A
dogfight, or
dog fight, is an
aerial battle between
fighter aircraft, conducted at close range. Dogfighting first appeared during
World War I, shortly after the invention of the
airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every major war, despite beliefs after
World War II that increasingly greater speeds and longer range weapons would make dogfighting obsolete. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is
air combat maneuvering (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requiring the use of individual
basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) to attack or evade one or more opponents. This differs from
aerial warfare, which deals with the strategy involved in planning and executing various missions.