World: War at 33 Miles a Minute

"Bogeyl Contact! I have a Judy at 2 o'clock! Splash!"

That clipped series of radio messages—from an F-15 pilot reporting a "kill" during a training mission—tells much about modern air combat and why the planes best at it are in demand. Translated, the pilot's message is that his radar has locked onto an enemy plane—a "Judy" in U.S. airmen's jargon—67° to the right of his aircraft and that the missile he fired sent the enemy spiraling into the sea. Flying at speeds of up to 2,000 m.p.h.—33 miles a minute—the pilot got his splash...