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Aggressors Basic Fighter Maneuvers for F-5E
Join the 65th Aggressor squadron based out of Nellis AFB on the eastern outskirts of Las Vegas. You are here to teach Basic Fighter Manoeuvres — dogfighting “ to trainee pilots cycling through the base by way of DACT (Dissimilar Aircraft Combat Training). You fly your F-5E-3; they fly whatever they brought; and the two of you duke it out in the skies over the NTTR. Obviously, you need to own both the F-5E-3 aircraft and the Nevada terrain modules to use this Campaign.
The campaign does not offer any kind of plot or storyline, just a set of sparring matches against singular AI opponents, but comes with plenty of voice-overs from observers and exercise commanders grading yours and your opponents' performance. It is not just a matter of getting a quick fight in, but also about properly navigating around the NTTR to get to the training area without disturbing the locals, and about following the safety regulations for both the trip and the engagement. Likewise, no fancy equipment or strategies are employed: it is just medium-altitude flight, guns, and head-on merges all day long. You will be carrying TCTS pods to simulate the wing-loading of AIM-9:s, but nothing will ever leave the rails.
The supporting material provides maps, navigational charts, and procedure walk-throughs for flying to and checking in and out of the designated combat areas. There are many mountain ridges, dried lakes, and stretches of desert out there, and while it will eventually be very familiar, you still need to be sure you end up in the right place at the right time — the support documents are there to help you with exactly that.
Once you are done here, it is time to step up to the next level with the Aggressors ACM campaign.
The missions
The campaign puts you through 20 DACT engagements over the course of 10 sorties. Each sortie consists of two 5-minute engagements against a specific target type. A hard deck of 10,000' is in effect and you are required to follow proper check-in/check-out and ROE procedures. “Winning” does not necessarily mean gunning the target down — it is actually their task to take you out, and surviving or forcing them to break off or go below the hard deck is enough to count as a mission kill in your favour. Remember: you are the opposition; they are the ones trying to complete the task of quickly dispatching you.
- Familiarisation flight of the NTTR — if you do not know your TACAN, you will fail already here.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× aggressor F-5E:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× Luftwaffe F-4E:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× USN F-14A:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× French M-2000C:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× CDN CF-188:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× USAF F-16C:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× Luftwaffe MiG-29G:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× RAAF F/A-18C:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× Polish MiG-21:s.
- Guns-only 1v1 against 2× IAF F-15C:s.
Each mission begins and ends with the flight to the combat area, which means following a number of set navpoints, and as always, all you have at your disposal are your eyes and your TACAN receiver. Over time, you will learn the route by heart, but good familiarity with TACAN offset navigation is required to get to where you need to be, and between that travel time and the combat engagements, fuel (and external tank) management can occasionally become an important consideration.
More information
- F-5E Aggressors Basic Fighter Maneuvers Campaign by Maple Flag Missions in the DCS shop.
- Blacknight3022's Let's Play of (part of) the BFM Campaign.
- 65th Aggressor Squadron on wikipedia.
| DCS World | |
|---|---|
| Campaign modules | |
| A‑10C | Basic Flight Training Qualification (BFTQ) · Advanced Aircraft Training Qualification (AATQ) · Tactical Training Qualification Campaign (TTQC) · 16‑2 Red Flag · The Enemy Within · Operation Piercing Fury · Stone Shield · Operation Persian Freedom |
| AJS‑37 | 16‑2 Red Flag |
| AV‑8B NA | Sky Warrior |
| Bf 109 K‑5 | Jagdflieger |
| Combined Arms | Frontlines Georgia |
| F‑5E‑3 | Aggressors Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) · Aggressors Air Combat Maneuver (ACM) · Black Sea Resolve ′79 |
| F‑14A & B | Zone 5 · Fear the Bones |
| F‑15C | Aggressors BFM · 16‑2 Red Flag · The Georgian War |
| F‑16C | Red Flag 21-1 |
| F/A‑18C | Aggressors BFM · Operation Pontus · Raven One · Rising Squall · The Serpent's Head 2 |
| F‑86F | Hunters over the Yalu · The Museum Relic |
| Fw 190 A‑8 | Horrido! |
| Ka‑50 | Memory of a Hero · Republic · Pandemic |
| L‑39 | Kursant |
| M‑2000C | M‑2000C Red Flag Campaign by Baltic Dragon |
| Mi‑8MTV2 | The Border Campaign · Crew Part 1 · Memory of a Hero · Oilfield Campaign |
| MiG‑15bis | The Museum Relic |
| P‑47D | Wolfpack |
| P‑51D | The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney · Charnwood · High Stakes |
| Spitfire L.F. Mk. IX | The Big Show · Operation Epsom |
| Su‑27 | The Ultimate Argument |
| UH‑1H | Argo · Worlds Apart - Spring 2025 |