More trade turns up: two contacts at 45 n.m., and the Boss gets off an AIM-7 shot before the merge. The Hawks are unleashed and the Boss later recalls, "After that, everywhere I looked there was a Hawk guy with blood on his teeth". This after Mark Tutton in 06 gunned the second Harrier figuratively, but not quite literally, right under the Phantom's nose. Meanwhile, Colin Spink had a problem of his own. A roving Tornado F.3 had Above Opposition on Elder Forest included Panavia Tornado GR-Is; Above right Stints' guns kill a Jaguar picked up the contacts on his radar and was rolling in behind the Boss, who trying to evade at low level had to waggle his wings, call "Friendly, friendly", and complete a conversion on to the second Harrier all at the same time, calling a Fox 2 Sidewinder kill on the aircraft that Mark had gunned. The Tornado cleared off when he saw that his radar contacts were fighters stern-chasing attackers, not, as his nav must have thought, a formation of attackers.Awaddington

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Returning to base poses potential tactical problems of its own. We must be on the lookout for enemy intruders who may bounce us, but we must not fly either low or fast. To the missile crews a low, fast track looks aggressive, and we might not be squawking IFF, because of battle damage. We must also route ourselves clear of AAA sites. The general rule is to fly straight and level, with gentle turns and no sudden moves which could be construed as aggressive. This seems a super idea as I've never felt so sick. Having been on the receiving end of MFF tactics during the Tactical Fighter Meet last year and now having seen it from the AD side, there is no doubt in my mind that the concept works well and that the Hawk's agility is an asset in air combat. MFF makes good war use of a trainer in reinforcing the dedicated AD force. But good as the Hawks are, they are limited to daylight visual combat only. As long as the politicians don't count it in the total numbers of fighters in RAF service, that is fine. It is a very capable combat trainer and also very capable in combat. But if the politicians want cheap fighters, then they should allot more money to buy them. The single-seat Hawk 200 could also be used as an advanced trainer, but with a much-expanded war role. S 31

FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 28 May 1988