defensive spirals

A form of defensive spiral — A last-resort defensive maneuver in dogfighting used by an aircraft with critically-low kinetic energy, consisting of a rolling scissors performed straight down, using gravity to supply the kinetic energy needed to continue maneuvering, while attempting to either slow down enough to get behind the attacker or else trick the attacker into crashing into the ground.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of defensive spiral
Cite this entry
APA

defensive spirals. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defensive%20spirals

MLA

“defensive spirals.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defensive%20spirals. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “defensive spirals,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defensive%20spirals.

Source: defensive spirals on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.