As any fighter pilot will tell you, air superiority is the key of tactical airpower. The success of all other tactical air missions depends upon first attaining and then maintaining air superiority — that is, eliminating effective interference by the opposing air force. Control of the air will bear significantly on the outcome of the battle. Combat experience has taught that encounters between fighters capable of high altitude and supersonic flights normally take place below 20,000 feet and at speeds slower than Mach 1. As the fight progresses, visibility limitations and basic physics keep the aircraft in the transonic flight regime —that area around Mach 1. As a result, the fighter pilot has been continually asking for more maneuverability, close-in weapons, and a better understanding of the inherent performance capabilities of his aircraft during a dogfight. Thus, agility — and not speed alone — in the air at medium and low altitudes is the prime requisite for success in air-to-air engagements.
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