In
aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
, the cobra maneuver (or just the ''cobra''), also called ''dynamic deceleration'',
among other names (see
Etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
), is a dramatic and demanding maneuver in which an airplane flying at a moderate speed abruptly raises its nose momentarily to a vertical and slightly past vertical attitude, causing an extremely high angle of attack and momentarily stalling the plane, making a full-body
air brake before dropping back to normal position, during which the aircraft does not change effective altitude.
The maneuver relies on the ability of the plane to be able to quickly change
angle of attack
In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...
(alpha) without overloading the
airframe
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...
,
and sufficient engine thrust to maintain nearly constant altitude through the entire move,
but also post-stall stability and aerodynamics that allows for the recovery to level flight. The maneuver demands accurate
pitch control, alpha stability and engine-versus-inlet compatibility for the aircraft, as well as a high skill level on the part of the pilot.
The cobra maneuver is an example of
supermaneuverability
Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.
...
,
specifically
poststall maneuvering. The
Herbst maneuver
The Herbst maneuver (also known as a J-turn"Turn and Burn." Fulghum, D. A.; Fabey, M. J. ''Aviation Week & Space Technology''. January 8, 2007. and the helicopter maneuver are similar post-stall maneuvers that are often executed by
4.5th Generation and
5th Generation fighter aircraft employing
thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
.
The maneuver is typically performed at
air show
An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited.
They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground.
The largest air show m ...
s, but could be used as a last-ditch maneuver to force a chaser to overshoot in
close-range air combat.
The maneuver has never been verified in real combat, although it has been used during mock dogfights
and border protection.
Etymology
The maneuver has many names, but it is most commonly known as the ''cobra'' or the ''cobra maneuver'' in the respective language; for example: russian:
Ко́бра (Kobra), german:
Kobramanöver. The
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
for the name ''cobra'' is unknown but it could refer to the plane displaying its top and bottom profile, much like a
cobra spreading its shield. A notable variant of the "cobra" name is ''Pugachev's cobra'' (alternatively the ''Pugachev cobra''), referencing the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
pilot
Viktor Pugachev
Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev (russian: Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв) (born 8 August 1948 in Taganrog, RSFSR) is a retired Russian Air Force officer and a former Soviet test pilot who was the first to demonstrate ...
, who was the first to bring the maneuver to the public eye.
In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, the country which presumably was the first to discover the maneuver, the maneuver is traditionally known under the name ''kort parad'' ("short parry"), the Swedish term for the
fencing maneuver "
beat parry
This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.
A
B
C
D
E
...
", in which an incoming attack is deflected using a
beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
(a sharp strike to the opponents blade, knocking it out of line), leaving the enemy open for a
riposte
In fencing, a riposte ( French for "retort") is an offensive action with the intent of hitting one's opponent made by the fencer who has just parried an attack. In military usage, a riposte is the strategic device of hitting a vulnerable point ...
.
As a more scientific name, the maneuver has been given the name ''
dynamic
Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to:
Physics and engineering
* Dynamics (mechanics)
** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air
** Analytical dynam ...
deceleration
In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
'', referring to the way the plane loses speed during the maneuver.
In a similar manner, the
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
ns apparently called the maneuver the ''Zero speed maneuver'' ( ar, مناورة السرعة صفر, "Munawarat alsureat sifr") during their usage of
MiG-21F-13s and the like.
Maneuver description
![Pugachev Cobra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Pugachev_Cobra.svg)
The maneuver can simply be described as; a rapid vertical pitchup from level flight without initiating a climb, followed by a forward-pitch back to level flight. If properly performed, the plane maintains nearly straight flight throughout the maneuver. The plane does not roll or yaw in either direction. This greatly lowers the speed of the aircraft due to the un-aerodynamic under-surface of the aircraft going against the airflow.
To perform the cobra, the maneuver must be entered from fairly high
subsonic speeds. Proper entry speed is necessary because, if the maneuver is entered too slowly, the plane might be unable to complete the maneuver or return to level flight with sufficient speed, while entering at too high a speed would create
g-force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
s so high that the pilot
loses consciousness or the airframe is damaged. High
thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...
is also needed throughout the maneuver to not
stall out.
To execute the maneuver the aircraft only needs to use its standard
aerodynamic controls, however executing it can be achieved more easily with the addition of modern
thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
.
Aerodynamics
The cobra maneuver requires more than just pilot input and aircraft maneuverability to be performed. Since the maneuver requires the aircraft to not lose or gain substantial altitude during the maneuver, the change of
alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
during the vertical pitchup has to be fast enough to break the airflow of the wings, as to not make the aircraft climb. To be able to perform this rapid vertical pitchup the aircraft needs an "aerodynamic instability" in its core aerodynamics which will make the aircraft rapidly pitch up by itself once the
elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
of the aircraft is pitched to the point where it breaks the airflow during a pitch up; but also post-stall control and stability to not enter an uncontrollable
stall at the peak of the pitch; which then allows the aircraft to center the elevator and using the
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
from the elevators added
drag to pitch forward and make an aerodynamic recovery to horizontal flying again.
Only specific aircraft feature this "instability" and thus the maneuver can only be performed by a small number of aircraft models. This is because conventional aircraft are designed to lack this instability for safety reasons, and can thus not execute the maneuver by conventional means. Executing the maneuver in the
Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
for example, requires disengaging the
g-limiter.
Simply put, the cobra relies more on the core aerodynamics of the aircraft than its control surfaces and avionics and can thus only be performed by specific aircraft featuring aerodynamics allowing for the maneuver.
Execution (Sukhoi Su-27)
![Su-27 Cobra 2b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Su-27_Cobra_2b.png)
In the case of the
Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
, to execute the maneuver the pilot initially disengages the angle of attack limiter of the plane, normally set at 26°.
This action also disengages the g limiter. After that, the pilot pulls back hard on the
stick
Stick or the stick may refer to:
Thin elongated objects
* Twig
* The weapon used in stick fighting
* Walking stick, a device to facilitate balancing while walking
* Shepherd's crook
* Swagger stick
* Digging stick
* Swizzle stick, used to stir d ...
. The aircraft reaches an angle of attack of 90–120° with a slight gain of altitude and a significant loss of speed. When the elevator is centered, the
drag at the rear of the plane causes a
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
that makes the aircraft pitch forward. At the same time, the pilot adds power to compensate for the reduced lift.
Use in combat
If pursued by an enemy fighter in a
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
, by executing the cobra, a sufficiently closely pursued aircraft may suddenly slow itself down to the point that the pursuer overshoots it, allowing the previously pursued aircraft to complete the cobra behind the other. This may allow the now-pursuing aircraft an opportunity for firing its weapons, particularly if a proper pointing aspect (facing toward the former pursuer) can be maintained. Due to the speed loss when performing a cobra, maintaining weapons on target may require the use of
thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
and/or
canard control surfaces. Otherwise, the maneuver may also allow the pursued plane to flee as the overshooting attacker may lose track of the target.
The maneuver is also potentially a defense against
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, as the sudden change in velocity can often cause
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the f ...
s to lose their lock on the target. Doppler radars often ignore any objects with a near-zero velocity to reduce ground clutter. The cobra maneuver's sudden change to near-zero velocity often results in the target being momentarily filtered off as ground clutter, making it difficult for the radar to lock onto the target, or breaking the target lock if already established. However, there is no available documentation of this being tested beyond theory.
While the cobra maneuver may appear to be a useful force of the overshoot, the tactic would almost never be employed in any active threat scenario for a variety of reasons. The most obvious of these is the extreme loss of
speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
. Assuming the defending aircraft successfully forces the aggressor to overshoot the attack, the defender often does not have enough energy to counter-attack. The second more prevalent reason for avoiding the use of the maneuver is taught in most
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
training. When attacking an aircraft, the pilot must be mindful of the closure-rate between both aircraft. If the closure rate is too high, the defender can change direction rapidly, which denies the attacker a shot opportunity, and thereby decreases the
Probability of kill Computer games, simulations, mathematical model, models, and operations research programs often require a mechanism to determine statistically how likely the engagement between a weapon and a target will result in a satisfactory outcome (i.e. "kill" ...
. However, if the attacker manages their speed and rate of closure properly, a cobra maneuver would just present the attacker with a larger target to shoot. (Due to the increased presented surface area when the defender is oriented vertically)
The cobra maneuver has been used in mock
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
s but there is little to no known documentation of it being used in actual combat. One primary described mock dogfight was fought between a
Saab 35 Draken
The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...
and a
Saab 37 Viggen
The Saab 37 Viggen (Swedish for ''"the Bolt"'' or ''"the Tufted Duck"'' ( see name)) is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following ...
in Swedish service, were the latter pursued the former, when the former suddenly performed a Cobra and got the latter to overshoot. Existing material of this mock dogfight does not cover the elements of the engagement before and after the maneuver in detail, which would be useful in assessing its usefulness in modern combat. Reflective discussions from the pilots does however say that the maneuver was a useful combat move if performed correctly, with the caveat that it was only really effective as a last ditch maneuver due to the loss of speed when performed.
History
![Su-27 05 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Su-27_05_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The cobra maneuver came to public attention when
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
test pilot
Viktor Pugachev
Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev (russian: Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв) (born 8 August 1948 in Taganrog, RSFSR) is a retired Russian Air Force officer and a former Soviet test pilot who was the first to demonstrate ...
performed it at the
Le Bourget
Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris.
The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...
Paris air show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
in 1989 using a
Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
.
The tactic was previously unknown to the public and it was quickly named after Pugachev. But apparently Pugachev was not the first Soviet pilot to perform the cobra. Another Soviet test pilot by the name of
Igor Volk
Igor Petrovich Volk (russian: Игорь Петрович Волк, ; 12 April 1937 – 3 January 2017) was a Soviet test pilot and cosmonaut in the Buran programme. Military and test pilot
Volk became a pilot in the Soviet Air Forces in ...
performed it previously while testing aircraft behavior at high super-critical angles of attack, up to around 90°.
Sweden
![Saab J 35A Draken (35076)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Saab_J_35A_Draken_%2835076%29.jpg)
Decades prior to Pugachev showing off his cobra, during the early 1960s, the maneuver had been performed by
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
pilots flying the
Saab 35 fighter jet
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
.
It was invented during training for recovery from
super stalls (also known as deep stalls) to which the
double delta
A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).
Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitab ...
tailless design of the Saab 35 is susceptible. A super stall is an uncontrollable stall which is much harder to recover from than a standard
stall. Super stall plagued the early years of Saab 35 service, causing several deaths, which led the
Swedish air staff to implement extra training on how to counteract and recover from them.
The result was the cobra maneuver. When pulling high alpha, the pilot would have noticed that he was entering super stall, and would then have pulled negative alpha to recover. The dramatic effect of this maneuver on aircraft speed was noticed and pilots started to purposely use it to drop speed.
The Swedish test pilots who discovered the cobra were and , who developed the technique around 1961–1963.
![SAAB J35 Draken-1702 - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford (tilted -90deg, cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/SAAB_J35_Draken-1702_-_Flickr_-_Ragnhild_%26_Neil_Crawford_%28tilted_-90deg%2C_cropped%29.jpg)
The Swedes named the maneuver ''"kort parad"'' after a
fencing maneuver of the same name, known as "
beat parry
This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.
A
B
C
D
E
...
" in English. The Swedish pilots soon considered how to use this move in combat to get a pursuing aircraft to overshoot, putting it in a perfect position for a
riposte
In fencing, a riposte ( French for "retort") is an offensive action with the intent of hitting one's opponent made by the fencer who has just parried an attack. In military usage, a riposte is the strategic device of hitting a vulnerable point ...
, and it was not long until it was proven viable during mock dogfights.
In real combat, depending on the situation and the execution of the maneuver, it could be used to confuse the enemy by making it lose the target or to overshoot, which would allow the pursued pilot the opportunity to either flee from combat or re-engage. However, the maneuver was very difficult and dangerous to use as anything more than a last-ditch effort, as without precise execution the aircraft's slow speed after the maneuver would make it an easy target.
The maneuver originated with the
Bråvalla Wing
Bråvalla Wing ( sv, Bråvalla flygflottilj), also F 13 Norrköping, or simply F 13, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden.
History
The Air Wing was established in 1943 as the fourt ...
, the first one to receive the Saab 35 fighter plane. As the fighter was adopted by other wings over time, so was the maneuver. The
Scania Wing
Scania Wing ( sv, Skånska flygflottiljen), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden.
History
The tenth wing initially started as a detachment located at Svea Win ...
apparently called the maneuver "Wacka", which has no real meaning in Swedish.
Sweden effectively shared borders with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
over the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, so both sides regularly flew into the international space between the two. In the event, the Saab 35s regularly intercepted and escorted Soviet planes away from Swedish airspace. Sometimes these encounters would result in non-combat
dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
s, which were either playful or threatening in nature.
Apparently, the cobra maneuver was used during some of these engagements, surprising the Soviets.
Late in the Saab 35's service life, the maneuver was used as a 'secret weapon' by Saab-35 pilots in mock dogfights facing the more advanced
Saab 37 fighter. The Saab 37 was unable to safely enter super stalls, and therefore its pilots did not receive any major training against its use. The cobra maneuver was therefore unknown to many Saab 37 pilots prior to facing it in competition.
Due to the appeal of the tactic, some Saab 37 pilots attempted it, but to their dismay were unable to effectively perform it above speeds of as the Saab 37 couldn't safely handle the necessary
gs, rendering it effectively useless in combat.
When the Saab 35 was retired, so was the maneuver, as the next generations of Swedish warplanes, the Saab 37 and the
Saab 39, couldn't effectively perform it. Due to the secrecy of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era and other factors, the Swedish cobra was largely unknown to the world until some former Saab 35 and 37 pilots wrote about it years later in books
and articles,
long after the Soviets had been credited with its discovery.
Finland and Austria
As Sweden exported the
Saab 35 Draken
The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...
, so was the cobra maneuver. Fighter variants of the Saab 35 was exported to both the
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
and the
Austrian Air Force
The Austrian Air Force (german: Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte, , Austrian Air Combat Force) is a component part of the Austrian Armed Forces.
History
The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Al ...
.
In an interview, former Finnish Air Force pilot Ari Saarinen recalled performing the maneuver in a Draken while intercepting a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Hawker Siddeley Nimrod
The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod is a retired maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed ...
over the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
; the Nimrod pilot reduced power in order to get the Finns to overshoot, but the Finnish Drakens performed the maneuver to slow down, which according to Saarinen drew praise over the radio from the British Nimrod crew.
According to a video uploaded by the
Scania Wing
Scania Wing ( sv, Skånska flygflottiljen), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden.
History
The tenth wing initially started as a detachment located at Svea Win ...
comrade association (Swedish: F10 Kamratförening), the Swedish cobra was taught to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n pilots training on the Saab 35 in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
It is unknown whether the Austrians used this as a combat maneuver or just as training against super stall.
Syria
Beyond Sweden,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
also discovered the maneuver prior to the Soviets.
In 1961 when Syria left the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
, they were left with a very weak
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
. The Syrians had to order new combat aircraft, and procured the
Mig-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
F-13 in June 1962.
Once the aircraft had arrived and been integrated into the fleet, a problem became apparent. All of the unit commanders had been selected based on their political associations and loyalty to superiors, instead of knowledge of air combat. The new commanders were over-reliant on advice from about 30
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
advisors assigned to the Syrian Air Force to help with training on the Migs, but were generally ineffective. In this era of power over knowledge, however, a handful of pilots with powerful connections were able to disregard their Soviet advisors and orders from their commanders.
One of these pilots, Mohammad Mansour, then a novice MiG-21-pilot fresh from a conversion course in the USSR, had an older brother, Fayez Mansour, with deep connections high in the chain of command in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. Those connections enabled him to challenge Soviet advisors and demand greater operational flexibility for himself and other pilots of his unit.
During Mohammed's first clashes with the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
, he realized that there was a need for an effective defensive maneuver in close combat that forced a pursuer to overshoot. His initial solution based on Soviet manuals consisted of rapid descending turns followed by a sudden activation of the
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
and a climb. However, during a test flight in early 1967, Mohammad inadvertently pitched the nose of his MiG-21 too hard, so that the forward movement of his aircraft nearly stopped. In reaction, he engaged the afterburner of his MiG, and ended with the plane standing vertically on the verge of stalling out of control. Mohammad managed to recover the plane from that state, just in time to prevent a crash. Intrigued, he decided to try and replicate the maneuver in a controlled manner, this time by engaging the afterburner beforehand, as the
Tumansky R-11
The Tumansky R-11 (initially AM-11) was a Soviet Cold War-era turbojet engine.
Design and development
The Tumansky R-11 was developed by A.A. Mikulin, Sergei Tumansky, and B.S. Stechkin as a twin-spool axial-flow high-altitude non-afterburni ...
engine of the MiG-21 had to spool for full effect. After successful replication of the maneuver, it became clear that this was the close combat defensive maneuver that he sought.
The Syrians named the cobra the "zero-speed maneuver" ( ar, مناورة السرعة صفر ''"munawarat alsureat sifr"''). Mohammad soon saw combat again with the Israeli Air Force but never got to use the maneuver.
The cobra quickly became a standard part of defensive tactics for Syrian Mig-21s.
Pakistan and Egypt
![MiG-21PFM-Egypt-1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/MiG-21PFM-Egypt-1982.jpg)
With time, as their air forces were stationed in Syria, the maneuver spread to both the
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Egyptian air force
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...
, who also began using it as a standard defensive maneuver for their MiG-21s, as well on their
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
counterparts,
Chengdu F-7s.
The cobra maneuver may have been performed in combat by an Egyptian pilot during the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
, but the theory is based on a quote from an Israeli pilot that only mentions an Egyptian MiG-21 apparently standing on its tail while trying to evade an attack.
Soviet Union
Research and developments on
supermaneuverability
Supermaneuverability is the capability of fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers that are not possible with purely aerodynamic techniques. Such maneuvers can involve controlled side-slipping or angles of attack beyond maximum lift.
...
started in USSR in the early 1980s by
Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (also (Zhukovsky) Central Institute of Aerodynamics, russian: Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т, ЦАГИ, Tsentral'nyy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut, ...
,
Gromov Flight Research Institute
The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (russian: link=no, Лётно-исследовательский институт имени М. М. Громова, russian: link=no, ЛИИ) is an important Russian State Researc ...
,
Sukhoi
The JSC Sukhoi Company (russian: ПАО «Компания „Сухой“», ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (formerly Soviet), headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and milita ...
and
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
.
In flight testing the
Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
Igor Volk
Igor Petrovich Volk (russian: Игорь Петрович Волк, ; 12 April 1937 – 3 January 2017) was a Soviet test pilot and cosmonaut in the Buran programme. Military and test pilot
Volk became a pilot in the Soviet Air Forces in ...
was the first to perform the maneuver in that aircraft in practice.
Viktor Pugachev
Viktor Georgiyevich Pugachev (russian: Ви́ктор Гео́ргиевич Пугачёв) (born 8 August 1948 in Taganrog, RSFSR) is a retired Russian Air Force officer and a former Soviet test pilot who was the first to demonstrate ...
was the first who publicly demonstrated the maneuver in the Su-27 aerobatics display at the
Le Bourget airshow of 1989.
[
]
Derivatives of the cobra
There are several derivatives of the cobra which all initiate it similarly, but end differently.
;Cobra climb
In the cobra climb, the aircraft initiates the cobra, but instead of remaining in altitude and continuing forward, it starts to stall climb (climbing vertically). The maneuver is similar to a regular stall climb except that the change from level flight to stall climb happens much faster. However, unlike a regular climb, this still achieves the effect of the cobra and the aircraft will still stall momentarily which lowers speed and momentum. The maneuver ends with the climb and the aircraft can return to common flight in various ways.
;Cobra stall
In the cobra stall, the aircraft initiates the cobra, but instead of returning to level flight, the aircraft instead fully stalls out after which it applies thrust and rudder to change the direction of the aircraft.
;Cobra barrel roll
In the cobra roll, the aircraft initiates the cobra but instead of returning to level flight, the aircraft uses its ailerons and rudder to initiate a barrel roll
A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as a ...
at the peak of the initial nose climb which ends the maneuver with a barrel roll.
;Cobra hover
The cobra hover is an extension of the original maneuver in which an aircraft initiates the cobra but remains in the "cobra state" for a longer period of time by the use of thrust control, thus achieving the "hover" part of the maneuver. After which the aircraft can complete the maneuver in various ways depending on its energy.
;Cobra turn
The cobra turn is an air combat maneuver. It is a variation on the cobra maneuver where the aircraft performs the pull-up, but instead of returning to level flight applies rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
or thrust vectoring
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the v ...
and turns downward. The aircraft achieves a negative angle of attack, ending the maneuver in a dive, therefore regaining airspeed sooner than the common cobra. John Turner of BAE considers the cobra maneuver to have little use in air combat maneuvering
Air combat manoeuvring (also known as ACM or dogfighting) is the tactical art of moving, turning and/or situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Air combat manoeuvres ...
. It could also be argued that the combat effect is likely to be similar to the “Vectoring In Forward Flight
Thrust vectoring, also known as thrust vector control (TVC), is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) to control the attitude or angular velocity of the ve ...
" or VIFFing maneuver. In theory, VIFFing allows the aircraft to effectively slow down or stop while the enemy overshoots, leaving the aircraft in a favorable position to attack the enemy.
Unlike VIFFing, however, the fully developed cobra maneuver leaves the aircraft in a precarious and non-offensive attitude, with no energy, with weapons pointing toward empty sky and with the pilot having lost sight of the enemy. If the pilot exits the cobra by using rudder, this is a very slow version of the hammerhead. At the same time, the aircraft is defenseless, unable to maneuver, nearly stationary, offers the largest lateral visual and radar target and is creating a massive plume of hot exhaust, making it an easy target for any type of weapon and attack which an enemy might choose.
The transition from cobra maneuver to effective and controlled flight takes several seconds, and airspeed sufficient for defensive maneuvering is not recovered for more than ten seconds. While entering the cobra is effective as a "speed brake" maneuver, usefulness in combat is limited at best, and then only if exited while sufficient energy remains to bring the weapons to bear before the opponent can break into an evasive maneuver—or, worse, loop back and attack. One simple defense-into-attack maneuver is for the opponent to split-S
The split S is an Aerobatic maneuver and an air combat maneuver mostly used to disengage from combat. To execute a split S, the pilot half-rolls their aircraft inverted and executes a descending half-loop, resulting in level flight in the op ...
, pass under the cobra aircraft, then half-loop again to bring the cobra aircraft into the cone of fire. The primary danger for the opponent becomes the possibility of a mid-air collision with the slowly moving target.
The cobra turn first gained widespread attention after it was performed by the Sukhoi Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
, Su-35 and Su-37 at various European airshows.
List of cobra capable aircraft
See also
*Herbst maneuver
The Herbst maneuver (also known as a J-turn"Turn and Burn." Fulghum, D. A.; Fabey, M. J. ''Aviation Week & Space Technology''. January 8, 2007. , post-stall braking and turn demonstrated by the Rockwell-MBB X-31
The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 was an experimental jet fighter designed to test fighter thrust vectoring technology.
It was designed and built by Rockwell and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), as part of a joint US and German '' ...
experimental thrust vectoring fighter.
*Kulbit
The "Kulbit" (also known as the "Frolov chakra") is an aerial maneuver developed by Russian pilots in which the aircraft performs an extremely tight loop, often not much wider than the length of the aircraft itself. It differs from the traditional ...
, a more demanding combat maneuver (performed for example by the Sukhoi Su-37
The Sukhoi Su-37 (russian: link=no, Сухой Су-37; NATO reporting name: Flanker-F; popularly nicknamed "Terminator") was a single-seat twin-engine aircraft designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau that served as a technology demonstrator. It ...
)[
]
References
External links
Interview with Pugachev about this manoeuvre
USAF & NATO Report RTO-TR-015 AC/323/(HFM-015)/TP-1 (2001)
{{Aerobatics
Aerial maneuvers