Weapons Delivery

Purpose and learning objectives

The Navy's weapons training instruction says that every procedure before the dive has one purpose, to get you to the roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. point, and that what you do between roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. and release decides how accurate the delivery is. [1, p. 29] This module follows that order: the kinds of attack, the geometry of the dive, the numbers you plan, and how to fly them and correct them.

By the end you should be able to: say when a laydownLaydown GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which weapons are dropped from an aircraft in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid their fragmentation pattern., dive, loftLoft GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the weapon is released by computer with the aircraft nose-up, so it is thrown at the target in a ballistic trajectory; it lets the attacker stay farther from the detonation and the target's defenses… or pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… attack is used; draw the bombing triangle and name its angles; read a delivery table and a Z diagram; say whether a release that is steep, shallow, fast, slow, high or low hits long or short, and by about how much; explain what CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. computes and what a fixed depressed sightDepressed sight line GlossaryWeapons: A head-up display air-to-ground mode with a non-computing aiming reticle, set below the line of flight by a chosen number of mils, for a manual weapons delivery. Also called an iron sight. does not; fly an offset pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… through its steps; and explain why the minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other… is never broken.

This is a reference, not a syllabus or a tactic. Worked numbers are the T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. training jet's practice patterns with practice bombs, from a 2003 revision of its training instruction; combat aircraft, weapons and tactics use their own tables and their service's tactical manuals, which govern. Laser- and coordinate-guided weapons, such as the GBU-12GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb OrdnanceThe 500 lb laser-guided bomb that was the F-111F's tank buster in Desert Storm and is now one of the most used guided weapons. laser-guided bomb and the JDAMJoint Direct Attack Munition OrdnanceThe GPS/INS tail kit that made ordinary bombs accurate in any weather, and its laser-seeker version for moving targets., belong to precision targeting, and helicopter gunnery to rotary-wing attack; the Ordnance encyclopedia lists the guided weapons.

Types of delivery

The Navy's operational navigation instruction names four types of attack: [2, pp. 5–6]

• LaydownLaydown GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which weapons are dropped from an aircraft in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid their fragmentation pattern.: weapons dropped in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid the fragmentation pattern.
• Dive: the classic delivery, with the aircraft established in a dive of a planned angle down a run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track. and the weapon released at a planned altitude and airspeed. The T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. practice patterns use 10°, 20° and 30° dives. [1, pp. 21–23]
• LoftLoft GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the weapon is released by computer with the aircraft nose-up, so it is thrown at the target in a ballistic trajectory; it lets the attacker stay farther from the detonation and the target's defenses…: the weapon is released by computer with the aircraft nose-up, so it is thrown at the target in a ballistic trajectory, which keeps the attacker farther from the detonation and from the target's defenses.
• Pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with…: a low-level run at the target, pulling up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… a heading change of 30–60° with a hard climb places the attacker at a roll-in position like a practice pattern's, and the vertical and lateral displacement complicates a defender's firing solution.

The choice follows the threat and the target. The same instruction says that steep dives need more altitude and so more time climbing from low level, that high altitude avoids small-arms fire and AAA while low altitude avoids SAMs, and that dive angles of 10, 20 or 30° are picked by distance to the target, the threat and the airspace. [2, pp. 5, 32] Toss (loftLoft GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the weapon is released by computer with the aircraft nose-up, so it is thrown at the target in a ballistic trajectory; it lets the attacker stay farther from the detonation and the target's defenses…) bombing lets an aircraft attack without overflying a heavily defended target and keeps it away from the weapon's blast; the US Air Force called its version the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS), whose over-the-shoulder variant releases the bomb past the vertical so it is tossed back toward the target. [5]

The bombing triangle and the sight

A bomb released in a dive starts with the aircraft's velocity, and gravity immediately pulls it down from the aircraft's flight path in an arc. The geometry is the bombing triangle: its base is the down-range travel from release to impact, its vertical side is the release altitude, and its hypotenuse is the bomb's trajectory dropTrajectory drop GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's line of flight at release and the line to the weapon's impact. The longer the time of fall, the larger it is.. [1, p. 31] The angles the pilot works with are: [1, pp. 29–31]

• Dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground.: between the flight path and the ground.
• Angle of attack of the armament datum lineArmament datum line GlossaryWeapons: A fixed longitudinal reference line on the aircraft, used to set the sight. In the T-45 it is parallel to the flight path at the 450-knot release airspeed; at other speeds the angle between them, the angle of attack of…: between the flight path and a fixed reference line on the aircraft. In the T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. it shrinks toward zero as the jet accelerates to the 450-knot release airspeed. It is not the angle the AOAAOA GlossaryJoint terms: Angle of attack. The angle at which relative wind meets an airfoil. It is the angle that is formed by the chord of the airfoil and the direction of the relative wind or between the chord line and the flight path. indicator reads.
• Trajectory dropTrajectory drop GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's line of flight at release and the line to the weapon's impact. The longer the time of fall, the larger it is.: the angle from the flight path down to the impact point. The longer the time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight., the longer gravity acts and the larger the drop.
• Sight depression angleSight depression angle GlossaryWeapons: How far the line of sight through the pipper is set below the armament datum line, in mils; also called the sight angle or mil setting. It equals the bomb's trajectory drop plus the angle of attack of the ADL, plus a few…: how far the line of sight through the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. is set below the armament datum lineArmament datum line GlossaryWeapons: A fixed longitudinal reference line on the aircraft, used to set the sight. In the T-45 it is parallel to the flight path at the 450-knot release airspeed; at other speeds the angle between them, the angle of attack of…. It equals the angle of attack plus the trajectory dropTrajectory drop GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's line of flight at release and the line to the weapon's impact. The longer the time of fall, the larger it is. (plus a couple of mils of parallax), so a pilot who releases at the planned altitude, airspeed and dive angle with the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. on the target hits the target. [1, p. 41]

Sight angles are measured in milsMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils., 1/6,400 of a circle. A milMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. subtends about one unit at a thousand units, 1 ft at 1,000 ft, and there are roughly 17 milsMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. in a degree. [1, p. 29] Slant rangeSlant range GlossaryNavigation: The straight-line distance from the aircraft to a station, including height, which is what DME measures, rather than horizontal distance.Weapons: The straight-line distance from the aircraft to the target, or from the release point to the impact point. is the straight-line distance from the release point to the impact point, and down-range travel is the same distance over the ground. [1, p. 30]

Bombing tables and the Z diagram

Bombing tables turn a planned delivery into a sight setting. The T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets.'s flight manual contains delivery charts for its practice bombs and rockets, from which the pilot finds the sight setting and release attitude for each pattern; target elevation is added to the release altitude to get the release altitude above mean sea level. [1, p. 3] To hit, the pilot decides on a release altitude and airspeed and reads the sight setting for that attack from the table. [1, p. 31] The table also gives the weapon's time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight., which sets the offset aimpointOffset aimpoint GlossaryWeapons: An aimpoint moved from the centre of the target, directly into the wind, to allow for the wind at release altitude. Its distance in feet is 1.7 × time of fall in seconds × wind in knots.: the wind drifts the bomb after release, so you aim directly into the wind by 1.7 × time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight. (s) × wind (kt) ft. With a 12-knot north wind and a 7-second fall, that is about 140 ft north of the target. [1, pp. 3–4] Release airspeed is a true airspeed. [1, p. 4]

The numbers for each pattern go on a Z diagram on the briefing board or kneeboard card: pattern altitude, airspeed and power, dive angle, checkpoint altitude, initial pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. placement, milMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. setting, release altitude, release airspeed, radar altimeter setting and minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other…. [1, p. 31] The T-45's three practice patterns: [1, pp. 21–23, 36]

The 20° pattern substitutes for the 30° when the ceiling is too low; the 10° pattern simulates high-drag or forward-firing ordnance deliveries. [1, pp. 22–23] Practice bombs are filled to simulate general-purpose bomb ballistics: the T-45's Mk 76Mk 76 and BDU-33 practice bombs OrdnanceThe 25 lb blue practice bombs that let Navy and Air Force crews practise bombing and see each hit by its smoke or flash. simulates a Mk 82Mark 82 general-purpose bomb OrdnanceThe 500 lb low-drag bomb that is one of the most common air-dropped weapons in the world, with conical, Snakeye or ballute tails. 500 lb bomb. [1, p. 5]

Roll-in, tracking and recovery

The attack coneAttack cone GlossaryWeapons: For a given dive angle, the pattern of all the possible flight paths to a target, forming a cone above it. A practice pattern uses a fixed run-in line, but in combat the attacker intercepts the cone from the most…. For a given dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground., all the flight paths to a target form a cone above it. A practice pattern uses a fixed run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track., but in combat you intercept the cone from the most advantageous direction. [1, p. 20] In the T-45 pattern the abeam position, on the cone with the target abeam, is about 2 NM from it, and you stay on the cone from abeam to roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. by keeping the target at 3 or 9 o'clock, much like flying a TACANTACAN GlossaryAirfield and ATC: Tactical air navigation. An ultra-high frequency electronic rho-theta air navigation aid which provides suitably equipped aircraft a continuous indication of bearing and distance to the TACAN station. arc. [1, pp. 24–25]

Roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path.. Approaching the run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track., set release power and start a 15–17 unitUnits GlossaryFlight: How the T-45 and other Navy trainers display angle of attack, a type-specific scale rather than degrees of chord-line angle. The T-45 reaches its maximum lift coefficient at 21 units, in heavy buffet. pull toward the target, about 30° of heading before the run-in heading. Roll to put the lift vector slightly below the target and pull the nose down to align with the run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track.; up to 10° off it is accepted. Because of the pendulum effectPendulum effect GlossaryWeapons: Because the sight line is depressed below the line of flight, with a wing down the pipper moves opposite to the bank, swinging like a pendulum below the aircraft. A bomb released in a bank with the pipper on the target…, the roll-out starts while the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. is still short of the run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track.. Roll wings level and set the target at the initial sight setting. [1, p. 25]

Tracking. In straight-path tracking, put the target at the initial sight setting (65 milsMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. below it for 30° bombs, 70 for 20° and 55 for 10°), note the dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground. and hold it, and let the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. track straight up to the aimpoint, arriving just as you reach release altitude. If the dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground. is more than 5° off plan, abort and move the roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. point. Make left and right corrections early with quick wing dips, not by tracking in a bank. [1, pp. 36–37] Holding the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. on a point with forward stick (curvilinear tracking) steepens the dive and drives g toward zero, so a release then hits long or hangs; the training command does not practice it alone, but it may start a run before straight-path tracking from 1.5 times the release altitude. [1, pp. 37–38]

Release and recovery. PicklePickle GlossaryWeapons: The weapons release button, or, as a verb, to release a weapon, usually a bomb. no lower than the minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other…, wings level, in about 1 g. Pause about half a second for the weapon to clear, then pull smoothly to 4 g over 2–3 seconds, wings level. [1, p. 25] In the T-45 the breakaway crossBreakaway cross GlossaryWeapons: A cross on the head-up display showing that an immediate 4 g pull-up is needed for a safe ground clearance of 1,000 ft; it is shown only in dives steeper than 15°. appears when a normal 4 g recovery after a normal reaction time would bottom out with 1,000 ft or less of ground clearance; it is not shown in dives shallower than 15°, and it is a warning, not a cue to pull. [1, pp. 11, 49] Target fixationTarget fixation GlossaryWeapons: Looking only at the target and ignoring the flight instruments and the ground. Pilots have flown into the ground this way. has flown pilots through the minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other…, the breakaway crossBreakaway cross GlossaryWeapons: A cross on the head-up display showing that an immediate 4 g pull-up is needed for a safe ground clearance of 1,000 ft; it is shown only in dives steeper than 15°. and the radar altimeter warning into the ground. [1, p. 50]

In the training pattern, "in hot" means you intend to release and the master arm is on, "in cold" that you do not, and "WinchesterWINCHESTER GlossaryBrevity: No ordnance remaining." that all ordnance is expended. [1, pp. 26, 68]

Release parameters and errors

Every delivery is planned for one dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground., airspeed, release altitude and g, wings level and in balance. Change any of them and the hit moves: [1, pp. 32–34]

• Release altitude. High gives a longer time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight. and a longer distance, so the bomb hits short; low hits long.
• Airspeed. Fast lowers the angle of attack, bringing the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. short of the impact point, so the hit is long; slow hits short. Airspeed also changes the time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight..
• Dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground.. Steep hits long, shallow short: the steeper the dive, the less gravity bends the trajectory below the line of flight, so the planned milMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. setting is too large.
• G. The milMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. setting is valid only at the g that holds a straight path: about 0.87 g in a 30° dive, almost 1 g at 10°, 0.5 g at 60°. Too much g gives an early sight picture and a short hit, and shallows the dive; too little hits long and steepens it.
• Bank. The pendulum effectPendulum effect GlossaryWeapons: Because the sight line is depressed below the line of flight, with a wing down the pipper moves opposite to the bank, swinging like a pendulum below the aircraft. A bomb released in a bank with the pipper on the target… swings the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. opposite to the bank: released in a right bank with the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. on, the hit is right and short.
• Yaw. Out of balance, the aircraft is not moving where the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. looks: ball out to the right, hit to the right.
• Wind. Corrected by bank in the pattern, by the roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. point and initial aimpoint during tracking, and by the offset aimpointOffset aimpoint GlossaryWeapons: An aimpoint moved from the centre of the target, directly into the wind, to allow for the wind at release altitude. Its distance in feet is 1.7 × time of fall in seconds × wind in knots. for the drift after release.

The training instruction tells students to memorize these error sensitivities. Each column of a row moves the hit by the same amount: [1, p. 39]

So in a 30° run, 1° steep or 10 kt fast is 50 ft long, and 100 ft high is 50 ft short. Errors can add, 1° shallow and 10 kt slow being 100 ft short, or cancel, 1° shallow and 10 kt fast needing no correction. [1, pp. 39, 42] Rockets are less sensitive to release altitude: 20 ft per 100 ft at 20° and 30°. [1, p. 39] Above all, where the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. is at release is probably the single most important factor: with everything else right and no wind, the bomb hits where the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. was. [1, p. 41]

Correcting in the dive

In training you can abort a bad run; in combat you normally get one chance, so you learn to correct. [1, p. 39] The T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. instruction's corrections for a 30° bomb run: [1, pp. 40–42]

• Steep: hold the dive and release high, 200 ft high for 2° steep.
• Shallow: add power, about 4% rpm for 2° shallow, to reach 470 kt and release at the planned altitude.
• 20 kt fast: release 200 ft high, or at the planned altitude with the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. 100 ft short. 20 kt slow: let the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. drift 100 ft past.
• Early sight pictureEarly sight picture GlossaryWeapons: The pipper reaches the final aimpoint before the aircraft reaches release altitude. Released then, the bomb usually hits short. (the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. reaches the aimpoint above release altitude): hold the dive and release halfway between that altitude and release altitude, at 3,200 ft for a sight picture at 3,400 ft. If it happens every run, you are rolling in too close.
• Late sight pictureLate sight picture GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft reaches release altitude before the pipper reaches the final aimpoint. Pressing on to put the pipper on usually gives a long hit, and it eats into the safety margin.: cannot be corrected at release. If the pipperPipper GlossaryWeapons: The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle. is more than 150 ft short at release altitude, abort; if less, let it track halfway, under a second, and release. Seen early, add power; do not pull the nose up, which only makes you shallow.
• Deflection: with bombs there is no last-moment fix; rudder does not move the bomb and a bank gives a false sight picture. Correct early, wings level at release. Forward-firing weapons can be corrected with rudder: for the gun, 1.25 times the error.

Never release below the minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other… to correct anything. It is a safety margin, and it also protects the weapon: a fuze with an arming delay needs a set time of fallTime of fall GlossaryWeapons: The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight. to arm, so a low release may drop an unarmed bomb, and with live ordnance there is a fragmentation pattern to avoid. [1, pp. 30, 40, 50]

Computed and manual sights

Everything above is a manual delivery: a depressed sight lineDepressed sight line GlossaryWeapons: A head-up display air-to-ground mode with a non-computing aiming reticle, set below the line of flight by a chosen number of mils, for a manual weapons delivery. Also called an iron sight., an "iron sight" set a fixed number of milsMil GlossaryWeapons: An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils. below the line of flight, that is right only when the pilot arrives at the planned parameters. [1, pp. 67–69] A computed sight removes most of that work.

CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. (continuously computed impact point) compensates for dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground., airspeed, altitude and target wind and shows on the HUDHUD GlossaryJoint terms: Head-up display. A special type of flight viewing screen that allows the pilot to watch the flight instruments and other data while looking through the windshield of the aircraft for other traffic, the approach lights… where the weapon would hit if released now. For bombs the T-45 also draws an aiming line above the marker for azimuth steering: put the line over the target, let the marker move up to it and picklePickle GlossaryWeapons: The weapons release button, or, as a verb, to release a weapon, usually a bomb.. CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. is not magic: it depends on the data entered and a smooth tracking run, releasing near the normal parameters still improves accuracy, and the forecast winds entered may not be the real ones. [1, p. 11] Large stick inputs in the final seconds still spoil hits. [1, p. 46] Because it is hard to fly a consistent dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground. and release altitude in a pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… on a target of opportunity, the operational navigation instruction calls CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. the more accurate mode there; on low-level routes the T-45 also flies a simulated level laydownLaydown GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which weapons are dropped from an aircraft in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid their fragmentation pattern. by dragging the CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. cross over the target. [2, pp. 31, 37]

Computed release (CCRP). The other computed idea lets the system choose the moment of release. The DCS F-14 manual describes the Tomcat's computer target mode as "similar to a CCRP mode in newer aircraft" and its computer pilot mode as similar to CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment.. In computer target, the pilot steers to put the target on the bomb fall line on the HUDHUD GlossaryJoint terms: Head-up display. A special type of flight viewing screen that allows the pilot to watch the flight instruments and other data while looking through the windshield of the aircraft for other traffic, the approach lights… and designates it; the designation is then held on the ground, the pilot flies the velocity vector along the fall line, holds the release button down, and the weapons system releases the bombs when its solution cue reaches the velocity vector. [6] No military source read for this revision describes a computed release, so this paragraph rests on that sim manual.

The offset pop-up attack

Sometimes a pilot arcs around the attack coneAttack cone GlossaryWeapons: For a given dive angle, the pattern of all the possible flight paths to a target, forming a cone above it. A practice pattern uses a fixed run-in line, but in combat the attacker intercepts the cone from the most… before rolling in, but most times you intercept the cone from an ingress heading and pass briefly through it. The T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. syllabus first practises this in the pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… pattern, ingressing at low altitude and popping up to the cone. [1, p. 45] The pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… is offset to one side so you can keep the target in sight while climbing [1, p. 45]; the operational navigation instruction's angle-off pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… turns 30–60° at the preplanned point, which also complicates a defender's firing solution. [2, p. 6]

Ingress and the IP. On a T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. low-level, the lead calls "fenced in" at the initial point (IP) for the planned target, or at 10 miles, whichever comes first: air-to-ground mode with bombs and CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment. selected, master arm on, and a g and fuel check. [2, p. 37] In the pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… pattern the run-in starts with a level turn inbound at full power (MRT) to cross the run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track. with the target about 4 NM off the nose, ingressing level at 700–1,000 ft above the ground; the master arm stays safe until the nose is pointed at the target. [1, p. 45]

The pop, step by step (T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… pattern): [1, pp. 45–46]

1. Pull-up point. At about 2.5 NM the target is about 5° down in the HUDHUD GlossaryJoint terms: Head-up display. A special type of flight viewing screen that allows the pilot to watch the flight instruments and other data while looking through the windshield of the aircraft for other traffic, the approach lights…. Still at MRT, roll 30° of bank away from the pattern and pull to 30° nose up at 17 unitsUnits GlossaryFlight: How the T-45 and other Navy trainers display angle of attack, a type-specific scale rather than degrees of chord-line angle. The T-45 reaches its maximum lift coefficient at 21 units, in heavy buffet., about 30° of heading change.
2. Climb. At 30° nose up, roll wings level in the climb and quickly reacquire the target.
3. Roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path.. Passing 2,000 ft above the ground, roll to put the lift vector on the target and pull down into a 10° dive. Only a few seconds pass between wings level in the climb and the pull-down.
4. Track and release. Roll out in a standard 10° dive over the run-in lineRun-in line GlossaryWeapons: The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track. and track as in the low pattern, with CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment..
5. Egress. Recover straight ahead to 1,000 ft above the ground and call off.

A section pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with…. On two-plane road reconnaissance the older operational navigation instruction flies the same attack as a sectionSection GlossaryJoint terms: As applied to ships or naval aircraft, a tactical subdivision of a division.: the lead pops at four miles, when the target is 10–12° below the HUDHUD GlossaryJoint terms: Head-up display. A special type of flight viewing screen that allows the pilot to watch the flight instruments and other data while looking through the windshield of the aircraft for other traffic, the approach lights… waterline, climbs at full power with about 30° of bank to 30° nose up, then wings level with the target at 10 or 2 o'clock. The roll-inRoll-in GlossaryWeapons: The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path. comes on reaching the 30° attack coneAttack cone GlossaryWeapons: For a given dive angle, the pattern of all the possible flight paths to a target, forming a cone above it. A practice pattern uses a fixed run-in line, but in combat the attacker intercepts the cone from the most…, about two miles from the target: overbank to put the lift vector on the target, pull down at 17 unitsUnits GlossaryFlight: How the T-45 and other Navy trainers display angle of attack, a type-specific scale rather than degrees of chord-line angle. The T-45 reaches its maximum lift coefficient at 21 units, in heavy buffet., and stop with the waterline or velocity vector 4–5° above the target. [3, pp. 33–35] An early pop reaches apex altitude before the cone, so you level off and drive in to meet it; a late pop meets the cone below the planned apex and leaves less tracking time. The apex must never exceed the top of the route structure. [3, p. 33] The two jets are deconflicted by altitude: [3, pp. 33, 36]

The lead rolls in first and calls "in low"; the wingman waits for that call, rolls in high and calls "visual" when the lead is back in sight. A wingman with no sight of the lead or the target, or a dive steeper than 35°, goes to high cover instead. With only 1,000 ft to recover from the 30° dive, the recovery is a smooth but aggressive 4–5 g wings-level pull. [3, pp. 34–36, 38]

Low and high drag, fuzes and fragmentation

A low-drag general-purpose bomb (LDGPLDGP GlossaryWeapons: Low-drag, general-purpose bomb. The bomb used in most bombing operations, with an aerodynamically shaped, relatively light case of which about 45 percent of the weight is explosive. It may take nose and tail fuzes and a…), such as the Mk 82Mark 82 general-purpose bomb OrdnanceThe 500 lb low-drag bomb that is one of the most common air-dropped weapons in the world, with conical, Snakeye or ballute tails., falls with its streamlined shape; fitted with a retarding fin such as the Snakeye, the same bomb can open the fin to fall in a high-drag configuration, used in low-level bombing, and with an in-flight selected mode the pilot chooses which. [4, pp. 1-17, 1-24, 1-33] LaydownLaydown GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which weapons are dropped from an aircraft in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid their fragmentation pattern. attacks use such high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid the weapon's fragmentation pattern. [2, p. 5] A fuzeFuze GlossaryWeapons: A device that causes the detonation of an explosive charge at the proper time after certain conditions are met. A bomb fuze is mechanical or electrical, and is classed by what sets it off (impact, mechanical time… needs an arming timeArming time GlossaryWeapons: The time, or the vane revolutions, a fuze needs after a bomb is released before its firing train is aligned and the bomb is fully armed. Also known as safe separation time (SST). after release before the bomb is armed [4, p. 1-1], and the minimum release altitudeMinimum release altitude GlossaryWeapons: The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other… in the fleet is set by the fragmentation pattern, the time of fall the fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other factors. [1, p. 30] The bombs and rockets themselves, with their fuzes and fins, are in the ordnance encyclopedia.

In the sim

In DCS, the F-14's computer pilot mode is its CCIPCCIP GlossaryWeapons: Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment., computer target its computed release, and manual mode a depressed sightDepressed sight line GlossaryWeapons: A head-up display air-to-ground mode with a non-computing aiming reticle, set below the line of flight by a chosen number of mils, for a manual weapons delivery. Also called an iron sight. set from engagement tables for speed, dive angleDive angle GlossaryWeapons: The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground. and release altitude. [6] Its computer initial point mode is a computed release from a preset IP: designate a landmark you can see, with the target's range, bearing and height from it entered, and the system steers to the real target. [6] Beware the word "offset" in the F-4E: there it is a blind-bombing mode in which the crew flies over or radar-locks a known IP and the system releases on north–south and east–west offsets to the target, not the offset pop-upPop-up GlossaryWeapons: An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with… of this module. [7]

Terms

Dive angle

The angle between the aircraft's flight path and the ground.

Armament datum line

A fixed longitudinal reference line on the aircraft, used to set the sight. In the T-45 it is parallel to the flight path at the 450-knot release airspeed; at other speeds the angle between them, the angle of attack of the ADL, is not the angle of attack the AOA indicator reads.

Trajectory drop

The angle between the aircraft's line of flight at release and the line to the weapon's impact. The longer the time of fall, the larger it is.

Sight depression angle

How far the line of sight through the pipper is set below the armament datum line, in mils; also called the sight angle or mil setting. It equals the bomb's trajectory drop plus the angle of attack of the ADL, plus a few mils of parallax.

Mil

An angle of 1/6,400 of a circle, about 0.056°, so there are roughly 17 mils in a degree. A mil subtends about 1 ft at 1,000 ft, measured at right angles to the line of sight. Sight settings are given in mils.

Pipper

The sighting dot in the centre of the aiming reticle.

Time of fall

The time a weapon spends in the air from release to impact, during which gravity bends its path below the aircraft's line of flight. Also called time of flight.

Slant range

The straight-line distance from the aircraft to the target, or from the release point to the impact point.

Minimum release altitude

The lowest altitude at which a weapon may be released, also called Z-min or R-min. In the fleet it depends on the weapon's fragmentation pattern, the time of fall its fuze needs to arm, enemy weapons envelopes and other factors; in training it gives a terrain-clearance safety margin.

Offset aimpoint

An aimpoint moved from the centre of the target, directly into the wind, to allow for the wind at release altitude. Its distance in feet is 1.7 × time of fall in seconds × wind in knots.

Attack cone

For a given dive angle, the pattern of all the possible flight paths to a target, forming a cone above it. A practice pattern uses a fixed run-in line, but in combat the attacker intercepts the cone from the most advantageous direction.

Run-in line

The aircraft's ground track, or planned ground track, in a dive; on a practice range, an established run-in track.

Roll-in

The maneuver from level flight into a dive at a sharp angle to the original flight path.

Pendulum effect

Because the sight line is depressed below the line of flight, with a wing down the pipper moves opposite to the bank, swinging like a pendulum below the aircraft. A bomb released in a bank with the pipper on the target misses.

Early sight picture

The pipper reaches the final aimpoint before the aircraft reaches release altitude. Released then, the bomb usually hits short.

Late sight picture

The aircraft reaches release altitude before the pipper reaches the final aimpoint. Pressing on to put the pipper on usually gives a long hit, and it eats into the safety margin.

Breakaway cross

A cross on the head-up display showing that an immediate 4 g pull-up is needed for a safe ground clearance of 1,000 ft; it is shown only in dives steeper than 15°.

Target fixation

Looking only at the target and ignoring the flight instruments and the ground. Pilots have flown into the ground this way.

CCIP

Continuously computed impact point. A head-up display air-to-ground mode whose aiming reticle shows where the weapon would hit if released at that moment.

Depressed sight line

A head-up display air-to-ground mode with a non-computing aiming reticle, set below the line of flight by a chosen number of mils, for a manual weapons delivery. Also called an iron sight.

Laydown

An attack in which weapons are dropped from an aircraft in level flight, the release point usually set by the weapons system. The weapons use high-drag devices so the attacker can avoid their fragmentation pattern.

Loft

An attack in which the weapon is released by computer with the aircraft nose-up, so it is thrown at the target in a ballistic trajectory; it lets the attacker stay farther from the detonation and the target's defenses. Also called toss bombing.

Pop-up

An attack in which the attacker runs in at low level and pulls up hard at a preplanned point to make a dive delivery. In a roll-ahead pop-up the heading stays the same; in an angle-off pop-up a 30–60° heading change with the climb puts the attacker at a roll-in position like a practice pattern's, displaced vertically and laterally.

Pickle

The weapons release button, or, as a verb, to release a weapon, usually a bomb.

Check your understanding

Sources and applicability

Military sources

[1] Chief of Naval Air Training, CNATRA P-1219, Flight Training Instruction, Weapons, T-45, (4-03) Original. Read on the Integrated Publishing mirror, navyflightmanuals.tpub.com/P-1219/, 27 October 2026, by printed page: preparation (p. 3); CCIP (p. 11); roll-in, release and recovery (p. 25); factors affecting trajectory (p. 32); error sensitivities (p. 39); pop-up attacks (p. 45). Also cited: pp. 4–5, 20–24, 26, 29–31, 33–38, 40–42, 46, 49–50 and the glossary, pp. 67–71. A training-aircraft instruction from 2003; current revisions may differ.

[2] Chief of Naval Air Training, CNATRA P-1208, Flight Training Instruction, Operational Navigation, T-45, (4-03) Original. Read on the same mirror, 27 October 2026: types of attack (pp. 5–6); road reconnaissance attacks (p. 32). Also cited: pp. 31 and 37.

[3] Chief of Naval Air Training, CNATRA P-1217, Operational Navigation Flight Training Instruction, Two-Plane Road Reconnaissance, (7-99) Original. Read on the same mirror, 27 October 2026: the pop-up attack (p. 33); the roll-in (p. 34). Also cited: pp. 35, 36 and 38.

[4] US Navy, Aviation Ordnanceman, NAVEDTRA 14313. Read on navyaviation.tpub.com/14313/, 26 October 2026: chapter 1, pp. 1-1 (fuzes), 1-17 (general-purpose bombs), 1-24 and 1-33 (retarding fins).

Secondary and sim sources

[5] Wikipedia, "Toss bombing". Read the article, 27 October 2026. Secondary source, cited for loft purpose and the Air Force's LABS name and over-the-shoulder delivery.

[6] Heatblur Simulations, DCS: F-14 Tomcat manual. Read the manual, 27 October 2026: air-to-ground attack modes (computer target, computer initial point, computer pilot, manual). A sim manual, cited for sim crossover and for the CCRP comparison.

[7] Heatblur Simulations, DCS: F-4E Phantom II manual, "Offset Delivery". Read the page, 27 October 2026. A sim manual, cited for sim crossover.

Page-specific excerpts are recorded in the repository review evidence: weapons delivery evidence.

Figures 1 and 2 are original drawings, not reproductions of any publication's figures.

Applicability: written for military pilots of every service who fly fixed-wing attack. The principles are the same in any aircraft, but every number here is a T-45T-45 Goshawk AircraftThe carrier-capable Hawk derivative in which Navy and Marine Corps strike pilots learn jets. training number with practice bombs from Navy training publications [1–3] of 1999–2003; your aircraft's tactical manual, its delivery tables and your unit's rules govern. Air Force weapons-delivery instructions could not be read for this revision, so no Air Force-specific rules are included. This revision is Drafted pending independent source-backed review.