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The Scissors is an aerial dog fighting maneuver commonly used by military fighter pilots. It is primarily a defensive maneuver, used by an aircraft that is under attack. It consists of a series of short turns towards the attacking aircraft, slowing with each turn, in the hopes of forcing the attacker to overshoot. Performed properly, it can cause the attacking aircraft to move far enough in front to allow the defender to turn the tables and attack. The scissors is a close-maneuvering technique, and as such, is really only useful when defending against guns or low-performance missiles. It was a major technique from World War I to the Korean War, but is much less common today. The introduction of high-angle missiles makes it much less effective, as the attacker can shoot even when the defender is not in front of them. Modern aircraft also make it difficult to use this technique as they maintain energy much better than earlier designs and the maneuvering limits are often the pilot's physical limitations, not the aircraft. In fact, for many years now, fighter pilots flying aircraft with even a reasonable thrust-to-weight ratio and average wing loading are well advised to avoid engaging in a scissors maneuver, since any turning, rolling or slow-speed disadvantage the pilot's aircraft might have with respect to that of his opponent (or pilot skill in energy assessment and management techniques) will quickly become evident in the scissors, and lead to his defeat in short order. Basic fighter maneuvering theory recognizes two different types of scissors maneuvers; the flat scissors and the rolling scissors.