Fighter pilots are elite military aviators trained for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, and those who achieve five or more confirmed aerial kills earn the prestigious title of ace. Selection is incredibly rigorous, requiring candidates to be commissioned officers with exceptional academic records, peak physical fitness, and strong leadership abilities. The physical demands are intense, as modern jets can pull up to 9 G's, forcing pilots to perform the anti-G straining maneuver (AGSM) to keep blood from draining from their heads. In combat, they utilize advanced radar-guided missiles like the AIM-120 AMRAAM for beyond-visual-range attacks, but close-range dogfighting relies on classic aerobatic maneuvers such as the Split S and Immelmann turn, where "lose sight, lose fight" is a critical rule. Defensively, pilots deploy chaff and flares to confuse modern infrared missiles like the AIM-9 Sidewinder, which have sophisticated tracking systems far superior to early heat-seeking weapons.