Bandits!: Pictorial History of American Adversarial Aircraft

BANDITS is a great pictorial overview of the various Air Force, Marine and Navy Adversary units that operated in the late 1970s, '80s and early '90s. Along with fascinating details on the likes of Topgun, the USAF Aggressors and other units like VF-126, VC-8, VFC-12 and VMFT-401, BANDITS showcases dozens of dazzling photographs, most in color, showing U.S. adversary in action. The Vietnam War taught the Americans, especially the Air Force, the value of ACM or dogfighting. The Navy was first out of the blocks with Topgun but the Air Force eventually followed with their Aggressor squadron/program. When cash was flush, units such as VF-43, -45, -127, VFC-13, -127 along with VFC-12 and VC-10 utilized various aircraft - F-5s, Skyhawks, T-38s, etc. - to give U.S. pilots realistic combat training. After an opening chapter on Dissimilar Air Combat Training, Parsons and Nelson examine USAF DACT, Navy DACT, the Air Force Adversary Tactics Division and Topgun followed by chapters on each adversary squadron. Sadly, almost all those units bit the dust years ago. BANDITS is an excellent debrief on the need for DACT and the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps response to that need. The information is fascinating; the photos, breath-taking. Fighter fans need to add this to their collections. Recommended.