F15C Air to Air Combat

Hi Guys, I am new to DCS and I am currently learning the ropes by flying missions in Campaign mode in Flamming Cliffs 3. I am struggling to engage Mig 29s and SU27 before they get a good tone and fire a missile at me. I am getting a good radar lock in BVR mode and wait to be close enough before i fire but they engage me first. Does any have any tips or advice which could give me the upper hand. Thanks :pilotfly:

Get higher, faster, launch earlier. Not much else I can say given your description :)

First thing, you need to recognize that the fact that they are firing first doesnt always mean you are doing anything wrong. It could be they are taking max range shots, which are very easy to defeat. What you need to understand is concepts such as the Minimum Abort Range (MAR) (if you look this up you should find out quite a bit on it), so you know when to defend, so you do not panic from shots taken hopelessly out of range. I did write a BVR manual for my squadron, its probably goes into too much detail in a lot of places, and the overall organization is a bit lacking, but maybe youll get something from it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ytii9JWW2LXyAXDMYs6BiLfJy8K4cB09/view

Another great resource is RL documentation such as NATOPS P-825: https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/local/docs/pat-pubs/P-825.pdf. While some of the specifics arent gonna work in DCS, the basic concepts are going to remain the same.

Don't panic when they shoot first. Their missile fired at max range has low probability of kill. And their longest range missile in DCS I believe is Semi Active so they have to keep their nose on you and can only guide one at a time. Just get in closer, launch 120's in TWS, do a split S and get out.

This is old, I think on FC1 but I believe most of it still applies. This video series is where I learned F15.

Also, get Tacview and study what they did and what you did.

Thanks for all the information guys. I really appreciate the help.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/1965067/

You're welcome.