Paveway II Delivery Profiles: Loft/Toss Bombing - Parameters (8/25)
After the level and dive bombing profiles, this articles makes an in-depth study of the loft and toss delivery profiles for Paveway II.
Now that we've studied the two most common Paveway II bombing profiles (level and dive), it's time to go deeper in the less usual, but still powerful, low level loft/toss bombing profile.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: in the current DCS version (2.9.16.10973), GBU-16 ballistic behavior appears to be incorrect. While all profiles described in this article function as expected with the GBU-12 and GBU-10, the GBU-16 consistently impacts long without ever seeing the LASER spot, regardless of proper release parameters. This issue has been known and acknowledged for several years, but as of June 2025, remains unresolved. As a consequence,avoid using toss or loft profiles with the GBU-16 in DCS until an official correction is published. Use GBU-12 or GBU-10 instead for reliable results...
1 - Definitions:
In order to make it totally clear, a short definition of toss and loft bombing might be necessary. UK JSP 403 Volume 3 (Joint Service publication, 2008) tells us that:
Loft Bombing is the release of a bomb at a constant of climb.
Toss Bombing is the release of a ballistic bomb during a constant G pitching manoeuvre.
Description of a generic loft bombing profile (non-guided)
As for rockets or air-to-air missiles lofting, the main advantage of these techniques is a better range for the weapon, and therefore a change to stay further from terminal defense around target area. If without drag, the optimal launch angle to maximize downrange is 45°, the answer is not that simple with drag, especially when the target altitude is higher than the release altitude. Let's say that in most cases, the optimal launch angle will be lower than 45°, and the higher the launch speed, the lower the optimal angle.
Optimal launch angle: p = k.V0², with V0 the initial release speed and k a constant depending on factors influencing the drag (like drag coefficient, apparent surface or air density). Without drag, k = 0 and the optimal angle is 45°.
2 - Profile Description
2.1 - Vertical profile
Toss Bombing: The aircraft approaches the target at low altitude and high speed. Upon reaching the calculated pull-up point, the pilot initiates a continuous G-force pull-up maneuver. The bomb is released during this maneuver, either automatically via the Continuously Computed Release Point (CCRP) system or manually at a predetermined attitude. Manual release is generally discouraged due to the resulting unprecision that might be greater than the weapon's ability to correct for errors during the guided phase.
Loft Bombing: Similar to toss bombing, the aircraft approaches at low altitude and high speed. At the designated pull-up point, the pilot begins a G-force pull-up. Upon reaching the desired climb angle θ, the aircraft stabilizes in a constant climb, lower to 1G (actual G load will be cos(θ).g0). Bomb release occurs during this steady climb, either automatically via CCRP or manually at a predetermined altitude (same remark as above: manual release is not recommended).
Vertical profile of a PWY II loft or toss bombing.
Post-Release Considerations
Self-Lasing: After bomb release, keep climbing to a pre-calculated lasing altitude that ensures continuous line-of-sight to the target throughout the bomb's flight. This altitude must take into account terrain and obstacles to maintain target visibility. In high-threat environments, a gradual descent (not exceeding a -5° angle) may be employed to reduce exposure while maintaining target acquisition.
Buddy-Lasing: Following bomb release, you can execute a maximum performance climb to the egress altitude, typically maintaining low-level flight to minimize exposure to enemy defenses.
2.2 - Horizontal profile:
Pre-Release: the aircraft refines its trajectory to align with the desired Final Attack Heading (FAH) at least 30 seconds before reaching the pull-up point. Once established, you maintain wings-level flight towards the target, following as precisely as possible the steering cues provided by the weapon system if applicable.
Post-Release: there are two main options for the egress trajectory.
Direct Egress: Immediately after bomb release, the pilot executes a rapid 20° turn away from the FAH, followed by a steady 20° to 30° angle of bank (AoB) turn to stay away from the target area. Upon reaching approximately a 35 to 40° offset, you must put your wings levels in order to avoid entering into the masks. After impact, you can make a maximum performance turn to the chosen egress point.
Loop-Maneuver: The pilot performs a maximum performance 270° turn away from the FAH. Once established, the aircraft maintains wings-level flight or a slight 20° to 30° bank angle (masks management). After bomb impact, again, you can make a maximum performance turn to the egress point.
Note: the "loop-manoeuver" is a geometric solution to the particular issue of masks management in DCS World that I designed for the purpose of this article. I don't have any evidence that any Air Force actually used a similar egress profile in real-world conditions.
Given the relatively long weapon's time of flight, the aircraft typically has about 20 seconds post-release to maneuver freely. During this period, terrain masking is not a concern, provided you re-establish line-of-sight to the target in time to lase during the final 8 seconds before impact. If you're back on target earlier, it’s good practice to begin continuous lasing as soon as conditions allow, even before that ideal 8-second threshold.
Once established in a steady turn during the lasing phase, it’s essential to manage your airspeed. Aim to hold around 450kt IAS. Higher speeds may cause you to re-enter the masking geometry too soon, potentially before impact, leading to guidance failure or a complete miss.
Horizontal profile of the loop manoeuver and the direct egress manoeuver.
3 - Flight parameters
In order to refine the actual pull-up distance and release altitude parameters, it's recommended to systematically use a dedicated tool, like the Bombing Trajectory Planner.
PWY II ballistic is close to the unguided bomb version, and Mk-8x bodies can be chosen as an approximation of the corresponding GBU type (Mk-82 / GBU-12, Mk-83 / GBU-16 and Mk-84 / GBU-10).
Speed Management: During a 25° pull-up maneuver, you must anticipate a speed loss of approximately 50 to 80 knots. To compensate, it's recommended to engage full military power (BUSTER) five seconds before initiating the pull-up. If the bomb release is planned above a 30° climb angle, afterburner (GATE) should be used during the pull-up. Post-release, the aircraft can return to BUSTER for infrared signature management. If the 270° loop maneuver is chosen, it's recommended to keep GATE until the end of the turn.
When using the planning tools, that speed loss must be taken into account. The tool described above doesn't take into account any speed loss and it is therefore optimistic. You can reduce the indicated pull-up distance by around 0.2 Nm to avoid ending up in a situation where you chase the release cue without ever reaching it...
Ballistic profiles for the GBU-12, GBU-16, and GBU-10 are fairly close, resulting in similar pull-up and release parameters. For CCRP deliveries, there is no practical need to generate separate tables for each bomb type, and one unified planning reference is sufficient. However, in the rare case of a manual release (not recommended due to precision issues, but still achievable with sufficient training), each attack must be simulated individually. This simulation should account for the specific bomb body, target elevation, and ambient temperature to ensure an accurate release geometry.
4 - Weapon's flight parameters
4.1 - TOF and impact parameters
The tables attached below will show you that regarding, TOF, impact speed and impact angle:
Both toss and loft profiles show a steady increase in TOF with increasing release angle. However, loft bombing consistently results in slightly longer times of flight for the same release angle—approximately +3 to +4 seconds—due to the higher release altitude.
For the very same reason, loft profiles generate slightly higher impact speeds across the release angle range.
The most notable difference is in terminal angle. Loft profiles produce significantly steeper impact angles at any given release angle, consistently 8–10° higher than toss. It can be a tactical advantage when attacking horizontal targets.
Aircraft and weapon flight parameters for various loft profiles.
Aircraft and weapon flight parameters for various loft profiles.
4.2 - Fuze arming delay
As you can see from the pervious tables, for both toss and loft profiles, a 14-second arming delay is the best compromise. It provides a safe buffer across a wide range of release altitudes and time-of-flight values, long enough to ensure the weapon arms well outside the frag envelope, but not so long as to compromise safety during other types of attack, and dive bombing profiles in particular.
While a 20-second delay would still be valid for most loft and toss profiles, it becomes problematic for dive deliveries, where the weapon may impact before arming completes. On the other hand, a 10-second delay may seem attractive to allow for more flexibility, but it offers minimal margin if the escape maneuver is not aggressive enough. In such cases, the bomb may still be within lethal distance when it becomes live.
Therefore, selecting 14 seconds is a good practical balance. For planning purposes and preparation, this is the recommended default unless a specific scenario justifies otherwise.
5 - Tactical Considerations
5.1 - Profile choice
As described above, angles maximizing stand-off distance are typically achieved around 40°, considering drag factors. However, steep climb angles will result in rapid altitude gain and potential speed loss, which may be tactically disadvantageous. Recommended release angles are 25° to 30° for loft bombing and 30° to 35° for toss bombing.
In loft bombing, the desired release altitude is the key parameter that shapes the entire delivery profile. This altitude is determined based on environmental constraints, such as terrain elevation, weather conditions, or threat, as well as technical considerations like maintaining uninterrupted line-of-sight to the target during the lasing phase, or achieving a specific release angle to control weapon's time of flight and terminal impact geometry. Once the release altitude and angle are defined, they drive the calculation of the pull-up and bomb release distances.
For toss bombing, the starting point is the desired release angle. This angle determines the altitude gain achieved during the pull-up. Once the altitude gain is known, the release altitude can be calculated by adding it to the planned ingress altitude: release altitude = ingress altitude + altitude gain. With the release altitude and angle defined, you can input these values into a ballistic calculator. The resulting pull-up distance and release distance are directly derived from this geometry and form the core parameters of the toss profile.
5.2 - Tactical Balance
Tactical balance of loft/toss bombing profiles.
Advantages:
Weather: toss bombing is feasible even under moderate weather ceilings, as long as the cloud base is above ~5000' AGL. This makes it more flexible than level or dive profiles, which often require flying higher than this altitude.
Surprise: a key strength of toss bombing is its ability to maintain low-level ingress and terrain masking until the last moment, preserving surprise and minimizing exposure to air defenses. A full pass can be shorter than 1 minute, from pull-up to low level egress, leaving a very short reaction time to unaware SAM operators.
Stand-Off: the aircraft can release the weapon several nautical miles from the target, reducing exposure to terminal threats and sometimes even allowing attack from outside the WEZ of point defenses.
Vertical Targets: that profile geometry creates a favorable laser angle for vertical targets (e.g., buildings), improving spot stability and seeker lock reliability.
Limitations:
Late Target Acquisition: exactly as discussed for the low-level pop-up profile, due to terrain masking and low-level ingress, there’s a risk of delayed TGP lock and a self-designation will be of poor quality. For this reason, good coordinates quality is paramount (TLE IV or better) in order to allow for a release without TGP update, and in order to ensure a very quick target ID during the very short pull-up phase or after the reversal.
CCRP Mode: toss bombing depends heavily on CCRP systems for accurate release. Manual release is in general not practical.
Lasing Complexity: self-lasing in a loft/toss profile requires sustained focus on the targeting pod during a phase of flight that is both threat-intensive and close to the ground. This can force the pilot to prioritize aircraft safety over terminal guidance. Operating in a two-seat aircraft, with a WSO dedicated to the lasing task, significantly improves the likelihood of a successful impact. In high-threat environments, however, buddy-lasing remains the preferred method, as it separates the lasing and escape tasks entirely, reducing workload and exposure.
Threat Vulnerability: the aircraft will be exposed to most SAM threats during the pitch-up and initial climb phases, and might need to stay exposed during the whole lasing phase.
LOS Geometry: the attack profile must be carefully planned to guarantee two conditions are met during the lasing phase: first, that no vertical obstacles (terrain or structures) interrupt line-of-sight to the target; and second, that the aircraft does not enter the TGP’s masks before the end of the weapon’s TOF. This is especially important in the direct egress. Excessive bank angle or excessive speed in this phase will accelerate the onset of masking, potentially causing a premature loss of laser guidance and resulting in a miss.
Conclusion
The toss and loft delivery profiles offer unique tactical advantages that make them highly effective in environments requiring standoff, low-level ingress, or vertical-target engagement. While more complex than standard level or dive deliveries, they are also another tool in the hands of a proficient crew. When employed with proper planning, they allow for best survivability in threat-dense environments. But as always, careful geometry study, fuze delay selection, and understanding of the post-release flight path are essential to mission success.
In the next post, I’ll release the kneeboard pages for loft and toss profiles. These include among others computed pull-up distances, release altitudes, time-of-flight charts, and recommended arming delays.
