Here is a little background history on "dogfighting" for those who might not know what it means to be in one.

History of Dogfighting

A dogfight or dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft. The term originated during World War I, and probably derives from the preferred fighter tactic of positioning one's aircraft behind the enemy aircraft. From this position, a pilot could fire his guns on the enemy without having to lead the target, and the enemy aircraft could not effectively fire back. The term came into existence because when two fighter aircraft circle each other trying to achieve this position, it resembles two dogs chasing each other's tails.

Military aviation appeared in World War I with aircraft being used to spot enemy movement. Soon the need to stop enemy aircraft from completing their mission became a necessity, and this rapidly led to the creation of a class of aircraft designed specifically to destroy enemy aircraft: fighter aircraft. It was soon noticed that the best armament for such an aircraft was fixed, forward-firing guns. With such armament, the pilot just had to point his aircraft at the enemy and open fire.

In order to achieve firing position while not being threatened by the enemy's guns, the best technique was to get behind the enemy aircraft. This is known as getting on an aircraft's six o'clock, or on his tail, plus a wide variety of other terms, usually coined by aircrews. During World War I, Oswald Boelcke, a German fighter ace, was the first to write down basic rules for aerial combat maneuvering. He advised pilots to attack from the direction of the sun (towards which the defending pilot could not see), or to fly at a higher altitude than the opponent. Most of these rules, know as the Dicta Boelcke, are still as valuable nowadays as they were a century ago.

Today's air combat is much more complicated than those of older times, with newer inventions like air-to-air missiles and RADAR being used operationally on virtually all modern fighter aircraft. However, close range fighting with IR guided missiles like the AIM-9 Sidewinder and aircraft cannons still obeys to the same general rules laid down in the skies over Europe in the early 20th century. The master rule is still the same: do not let your opponent get on your six o'clock, while attempting to get on his.