Random Feed: Watching This Is the Closest You'll Get to Aerial Combat [Video]

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Watching This Is the Closest You'll Get to Aerial Combat [Video]

via Gizmodo by Sam Biddle on 4/25/12

If you've ever dreamt of flying a jet into war—I see you, joystick jockeys—this incredible GoPro footage is your best new alternative. Watch it in fullscreen if you actually want to feel nauseous.

All that's missing is the g-force factor pulling at your face, and, of course, the risk of crashing or being blown out of the sky. But that's OK! These F-15 videographers were just training, anyway, as part of ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) dogfight practice between the "Fighting Cocks" (hush) and "Vampire Bats" squadrons, based out of Japan. But man, it looks like the real thing: flares released, midair refueling, and best of all, the absolutely crazy maneuvering. All the Top Gun radio chatter helps with the mood, too.

For you true air combat nerds, David Cenciotti points out that the video is a great way to check out the JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System)—the advanced helmets the pilots wear: "it enables pilots to cue onboard weapons against enemy plane merely by pointing their heads at the targets."

One real world hazard? The awful music that seems more at home in a compilation of monster truck crashes than the Air Force. BUT PERHAPS IT MAKES IT ALL FEEL MORE X-TREME—GUITAR SHRED ENGAGED. [Vimeo via The Aviationist]