Is the Dicta Boelcke relevant to jet-era fighter pilots?

It is still discussed in flight school.

1. Advantages. That is why each generation of fighter plane is better than the previous. Faster, higher flying, quicker turning, better missiles, etc.

2. Attack. Hit and run attacks worked really well for the North Koreans. They would dive and attack and then run to China. Since our rules of engagement was that we could not go into China, it gave them an advantage and a clear example of not staying around if the attack was not successful. If your plane is faster or can go higher than the enemy, you also have a "safe zone" where you can attack and if you fail, you can either run or climb to prevent a counter attack. I think this idea is a good way to get yourself killed. Disengaging from the enemy is always an option so I think this "rule" is not really all that good.

3. Range. Now the idea is to hit the enemy from as far away as you can so he never even knows you were there. Missiles can do that but of course, the enemy has to be in your sights to get your system to lock onto him. Getting close these days is just letting an enemy will lesser capable missiles get a shot at you. If your missiles can take him down at 100 miles and his can only do 50 miles, it would be nuts to get in close before firing.

4. Eye on the enemy. Sometimes you can not even see the enemy but can still shoot him down. I think this could be rephrased as "always know where the enemy is".

5. Attack from behind. Well duh. Since many missiles are heat seeking, it is better to let them lock onto his engine rather than his nose. Also that is currently the best position to be in to prevent him from shooting back at you. (Copters on the other hand are very dangerous to jet fighter planes. You only get one shot at them before they rotate around and put a missile up your rear. That is why those two USAF planes shot down the US Army copters years ago, the fighter jocks just did not want to get close to the copters. You have to deal with copters differently.)

6. If the enemy dives, fly up to meet him? That is stupid. When he dives he gains a great advantage in speed and if you climb to meet him, you lose speed. Also that tends to put you head to head with the other plane, which kind of goes opposite of the attack from the rear rule previously mentioned.

7. Retreat. Read comment about China above. Yes, you should know which way to fly if you get into trouble. But again, this rule kind of is opposite of that carry thru the attack idea above.

8. Group attacks. Not hardly. Now that we have planes like the F22 that can engage a bunch of enemy planes all at once, flying them in groups would be nuts. Too many assets in a small area, making it easier to get them all. (Example, fire a heat seeking missile at a group and it is more likely the missile will get one of them, it makes it harder for the pilot to get away as he has to worry about hitting other planes, and if one does get hit, the exploding plane could damage the other planes as well. PLUS any stealth advantage you might have would be reduced if you were flying a group of planes close together.

I think the best comment I ever heard came from Chuck Yeager. He who spots the enemy plane first usually wins. It gives you the advantage of setting up the fight, getting off the first round, often before the other guy even knows you are there.