual acuity is also a highly desirable and valuable trait.
Modern medium and long range active radar homing and semi-active radar homing missiles can be fired at targets outside or beyond visual range. However, when a pilot is dogfighting at short-range, his position relative to the opponent is decidedly important. Outperformance of another pilot and that pilot's aircraft is critical to maintain the upper-hand. A common saying for dogfighting is "lose sight, lose fight".
If one pilot had a greater missile range than the other, he would choose to fire his missile first, before being in range of the enemy's missile. Normally, the facts of an enemy's weapon payload is unknown, and are revealed as the fight progresses.
Some air combat maneuvers form the basis for the sport of aerobatics:
Dogfighting at Template:Convert is considered "close". Pilots perform stressful maneuvers to gain advantage in the dogfight. Pilots need to be in good shape in order to handle the high G-forces caused by aerial combat. Pilots flex their legs and torso to keep blood from draining out of the head. This is known as the AGSM or the M1 or, sometimes, as the "grunt".Template:Citation needed
Defense against missiles
Many early air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles had very simple infrared homing ("heat seeking") guidance systems with a narrow field of view. These missiles could be avoided by simply turning sharply, which essentially caused the missile to lose sight of the target aircraft. Another tactic was to exploit a missile's limited range by performing evasive maneuvers until the missiles had run out of fuel.
Modern infrared missiles, like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, have a more advanced guidance system. Supercooledinfrared detectors help the missile find a possible exhaust source, and software assists the missile in flying towards its target. Pilots normally drop flares to confuse or decoy these missiles by creating more multiple heat signatures hotter than that of the aircraft for the missile to lock onto and guide away from the defending aircraft.[2]
Radar homing missiles could sometimes be confused by surface objects or geographical features causing clutter for the guidance system of either the missile or ground station guiding it. Chaff is another option in the case that the aircraft is too high up to use geographical obstructions. Pilots have to be aware of the potential threats and learn to distinguish between the two where possible. They use the radar warning receiver (RWR) to discern the types of signals hitting their aircraft.
G-force
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When maneuvering fiercely during engagements, pilots are subjected to high G-force. G-forces express the magnitude of gravity, with 1G being equivalent to Earth's normal pull of gravity. Because modern jet aircraft are highly agile and have the capacity to make very sharp turns, the pilot's body is often pushed to the limit.
When executing a "positive G" maneuver like turning upwards the force pushes the pilot down. The most serious consequence of this is that the blood in the pilot's body is also pulled down and into their extremities. If the forces are great enough and over a sufficient period of time this can lead to blackouts (called G-induced loss of consciousness or G-LOC), because not enough blood is reaching the pilot's brain. To counteract this effect pilots are trained to tense their legs and abdominal muscles to restrict the "downward" flow of blood. This is known as the "grunt" or the "Hick maneuver". Both names allude to the sounds the pilot makes, and is the primary method of resisting G-LOCs. Modern flight suits, called G-suits, are worn by pilots to contract around the extremities exerting pressure, providing about 1G of extra tolerance.
Until the early 1990s, women were disqualified from becoming fighter pilots in most of the air forces throughout the world. The exceptions being Turkey where Sabiha Gökçen became the first female fighter pilot in history in 1936 and went on to fly fast jets well into the 1950s,[3] and the USSR during the Second World War 1942–1945 where many women were trained as fighter pilots in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment including Lilya Litvyak who became the top scoring woman ace of all time with 12 kills and Katya Budanova a close second with 11 kills, although both were killed in combat.[4] During the 1990s, a number of air forces removed the bar on women becoming fighter pilots:
Template:Flagu – Marie Marvingt was a record-breaking balloonist, an aviator, and during World War I she became the first female combat pilot. Marie Marvingt received a pilot's license from the Aéro-Club de France (Aero Club of France) on 8 November 1910.[6] Licensed No. 281, she was the third Frenchwoman to be registered after Raymonde de Laroche (No. 36) and Marthe Niel (No. 226). In her first 900 flights she never "broke wood" in a crash, a record unequaled at that time. Marie flew in a number of air meets, bombed a German airbase twice as an unofficial pilot in World War I, flew on reconnaissance missions in the "pacification" of North Africa, and was the only woman to hold four pilot's licenses simultaneously: balloon, airplane, hydroplane and helicopter. In 1915 Marvingt became the first woman in the world to fly combat missions when she became a volunteer pilot flying bombing missions over German-held territory and she received the Croix de guerre (Military Cross) for her aerial bombing of a German military base in Metz.[7]
Template:Flagu - Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II.Template:Sfn She was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft. She was nicknamed the “White Lily of Stalingrad”.
Template:Flagu - Raisa Belyaeva was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots. She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with up to three aerial victories. She died in combat in a crash on 19 July 1943.Template:Sfn
Template:Flagu - Mariya Tolstova a Soviet flight commander in the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment, and one of the few women to fly the Il-2.
Template:Flagu - Olga Yamshchikova was Soviet fighter pilot squadron commander, credited with three shootdowns during World War II who became a test pilot after the war.[10][11] During her postwar aviation career she became the first woman to fly the MiG-19.[12]
Template:Flagu - Lidiya Shulaykina was one of the few women Ilyushin Il-2 pilots and the only female ground-attack pilot in naval aviation during the Second World War.
Template:Flagu - Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran was a pioneer in women's aviation, one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953 in an F-86 Sabrejet. She was the wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (1943–1944), which employed about 1000 civilian American women in a non-combat role to ferry planes from factories to port cities. On September 9, 1948, Cochran joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel. She was promoted to colonel in 1969 and retired in 1970.[14] Postwar, Cochran began flying new jet aircraft, setting numerous records. She became the first woman pilot to "go supersonic". Among her many record accomplishments, from August to October 1961, as a consultant to Northrop Corporation, Cochran set a series of speed, distance and altitude records while flying a Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon supersonic trainer. On the final day of the record series, she set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records, taking the T-38 to altitudes of 55,252.625 feet (16,841 m) in horizontal flight and reaching a peak altitude of 56,072.835 feet (17,091 m).[15] Cochran was also the first woman to land and take off from an aircraft carrier, the first woman to pilot a bomber across the North Atlantic (in 1941) and later to fly a jet aircraft on a transatlantic flight, the first woman to make a blind (instrument) landing, the only woman ever to be president of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (1958–1961), the first woman to fly a fixed-wing, jet aircraft across the Atlantic, the first pilot to fly above 20,000 feet (6,096 m) with an oxygen mask, and the first woman to enter the Bendix Transcontinental Race. She still holds more distance and speed records than any pilot living or dead, male or female.[16][17]
Template:Flagu - In late 1952, with the Korean War in full swing, the North Korean Air Force was the only one in the world with female jet fighter pilots. One of them, Tha Sen Hi, flew MiG-15s in combat and eventually rose to squadron leader. She was honoured with the title of Hero of the Korean People's Democratic Republic.Template:Sfn
Template:Flagu – Asli Hassan Asli Hassan Abade – on 9 September 1976, is the first African female pilot in the (Somali Air Force – SAF). She soloed her first flight – MiG-21.
Template:Flagu - Until the 1970s, aviation had been a traditionally male occupation in the United States. Commerce Department regulations virtually required pilots to have flown in the military to acquire sufficient flight hours, and until the 1970s, the U.S. Air Force and Navy barred women from flyingTemplate:Sfn and they were routinely denied work in commercial piloting.Template:Sfn The US military did not open fighter jet flights to women until 1993.Template:Sfn In the 1970s, women were again, for the first time since WWII, permitted to fly in the United States Armed Forces, beginning with the Navy and the Army in 1974, and then the Air Force in 1976.Template:Sfn The first graduating class of ten female Air Force officers earned their Silver Wings on September 2, 1977. These ten women were part of Class 77-08 and graduated at Williams Air Force Base.Template:Sfn These female aviators were Captains Connie Engel, Kathy La Sauce, Mary Donahue, Susan Rogers and Christine Schott; First Lieutenants Sandra Scott and Victoria Crawford; Second Lieutenants Mary Livingston, Carol Scherer and Kathleen Rambo.
Template:Flagu - On 2 May 1977 First Lieutenant Christine E. Schott, USAF, was the first woman in the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program to solo in the Northrop T-38A Talon supersonic flight trainer at Williams AFB, Arizona. She was a member of Class 77–08, which entered on 19 September 1976.
Template:Flagu - Svetlana Savitskaya is a Russian former jet aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space. On her 1984 Soyuz T-12 mission she became the first woman to fly to space twice, and the first woman to perform a spacewalk. After graduating from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) in 1972, she trained as a test pilot at the Fedotov Test Pilot School, graduating in 1976. In May 1978 she start working for aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev, as a test pilot. Between 1969 and 1977 she was a member of the Soviet national aerobatics team. Savitskaya retired in 1993 from the Russian Air Force in the rank of Major. She set several FAI world records as a MiG-21 & MiG-25 pilot.
Template:Flagu – In 1993 Jeannie "Tally" Leavitt became the first female USAF fighter pilot, initially being assigned to a McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle squadron, and subsequently flying 300 combat hours, mostly over Afghanistan and Iraq. She was the first woman to command a USAF combat fighter wing, the 4th Fighter Wing on June 14, 2012 .[30][31] She became commander of a second fighter wing on April 16, 2016, taking command of the 57th Wing at the Nellis Air Force Base. She is the first woman fighter pilot in the USAF who got promoted to the high rank of Major General on September 2, 2019. She logged more than 3,000 fight hours as pilot in command, including over 300 combat hours.
Template:Flagu – In November 2000, Maryse Carmichael was selected to fly with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team, becoming the first woman on the team. In May 2010 she was named the commander of the Snowbirds, becoming the first female pilot to lead the squad.[35]
Template:Flagu – Catherine "Siren" Labuschagne got her wings in 2000 and flew the Impala and Hawk before in 2010 completing her maiden solo flight in the South African Air Force's Gripen Jas 39C, becoming the first woman fighter pilot ever to fly the Gripen.[36]
Template:Flagu – In 2005 Line Bonde graduated from the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, US, as Denmark's first female fighter pilot.[43]
Template:Flagu - In March 2006, the Pakistan Air Force officially inducted a batch of 34 fighter pilots which included the organization's first four female fighter pilots. Three years of fighter pilot training had been completed by the pilots at PAF Academy - Risalpur flying amongst other the Cessna T-37 Tweet basic jet trainer and K-8 intermediate jet trainer, before they graduated and were awarded their Flying Badges during the ceremony. Certificates of honour were handed to the successful cadets by GeneralAhsan Saleem Hayat, then the vice-chief of the Pakistan Army, who acknowledged that the PAF was the first branch of the Pakistani military to introduce women to its combat units. One of the women, Flying OfficerNadia Gul, was awarded a trophy for best academic achievement. The other female graduates were Mariam Khalil, Saira Batool and Cadet Saba Khan. A second batch of pilots, including three female pilots, graduated from the 117th Pilot course at PAF Academy - Risalpur in September 2006. The Sword of Honour for best all-round performance was awarded to Aviation CadetSaira Amin, the first female pilot to win the award. Aviation Cadet Saira Amin also had won the Asghar Hussain Trophy for best performance in academics.[49]
Template:Flagu – In 2006 Karina Miranda started her flight training on Northrop F-5[51] and made her solo flight with F-5 Tiger III on April 29, 2010, became first female fighter pilot in Chilean Air Force.[52][53]
Template:Flagu – In 2008 Ha Jeong-mi became the first South Korean female fighter pilot, flying the KF-16 fighter.[61]
Template:Flagu - On 13 May 2009, the Red Arrows announced including their first female display pilot. Flt. Lt. Kirsty Moore (née Stewart) joined for the 2010 season. [62] She joined the Royal Air Force in 1998 and was a qualified flying instructor on the Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley. Prior to joining the team, she flew the Tornado GR4 at RAF Marham.[63]
Template:Flagu – In 2011 Lt. Col. (then Major) Caroline "Blaze" Jensen was the third woman and the first mother to fly in the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds team. As the daughter of a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, she graduated from the Air Force Academy with a bachelor's degree in English and spent more than 10 years on active duty as a reservist with more than 3500 flying hours. She's the first female reserve officer to fly with the Thunderbirds. She also flew over 200 combat hours in the F-16 Fighting Falcon over Iraq.[69][70] Jensen also became the first qualified female pilot in the T-7A Red Hawk.[71]
Template:Flagu – In 2013 China publicised the graduation of six of the PLAAF's first-batch of female fighter pilots.[73]
Template:Flagu – In 2013 Ayesha Farooq became Pakistan's first female fighter pilot flying the Chinese-made F-7PG fighter jet.[74] Out of six female fighter pilots in the PAF, Flight Lieutenant Farooq is the first qualified for combat and to fly sorties along the border.[75] Farooq is one of 19 women to have become pilots in the PAF since the 2000s.[76]
Template:Flagu – On 22 December 2013 Cmdr. Sara Annette "Clutch" Joyner became the first female strike fighter pilot to command a Navy carrier air wing after earlier commanded a US Navy fighter squadron.[77] She became a fighter pilot in 1996, flying an F/A-18 Hornet with VFA-147.[78] She assumed command of Strike Fighter Squadron 105 from Cmdr. Douglas C. Verissimo on 2 March 2007 as the first female to do so.[79] She turned over command to Cmdr. Thomas R. Tennant on 9 June 2008.[80] She later became deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing Three, assuming full command from Capt. Michael S. Wallace on 4 January 2013.[78] The air wing embarked on a deployment aboard USS Harry S. Truman on 22 July 2013.[81] She commanded the air wing until relieved by Capt. George M. Wikoff.[81]
Template:Flagu - In February 2014 Major General Sherrie L. McCandless became the first woman to command the 124th Fighter Wing and, therefore, the first female wing commander in Idaho Air National Guard history.[82] She is an experienced F-16C/D Fighter Pilot and Instructor Pilot and has commanded units at the squadron levels. She is the Commanding General, District of Columbia National Guard.[83]
Template:Flagu – In 2016 Capt. Sarah Dallaire, made history as the first husband-and-wife team to fly with the same Canadian Snowbirds 431 Air Demonstration Squadron. Dallaire, only the 2nd Snowbird female pilot ever, flew in the Canadair CT-114 Tutor as Snowbird 2 on the inner right wing, while her husband Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier, flew as Snowbird 5 in the second line astern position.[95]
Template:Flagu – In December 2017 Australia graduated its first female jet fighter pilots.[98]
Template:Flagu – Squadron Leader Angeline Bosha qualified as a fighter jet pilot after she completed a year-long training course in China in the year 2018 flying the K-8 Karakorum as Zimbabwe's first female fighter jet pilot.[99]
Template:Flagu – In February 2020 then CaptainKristin "Beo" Wolfe was announced as the new Commander and Demo Pilot of the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team and became the first female USAF F-35A Demo Team Pilot. Her father was an F-4 Phantom WSO and later became an F-15 pilot. After graduating pilot training she started her career flying the F-22A Raptor at the 94th Fighter Squadron "Hat in the Ring" at Langley Air Force Base (VA) for three years before eventually transitioning to the F-35A. When she is not busy with F-35A Demo tasks, she integrates back in to the 421st Fighter Squadron "Black Widows" and acts as an instructor and flies regular combat training missions in the rank of Major.[106]File:Blue angels double farvel.jpgUS Navy Blue Angels double farvel
Template:Flagu - 1st Lt. Jul Laiza Mae Camposano-Beran was introduced by the Philippine Air Force as its first ever female jet fighter pilot on March 30, 2022. She is regarded as an SIAI-Marchetti A-211 jet combat mission ready pilot and wingman as of April 2022.[107] She is a member of PAF's 5th Fighter Wing stationed at the Cesar Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga. Camposano-Beran graduated from the Philippine Air Force Flying School in 2017 after completing her military pilot training. She was the first combat ready out of three female pilots undergoing training on flying and handling the AS-211 fighter jet.
Template:Flagu – On May 25, 2022, Lt. Amanda "Stalin" Lee was named as the first ever woman selected for the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron Blue Angels as a demo F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter pilot.[108][109]
↑Голяма енциклопедия "България". Том 6{{#if:Научноинформационен център „Българска енциклопедия“|, Научноинформационен център „Българска енциклопедия“}. Книгоиздателска къща „Труд“(2012). ISBN 9789548104289
Flying for Her Country: the American and Soviet women military pilots of World War II{{#if:Goodpaster|, Goodpaster}. Greenwood Publishing Group(2007). ISBN 978-0-275-99434-1
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 : the Soviet Union's long-lived Korean War fighter{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Midland Pub(2001). ISBN 1-85780-105-9
Le Streghe della Notte: La storia non detta delle eroiche ragazze-pilota dell'Unione Sovietica nella Grande Guerra Patriottica{{#if:Milanetti|, Milanetti}. Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Roma, Italia(2011). ISBN 978-88-7565-100-8
Yes She Did!: Aerospace{{#if:Skogen|, Skogen}. Scobre Educational(2014). ISBN 978-1-62920-327-0
Writing the Heavenly Frontier: Metaphor, Geography, and Flight Autobiography in America 1927–1954{{#if:Turner|, Turner}. Rodopi(2011). ISBN 978-90-420-3297-2
Further reading
Non-fiction
Amir, Amos. Brig Gen.Fire in the Sky : Flying in Defence of Israel. Pen & Sword Aviation (2005). Template:ISBN
Franks, Norman, Bailey, Frank, and Guest, Russell. Above the Lines : A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914–1918. Grub Street (1994). Template:ISBN
Bell, Ken. 100 Missions North : A Fighter Pilots Story of the Vietnam War. Brassey's, Inc (1993). Template:ISBN
Olynk, Frank.Stars & Bars : A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920–1973. Grub Street (1995). Template:ISBN
Romm, Giora. Major Gen. Solitary: The Crash, Captivity and Comeback of an Ace Fighter Pilot. Black Irish (2014). Template:ISBN
Shores, Christopher and Williams, Clive. Aces High : A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII. Grub Street (1994). Template:ISBN
Shores, Christopher, Franks, Norman, and Guest, Russell. Above the Trenches : A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Grub Street (1990). Template:ISBN
Spector, Iftach. Brig Gen. Loud and Clear : The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot. Zenith Press (2009). Template:ISBN
Toliver, Raymond F and Constable, Trevor J. Horrido : Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe. Arthur Barker Ltd (1968). Template:ISBN
Toliver, Raymond F and Constable, Trevor J. The Blonde Knight of Germany : A Biography of Erich Hartmann. TAB Aero (1970). Template:ISBN
Jackson, Robert. Fighter : The Story of Air Combat 1936–1945. Arthur Baker Ltd (1979). Template:ISBN
Olds, Robin with Olds, Christina, and Rasimus, Ed. Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds. St Martins Press (2010). Template:ISBN
Rosenkranz, Keith.Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot. McGraw Hill (2002). Template:ISBN
Polak, Tomas with Shores, Christopher.Stalins Falcons : The Aces of the Red Star. Grub Street (1999). Template:ISBN
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