Synopsis
NATO’s fighter pilots met up for a “dogfighting” competition to sharpen their skills in a series of aerial duels high above Ramstein, Germany.
The first “1 vs. 1” event hosted by United States Air Forces in Europe, this competition allowed NATO’s fighter pilots to test their mettle against aircraft they’ve never fought before, providing an invaluable opportunity to familiarise themselves with Allied equipment and tactics.
The competition drew more than 30 jets from nine Allies, namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, which hosts the headquarters of NATO’s Allied Air Command.
In this video, NATO asks two pilots who duelled each other – First Lieutenant Alexander “Stitch” Grandt of the German Air Force, and Captain Patrick “Hobit” Pearce of the US Air Force – to break down their aerial engagement and tell us what they have learnt from going head-to-head.
Transcript
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — NATO Video Producer
‘What’s the secret to a good paper aeroplane?”
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘Don’t have me make it.’
TEXT ON SCREEN
NATO FIGHTER PILOTS WENT HEAD-TO-HEAD
IN A DOGFIGHTING CONTEST
WE ASKED THEM TO TELL US WHAT HAPPENED
USING PAPER AEROPLANES
GRAPHIC - LOWERTHIRD
FIRST LT. ALEXANDER GRANDT
GERMAN AIR FORCE
GRAPHIC - LOWERTHIRD
CPT. PATRICK PEARCE
US AIR FORCE
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘It’s terrible. Symmetry, the correct answer.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘We need some elevators in the back.
‘I’m First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt. I go by ‘Stitch’. And I fly the Eurofighter Typhoon for the mighty Richthofen Wing in Germany.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘I am Captain Patrick Pearce, callsign is “Hobit”. I fly F-35s out of [Royal Air Force] Lakenheath.
For this competition today, the way it worked out is we were given a slip of paper, we had a location in which we were going to meet up at a certain altitude. We would not know who we’re fighting until we turned in and at the merge, so as our aircraft passed by each other, I’m like, oh boy, there’s a Eurofighter. Which is actually pretty cool.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘I’ve never seen an F-35 so close. When we train in Germany, I only fight other Eurofighters. You don’t really understand
what your advantage is. And today, with the Eurofighter having a little bit more thrust than the F-35, for example, I could definitely understand what the advantage of my aircraft is. If we were ever facing each other, he would probably kill me beyond visual range, even before I even knew he was there, because of the stealth capability. I don’t have that.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘So what it looked like today was a lot of one of these manoeuvres in which Stitch here was saddled up behind me. He was able to get a guns employment.
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘You can actually see the gun rounds counting down when I employ the gun, even though it’s not loaded. It’s just simulated.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘You can just feel it in the pit of your stomach. You’re like, man, this guy
just won the fight, and it hasn’t even ended yet for another minute or so.
So the entire goal is if you’re defensive, is to survive, and then create an offensive scenario
as much as possible. The best way to do that
is to put them out front. Which, now you’re no longer defensive, and you’re the offender.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘He will probably be able to tell that I’m going in for guns by pointing my aircraft at him. And if I don’t have my closure under control, I’m way too fast, he can basically just brake,
and then I’m like, ‘Uh ...’ And now I’m shooting behind his tail.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘Lateral pass.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘And now I’m defensive.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘You’re underneath a lot of Gs, if you will. You’re going through some pretty extreme flight dynamics. If you’re 200 pounds [91 kg], that equals, you know, 1,800 pounds [816 kg] of what your body feels like at that time. You’re looking behind, you’re looking up, you’re looking around, and you’re underneath that kind of strain. It puts a pretty big physical strain on your body.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘I would say I turn my head up to seven Gs. After that, I don’t do it anymore. That’s not good for the neck, so.’
TEXT ON SCREEN
NO MATTER WHO WINS, NATO’S PILOTS ARE STRONGER
FOR PUTTING THEMSELVES TO THE TEST
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘On three. Ready?’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — First Lieutenant Alexander Grandt, German Air Force
‘Yeah.’
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH (SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH) — Captain Patrick Pearce, US Air Force
‘Alright. One, two …
Well done.’
ENDS
Music
“Can’t Hold Me Down” by James Oliver Hutchinson and Vance Westlake; “Lofi Lounging” by Jonas Pomo
Usage rights
This media asset is free for editorial broadcast, print, online and radio use. It is restricted for use for other purposes. Some footage courtesy of the US Department of Defense.
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