Dealing with the SA-2

When the SA-2 appeared in Southeast Asia, it was a new and unexpected threat to fighter pilots. Until then, anti-aircraft missiles were viewed as strategic weapons for use against bombers. Fighter pilots had to learn how to defend themselves from the SAMS. We did get RHAW scopes in the cockpit that would tell you if you were being tracked by AAA or missile radar and if there was a missile guidance radar directing an SA-2 at you. These warning would be shown on the scope with different audio outputs—the SA-2 warning was a rattlesnake tone. Our only defense was to visually spot the incoming missile and try to outfly it. It could not do square corners or pull many Gs.

The SAM operators soon figured out we could see their radar outputs, so they would try to trick us by locking on without launching a missile on one side of the aircraft; then, while we were searching for the missile on that side, they would launch a missile on the opposite side and wait until the last seconds to turn on the tracking radar, hoping to catch us unaware. The only defense was to keep your head on a swivel.

We never had the missile defense pods modern fighters carry, but during my third tour we would put chaff packs (radar fouling metallic strips) in our speed brake wing wells. We could put the speed brakes out momentarily to dump the packs to try to spoil the radar lock on. Of course, if you forgot and used your speed brakes on join up with the KC-135 tankers, our ground radar stations were not happy.