Why don't fighter planes have backwards pointing guns?

names are hard — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 14:16:05 -0800

Why don't fighter jets (in real life or in those classic movies) have backwards pointing guns and missiles to shoot down their chasing adversaries in dog-fights? I'm thinking in movies like Top Gun. When they are in the air fighting often one plane is chasing another one trying to shoot it down. The chased plane just tries to get away. But why couldn't they have backwards pointing guns or missile launchers to luck onto their enemy?

Blue Angels

rorycberger — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:46:09 -0800

How elite are the Blue Angels? I'm curious about how the Blue Angels compare to other Navy pilots, how they are perceived within the Navy, how competitive the application process is, and how difficult their maneuvers are relative to actual combat flying.

I would think that the Navy would want to showcase "the best of the best", but at the same time I feel like the real top pilots should be doing more important things than air shows. Particularly during wartime, do others see them as being cowardly for avoiding combat duty? On their website it lists the requirements for joining, but it doesn't say how many people apply each year, etc. Also, while their tight formations and high-speed tricks are impressive to me as a civilian, is this really the pinnacle of military aviation? Do other Navy (or Air Force) pilots look at them and go "Whoa!" like I do, or is this child's play to them? Any insight would be appreciated.

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Why don't fighter planes have backwards pointing guns?

Blue Angels