U.S. Navy Adversary Aircraft

To aviation enthusiasts, the U.S. Navy adversary air­craft and their counterparts in the Air Force's aggressor squadrons have been a high-interest topic since the very beginning of their use during the Vietnam War. Their mission of providing dissimilar air combat maneuvering (DACM) training for combat pilots has captivated the interest and imagination of anyone who kept up with U.S. military aviation to any extent at all. Now, thanks to the most popular movie of 1986, almost everyone is at least aware of the existence of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOP GUN. To a lesser degree, several years ago a TV movie entitled, "Red Flag-The Ultimate Game," introduced the public to the Air Force's aggressor squadrons. While both movies were produced for entertainment with the usual Hollywood glamor and bravado, they did acquaint the public with these special units and their unusual mission of flying Soviet tactic in "MiG simulators" against our pilots in order to provide them with the most realistic air combat training possible. The air war over Vietnam had proved that actual combat was no place to learn how to fight the enemy.