The late colonel john boyd united states air force began his career as a supremely proficient fighter pilot in the korean war after which he went on to develop the concept of energy maneuvering that has been the basis for fighter tactics and designs for 30 years he proceeded militantly to advocate simpler fighter designs and attracted a group of like minded civilian and uniformed reformers known as the acolytes who were mostly as unorthodox as he after his retirement he developed . John boyd was the top gun us fighter pilot in the era between korea and vietnam when his air force flying days were over after returning from georgia tech with an engineering graduate degree he moved to the pentagon designing some of the best fighter aircraft ever flown and laid the ground work for the a series ground support aircraft later trying to out guess soviet capabilities in dogfights he invented the ooda observation orientation decision action lo. John richard boyd was a united states air force fighter pilot and pentagon consultant in the second half of the 20th century his theories have been highly influential in military sports business and litigation strategies and planning boyd inspired the lightweight fighter program that produced the successful general dynamics f 16 fighting falcon and mcdonnell douglas f a 18 hornet which are still in use by the united states and several other military powers into the 21st century. John boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of american military history some remember him as the greatest us fighter pilot ever the man who in simulated air to air combat