Modern air combat is a long way removed from the dogfights of the Battle of Britain.

Now, it is more like a high-tech, high speed, computer game - although the origins of much of what happens can be traced back to World War II.

The spitfire of World War II

Nevertheless the dogfight, when fighters try to out-turn each other, is the exception rather than the rule. The ground-based radar of the Battle of Britain, which directed fighters has now itself taken to the air.

It is now often the AWACS (Advanced Warning Air Combat System ) flying radar station that controls proceedings, with its electronic eye seeing hundreds of miles, while controllers orchestrate the battle.

Eyes in the skies

The fighters themselves carry radars that do not just detect the target, but advise which one to fire at first.

The weapons (missiles) have also got a long reach - the AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) carried by American planes has a range of about 30 miles.

At one stage, such long-range missiles had to be guided onto their target by the firing aircraft's radar, but the AMRAAM carries its own mini-radar, and does the job itself.

Such missiles are called 'fire and forget'. This kind of fighting, where opponents do not even see each other, is called BVR (Beyond Visual Range) combat.

For BVR victory, the attacker needs to see the target first, move in fast, fire, and then turn away fast, to get out of range of his enemy.

The heat of combat

The F16 Fighting Falcon - one of many US aircraft sent to the Persian Gulf

To some degree the classic dogfight still does happen, with aircraft closing to visual range and trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

But the main weapon is another missile, not radar-guided, but heat-seeking, homing in on the heat of the other aircraft.

When a fighter's main weapons were cannons or machine guns that fired straight ahead the plane has to be pointed directly at the target to hit it, but no more.

Modern infra-red missiles are so sensitive that their 'kill zone' is a 90 degree, or more, sector in front of the aircraft.

It means that once again battles will be quick, but it doesn't mean the technology is unbeatable, or that missiles always hit. They can still be decoyed or jammed.

Aerial combat will also be fought over greater distances and as missiles approach the limits of their range they slow down and can be out-turned.

Deadly tactics

It must also be remembered that radar not only tells the attacker where his target is, but the radio signal also tells the target he has been detected, enabling evasive action.

USS Enterprise crews check laser-guided bombs

Modern tactics can involve the fighters keeping their presence quiet by not using their own radars, but instead being fed, by datalink, the powerful radar picture from the AWACs.

Such tactics make modern air combat seem like a deadly form of chess.