History Main / HighSpeedMissileDodge

* In a {{Deadpool}} comic, Deadpool is driving a pickup when Bullseye shoots at him with a rocket launcher. Deadpool does a 90-degree brake turn, opens the windows, and watches the missile sail harmlessly through the cabin. Even Bullseye, who usually gets ''very'' upset if he misses, is impressed.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dodgemissile_986.jpg]]]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': Gru does this when Vector launches a MacrossMissileMassacre at him. The missiles redirect and blow up Vector's house. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome And then he]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny punches a shark]].

* In the 2008 ''Film/IronMan1'' film, during the saving of Golmera, the titular character narrowly avoids a missile fired from a tank by sidestepping it in the nick of time. In a CrowningMomentOfAwesome, Iron Man fires a smaller missile back at it, and [[UnflinchingWalk walks away as it explodes behind him]].

* The Master Chief in ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'' does this when when testing the new MJOLNIR Mark V armor, by slapping the missile aside just before it hit him. No, his armor and physical augmentations don't give him reflexes ''that'' ridiculous: his AI Cortana handled the timing. He wasn't completely undamaged by the missile's explosion, though.

*** It's commonly thought (and was originally reported on this wiki) that the pilot mainly avoided the missiles using his ECM and countermeasures. However, [[http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Documents/2016/January%202016/0116packageq.pdf this article in the Air Force Magazine]] recounts that when Tulia returned to base, he discovered his countermeasures ''failed to deploy.'' He got through that storm of missiles ''through sheer piloting skill'' '''''alone.''''' What's more, Tulia did not have enough fuel at that point to gain airspeed to dodge the missiles properly and still return to base--he had to dodge those missiles using only "military power," that is, the maximum possible thrust from the engines without using afterburners.

-->-- '''Mike Kopack''', [[http://www.lucky-devils.net/afm.html Gulf Mission]]

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uh4yMAx2UA This video]] from Operation Desert Storm demonstrates RealLife High Speed Missile Dodging at work--sort of. Twelve American F-16 fighters were on a bombing mission north of Baghdad, but ran into a MacrossMissileMassacre of surface-to-air missiles ([=SAMs=]). The pilot in this video, Major Emmett "E.T." Tulia, winds up dodging ''six'' [=SAMs=]. Two of his fellow pilots, however, were shot down. A written account of this incident [[http://www.lucky-devils.net/afm.html can be found here]], in the section labeled Day Three.

* Pilots performing "Suppression of Enemy Air Defense" duties get to know this tactic very well. In the US Air Force it's termed "{{Wild Weasel}}," but no matter what it's called it's a deadly game of flashlight tag--just with radar and missiles as the flashlights. SEAD crews ''must'' know how to dodge missiles to maximize their chances of survival.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uh4yMAx2UA This video]] from Operation Desert Storm demonstrates RealLife High Speed Missile Dodging at work--sort of. Twelve American F-16 fighters were on a bombing mission north of Baghdad, but ran into a MacrossMissileMassacre of surface-to-air missiles ([=SAMs=]). The pilot in this video winds up dodging ''six'' [=SAMs=] through skillful piloting and effective use of his ECM pod and countermeasures. Two of his fellow pilots, however, were shot down. A written account of this incident [[http://www.lucky-devils.net/afm.html can be found here]], in the section labeled Day Three.

* ''AceOnline'' has the Idle Sniper I-Gear, the fighter type Gear that can outrun most missiles from levels as low as 40-50. I-Gear top speed= 500 (before lvl 86), most missile top speed=450. Enter Episode 3 and the [[OhCrap introduction of Speed Card missile upgrades]]. Now most I-Gear pilots rely not only on pure high speed, but also a healthy dose of WronskiFeint and barrel rolls. Any I-Gear that manages to hit 94 however, will still be able to outrun most missiles except highly customized ones.

** The patch worn by the Wild Weasel aircrews showed a terrified weasel, with their slogan printed [[FunWithAcronyms in acronym form]]: YGBSM: '''Y'''ou've '''G'''otta '''B'''e '''S'''hittin' '''M'''e!, the [[OhCrap reaction]] most crews had when [[GenreSavvy informed of their new mission]]. In fact, the phrase was first coined by a former B-52 electronic warfare officer when he was told that he would be the GuyInBack to a [[TheAce self-absorbed fighter pilot]] while purposely exposing themselves to enemy SAM sites in order to destroy them.

** In the VF-21's initial test run in ''Anime/MacrossPlus'', a truly enormous swarm of self-guided decoy missiles is shot at it to display its maneuvering capabilities. Since the YF-21 is controlled via neural link, Guld merely has to plot the missiles' individual trajectories and ''think'' his way through the gaps in a massively complex vector. Ironically, when he [[spoiler: shoots an impenetrable wall of real missiles at Isamu, the latter merely shuts off his engines, drops some countermeasures for the missiles to hit, and glides peacefully above the ensuing inferno.]]
*** They even comment on the proximity fuses of the missiles and wonder why they have not detonated as the YF-21 is dodging them. It seems the YF-21 is traveling too fast for the triggers to engage.

* Similarly to the World of Warships example of above, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII ships -up to battleship-sized ones- were able to dodge torpedoes launched either by submarines or planes. However against [[MarcrossMissileMassacre many of them in pincer attacks]] even [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Repulse_(1916)#Force_Z skillfull handling]] was not enough.

* Contrary to what some battleship players may protest, it is entirely possible to dodge torpedoes in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarships.'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPoWpYwuNg Here]] is just one (actually fairly mild) example with eight torpedoes. There's footage of players dodging entire ''torpedo curtains'' from higher-tier Japanese ships.

* It is not exactly an aircraft missile, but the Red Shell from the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series is a HomingProjectile that can be very hard to avoid. In MarioKartWii the homing shell must be blocked with another item, as it is next to impossible to dodge due to how the shell mechanics work. In earlier installments like ''[[MarioKartDoubleDash Double Dash]]'', however, it can be dodged by doing a mini-turbo boost at the right moment. The shells will chase you down, then "hover" for a second behind your kart, and then speed up to ram into you. Just as it does so, it breaks the homing effect, meaning that ending your power slide drift (with the added drift boost) is enough to make the shell pass behind you at an angle instead of striking the vehicle.

* Used in combination with a RocketPunch in ''MetalWolfChaos''.

* ''AceCombat'' players must master this before taking on the higher difficulty levels. Particularly fun when outnumbered five or ten to one. The enemy ''will'' do it too. It's not clear why the missiles act so oddly, as they can take out a tank with one "shack on the target" but need two to blow through a plane, at least in ''Shattered Skies''. [[LikeRealityUnlessNoted Strangereal is weird]].

* VideoGame/VectorThrust makes heavy use of this trope by nature of being a SpiritualSuccessor to ''AceCombat'', but future updates may phase this out with upgrades to missile seekers that make them more perceptible to increased engine heat (such as when you're trying to speed away).

*** Israeli tank crews facing the Malyutka ATGM in the Yom Kippur War quickly discovered that one of the best ways of dealing with them was to target the now-extremely-obvious missile launch site [[MoreDakka with everything they had]]; the operator of the missile, only a few feet away from the launcher, would be almost completely unable to accurately guide the missile with so much fire coming his wayy.

* There's also a couple of examples from more recent ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games, such as ''DirgeOfCerberus'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''.

** And because heaven only knows [[SarcasmMode history can't repeat itself]] some USAF authorities are trying to remove the guns on aircraft AGAIN. To make things better the F-35, which in many versions lacks a gun, only carries a single pair of missiles in most configurations.

* The Master Chief in ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'' does this when when testing the new MJNOLNR Mark V armor, by slapping the missile aside just before it hit him. No, his armor and physical augmentations don't give him reflexes ''that'' ridiculous: his AI Cortana handled the timing. He wasn't completely undamaged by the missile's explosion, though.

* The Master Chief of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' did this in ''[[Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach Fall of Reach]]'' when testing the new Mark V Mjolnir armor, by slapping the missile aside just before it hit him. No, his armor and physical augmentations don't give him reflexes ''that'' ridiculous: Cortana handled the timing.
** Though this doesn't mean he was completely undamaged by the missile's explosion.
** He was also set up to be killed by Colonel Ackerson, who never approved of the SPARTAN-II project.

* In ''[[VideoGame/ASPAirStrikePatrol A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol]]'' (AKA ''DesertFighter''), both ground and air-launched missiles can be avoided by the player through some fancy maneuvers. Valuable because not only do your missiles, bombs, and countermeasures [[UniversalAmmunition count as the same universal ammo reserve]], but using countermeasures affects your supplies rating just like expended munitions.

* It is not exactly an aircraft missile, but the Red Shell from the ''MarioKart'' series is a HomingProjectile that can be very hard to avoid. In MarioKartWii the homing shell must be blocked with another item, as it is next to impossible to dodge due to how the shell mechanics work. In earlier installments like ''[[MarioKartDoubleDash Double Dash]]'', however, it can be dodged by doing a mini-turbo boost at the right moment. The shells will chase you down, then "hover" for a second behind your kart, and then speed up to ram into you. Just as it does so, it breaks the homing effect, meaning that ending your power slide drift (with the added drift boost) is enough to make the shell pass behind you at an angle instead of striking the vehicle.

* Space maps in ''VideoGame/{{Battlefront}} 2'' essentially require anyone flying a fighter, interceptor, or bomber to do this or you ''will'' blow up.

* Attempted in ''Film/BehindEnemyLines''. [[SubvertedTrope It doesn't work.]]