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LASTE BOMBING GUIDE

by Capt Neal J. Culiner January 1996
81st Fighter Squadron 2nd Edition

T
he addition of LASTE and CCIP weapons delivery greatly error is the only correction you add to base altitude, altimeter lag
improves the A/OA-10 system. We need to fully un- and installation error are added to track and release altitude for
derstand the system to maximize our effectiveness, ac- diving deliveries. For 10,000' MSL and 250 knots, installation er-
curacy, and safety. CCIP is a great asset for improving weap- ror equates to 70 feet, at 2,000' MSL the error is 55 feet. Due to
ons delivery, but with this addition comes many new tech- LASTE HUD altitude corrections, the normal weapons delivery
niques for employment. The intent of this paper is to provide modes of the HUD are not suitable for instrument cross-check or
guidance for using the many weapons delivery techniques deconfliction. When in NAV mode or Air-to-Air mode, the HUD
available, it in no way replaces the guidance and instruction will match the cockpit altimeter.
received in academics and flying training. If you have any There are some limitations to understand with the HUD.
questions about what is discussed in this paper, take your Complications occur more frequently with high mil depression
notes and/or VTR tape to your weapons officer and seek an deliveries and/or with high crosswinds. The HUD is capable of
answer. Some of the topics can be confusing; diagrams are displaying a no-crosswind solution down to 310 mils. Anytime
provided to help aid in understanding the concepts discussed. the pipper is outside the HUD Field-of-View (FOV) you will get a
Practice and film review will lead to a more solid understand- dashed Projected Bomb Impact Line (PBIL). The HUD projection is
ing and result in better cross-checks and more accurate weap- round not square, this creates a problem with high crosswinds at
ons delivery. This paper will start first with LASTE systems high mil depressions. Due to the projection being round you will
knowledge. I will then discuss suggested habit patterns, display the highest crosswind at the maximum width of a circle -
switchology, and delivery techniques. For further study, go - the center. Therefore, you will be able to display a solid PBIL with
to your FCIF library and pull out T.O. 1A-10A-34-1-1, in the the most crosswind in the center of your HUD at 140 mils depres-
front you will find a supplement, 1S-33, a thin addition ex- sion. Refer to figure 1 below.
plaining in great detail, yet easy to comprehend, informa-
tion on LASTE, switchology, abort cues, fuzing, etc.

The HUD: Before we get deep into the delivery techniques it is

important to understand the cues provided for you in the LASTE
Heads Up Display (HUD). The HUD in WD-1, WD-2, and Ex-
panded mode are corrected for altimeter lag, installation error, non-
standard temperature and pressure. All degraded options also show
the same. When HARS is selected the HUD reverts to HARS alti-
tude and no longer has atmospheric corrections, or corrections for
altimeter lag and installation error (you will need to add these
numbers to your parameters to employ accurately). Installation Figure 1. HUD FOV
 The HUD will display a solid PBIL within a 170 mil utes minimum and set all your switches such as altitude
radius of the 140 mil HUD center, therefore, you can display source, PAC and LASTE information for your first weapons
a solid PBIL down to 310 mils. If you get a dashed PBIL you delivery event for each munition. Set your desired and mini-
might get a Valid Solution Indicator (VSI) "X" on your De- mum time of falls, check the offset adjust menu for bore-
sired Release Cue (DRC) or your Min. Range Staple (MRS). If sight information to ensure it matches the aircraft tracking
you get a VSI on either your DRC and/or MRS, it means you book. Make sure TP is next to the 30mm menu (unless you
will not get a solid PBIL prior to the cue with the VSI. Here are employing other than TP, of course) and set both display
are two possible situations you may see, refer to figure 2. modes to Y; this will cause LASTE to display exact param-
eter information immediately after your weapon is employed
and will assure your TVV does not obscure your gun cross
at any time. Check your thumb wheels to make sure they
are set correctly (if not, have weapons come to your jet to
correct the problem). Set the altitude source briefed for the
first event, and PAC to on unless otherwise briefed. Getting
switches set early will avoid any switch errors later.
Lastly for ground ops, when at an altimeter check
point, ensure your elevation readout on your HUD altim-
eter reads exactly as the checkpoint states. Be sure to set the
ATC assigned altimeter setting after the DELTA update is ac-
complished for proper instrument flying. Once you are in
DELTA mode and in WD-1, WD-2, or Expanded mode, your
Figure 2. VSI Situations
Kollsman window has no effect on the HUD altitude read-
Situation 1: If you display a VSI on your DRC but not your out. If you do not have an altimeter checkpoint, set the Touch
MRS you will not have a solid PBIL prior to reaching your DRC but Down Zone Elevation (TDZE) into your cockpit altimeter
you will get a solid PBIL prior to your MRS, push down slightly to when holding in position for run-up. Steerpoint elevation
move your DRC below the target and continue the pass. has no effect on the takeoff DELTA update, however, you
Situation 2: If you display a VSI on both your DRC and MRS must have an accurate steerpoint elevation for subsequent
you will not get a solid PBIL prior to reaching your DRC or MRS, DELTA updates.
you will need to compress if you were fortunate enough to desig-
nate, or abort the pass. RADAR, BARO, OR DELTA? Your weapons officer will be
You might have a dashed PBIL due to high crosswinds at able to point you in a direction for more in depth discussion
high mil depressions as the chart in figure 3 shows (using MK-82 on altitude sources and what to use. For the current system,
AIRs as an example). This chart is based on a 4.5 mil/knot cross- LASTE v4.0, there are two techniques for accurate weapons
wind correction. Look at your delivery and find the mil setting, at delivery considering altitude sources. RADAR mode is the
that mil setting follow across the chart and determine the maxi- preferred mode when over flat terrain where you are sure
mum crosswind component you can display a solid PBIL (CCIP the terrain elevation below your aircraft at pickle is the same
within the HUD FOV). For example, for a delivery requiring 285 as the target elevation. Any rolling hills may cause signifi-
mils you can only get a solid PBIL out to 20 knots of crosswind. cant weapons delivery errors. If unsure of terrain elevation
This should be a consideration in your attack planning to avoid or flatness use DELTA mode. DELTA provides the most accu-
high crosswind components. As you know, expanded mode is a fix rate method of weapons delivery in rolling terrain and alti-
for high mil depressions, fortunately expanded mode compresses tudes above 5000 feet AGL. It is best to take a DELTA update
in both X and Y axis enabling you also to handle high crosswinds. closest to your release altitude and as close to the target as
possible. When in RADAR mode, the HUD altimeter (v4.0)
Figure 3. HUD FOV Limits displays a BARO altitude, when evaluating film or while em-
ploying weapons, keep the radar altitude display in your
310 crosscheck to ensure proper release altitude. If relying solely
300 on the BARO HUD altimeter in RADAR mode you can dud
DASHED PBIL the bomb or even worse, frag yourself. Be aware of this po-
290
tential situation and use extreme caution. When dropping
Mil Depression

degraded deliveries such as OPT-C, you can cause signifi-

280

270 cant errors by using RADAR mode which displays a BARO

SOLID PBIL
260 HUD altitude. For best results, use DELTA in degraded deliv-
250 eries.
240
ABORT CUES, WHAT TO USE? It is of utmost importance
230
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 to have a good understanding of what the DRC and MRS
XW (Knots) mean and when you can rely on these cues for abort consid-
erations. This is really pretty simple, what you need to pay
attention to is the abort reason. For General Purpose (GP)
Ground Ops: This is where it all begins, proper setup on the bombs the MRS is the cue to be used for abort, not abort
ground and procedures to ensure the INS and LASTE sys- altitude. The MRS represents the highest of the three rea-
tems are running at their prime. Align your INS for 16 min- sons for abort: Ground clearance, Fuzing, or Frag.
 The complication comes into play in LASTE v4.0 with AOD: Aim-Off Distance is a fundamental of weapons deliv-
CBU. The only time you can rely on the MRS for abort with ery. When on a conventional range where there are AOD
CBU is when the abort is for fuzing. With CBU there is only markers this technique can be easy and straight forward.
an input for desired time of fall. LASTE automatically calcu- Using just an AOD is not sufficient to complete a pass. AOD
lates the MRS for dispenser opening plus submunition arm- is defined as the ground distance between the projected in-
ing, therefore, the MRS can only be used when abort criteria tersection of the planned aircraft flight path and the target
is for fuzing. When the abort reason is for ground clearance (see figure 4 for the bomb triangle relationship). As you know,
or frag you must rely on the proper abort altitude, remem- the TVV "lags" the turn indicating the instantaneous veloc-
ber the considerations discussed in the previous paragraph. ity vector of the aircraft, so instead of fighting the TVV set
If you desire to train using abort altitude versus the the Gun Bore Line (GBL) at the appropriate distance long
MRS (with BDU-33's), make it clear in your brief to avoid and upwind of the target.The TVV will fall near the GBL
confusion. With GP bombs the MRS can be calculated to en- whereas using the CCIP gun cross can present problems.
sure you recover above small arms altitudes and not for the Using the CCIP gun cross can present the most significant
three abort criteria mentioned earlier. There are techniques
for using your cues, for example, employing a 45 HADB
you can set your DRC to the small arms abort setting (45
HADB MRS) and then your MRS for the low altitude abort
(45 DB MRS applying to frag, fuzing, or ground clearance).
When you get to your DRC you know employing below this
will result in your aircraft descending into a small arms and
automatic weapons regime. Your MRS is indicating an abort
for the highest of the three abort criteria stated earlier. An-
other technique that may be used with cluster munitions is
to calculate and input a desired time of fall that relates to an
abort criteria of frag or ground clearance since your MRS is
only calculating for fuzing. These two previous examples
are "techniques." It is extremely critical if you use your DRC
and MRS for other than the standard applications that you
know what you are using the cues for and what your abort
criteria is -- consult your weapons officer.
With ripple deliveries, always enter single bomb time Figure 4. Bomb Triangle - AOD
of falls. LASTE receives information from the Armament Con-
trol Panel (ACP) and knows when a ripple delivery is set. problems at lower angle high AOD deliveries. There is po-
LASTE v4.0 and beyond automatically adjusts the DRC and tential to get a valid CCIP gun cross solution with high mil
MRS. settings which would be no where near where you should
be setting an AOD. AOD must be wind corrected similar to
Summary: GP bombs (all) - MRS
Release Aimpoint (RAP) and Release Aimpoint Extended
CBU (abort for fuze) - MRS
(RAPE). Setting the AOD the appropriate amount into the
CBU (abort gnd/frag)- Abort Altitude
wind corrects it to become an Aim-Off Point (AOP). An easy
WARNING way to correct your AOD into the wind is to bring in your
Improperly setting TOF information pitch ladders to help you decide when to roll out. The PBIL
and/or target elevation can result in a will fall to the center of the pitch ladders, therefore, using
dangerous situation. Always confirm the pitch ladders to bracket the target at roll out will aid in
data is correct. transitioning to the PBIL. You have set your GBL the appro-
priate distance long of the target, now you have adjusted
DELIVERY TECHNIQUES
that distance right or left correcting for winds by centering
There are many techniques available for employing a the target between the pitch ladders, repositioning your TVV
CCIP delivery -- all of which require practice and a lot of to the AOD. If you are ahead of the game, intend to roll out
film review. Each technique has its application and some de- placing your GBL the appropriate amount into the wind,
liveries benefit from one technique whereas other techniques this will make the transition to pitch ladders easier. Realize
apply to other deliveries. I will try to be specific in pointing the AOD needs to be corrected not just right or left due to
out such situations. Realize that all the following apply not wind, but needs correcting into the wind, so the distance
just to computed deliveries but manual deliveries as well, will change as well. Just as calculating the RAP and RAPE,
only when bringing in cues such as the DRC does the tech- the same formulas may be used to find your AOP. Realize
nique only apply to computed deliveries. I will bring in seg- that you usually only set an AOP at track altitude, there-
ments of the "bombing triangle" to help visualize the con- fore, RAPE is the only formula that applies. To find your
cept, some grasp the triangle early, some need explaining, AOP at release, the formula for RAP is included.
seek out your weapons officer if still confused. Techniques
to be discussed are: Aim-Off Distance (AOD), Initial Pipper
Placement (IPP), Initial HUD Placement (IHP), Initial Aim-
off Angle (IAA), Initial Target Placement (ITP), and finally,
DRC.
Example: Bomb TOF = 5 seconds, Track = 3 seconds
Wind = 040/15
RAPE = [1.69 x (Bomb TOF + Track time)] x Wind
[1.69 x (5 + 3)] x 15
= 203 feet upwind (at track)
RAP = [1.69 x (Bomb TOF)] x Wind
= 127 feet upwind (at release)
A common error in setting an AOP is burying the nose on
roll in so that the GBL is short of target at roll out and then pulled Figure 6. Mil References - Degraded HUD Modes
long to the appropriate AOP. This almost always guarantees arriv- IHP: Initial HUD Placement is the angle between the Zero Sight
ing on a low wire. To solve this problem, just prior to roll in con- Line (ZSL) and the target, in mils. IHP is a technique commonly
centrate on the AOP, look at it, not the target. You tend to fly the misunderstood yet can be simple. IHP uses the same principal as
aircraft to where you are looking, this is why pilots often roll out setting an IPP except a different reference is used other than the
with their GBL right on the target, that is where their attention is. pipper itself. IHP is accomplished by setting a known mil reference
in the HUD (e.g. altitude caret representing 140 mils).
IHP is set at track altitude and is only good at that one alti-
tude, just as in IPP. A common error is setting the IHP too late
instead of anticipating the track altitude and setting it precisely at
that altitude. Setting the IPP or IHP early is just as bad. Refer to
figure 7 for the bomb triangle relationship showing IHP. Note that
IHP is accomplished by placing the target at a known position on
the HUD whereas IPP is placing the pipper short of the target a
desired number of mils. Refer to figure 8 for mil relationships in
the HUD.

Figure 5. Bomb Triangle - IPP

IPP: Initial Pipper Placement is a concept that is well understood in
the A/OA-10 and will not be discussed in great detail. Refer to
Chapter 5 of MCM 3-3 or USAF Weapons School text Manual
Weapons Delivery. I will take the opportunity under IPP to discuss
two methods of pipper placement, Mil offset and Linear offset.
Refer to figure 5 for the bomb triangle relationship to IPP.
Mil offset is a technique of setting an IPP by adding or sub-
tracting mils for headwind or tailwind and then offsetting the pip-
per left or right the number of mils necessary for the crosswind.
The nice thing about this technique is that the mil offset remains
the same at track and release since a mil subtends a greater dis-
tance at greater slant range. For example, you have 3 mils/knot
Figure 7. Bombing Triangle - IHP
crosswind correction and you have 10 knots of crosswind. This
means at track altitude you set your pipper 30 mils right or left of
the target, which also will be your release aimpoint. The downfall
to this technique is that it is only good for one run in heading, once
you change attack axis, you must recompute both your headwind
and crosswind corrections.
Linear offset is a technique where you offset your pipper into
the wind by the amount calculated in the RAPE and RAP formulas
-- setting the RAPE at track altitude and the RAP at release altitude.
You are offsetting your pipper a set number of feet into the wind,
therefore, this technique is good for any run in axis, always offset-
ting your pipper into the wind a pre-determined distance. Refer to
Figure 6 for mil relationships in degraded HUD modes. In sum-
mary, Mil offset uses HUD references and Linear offset uses ground
references.

Figure 8. Mil References - LASTE HUD

 Figure 9. IPP versus IHP

To make sure we are following the concepts correctly,

refer to figure 9 for a snapshot of IPP on the left and an IHP
being set on the right.
IHP can be derived from the total mil setting and the
value for IPP. Total Mils = IHP + IPP, therefore, IHP = To- Figure 10. Bomb Triangle - IAA
tal Mils - IPP. In this example, Total Mils = 190, IPP = 50,
therefore, IHP = 140 as shown with the target being posi- Now that you have recognized wire errors referencing
tioned abeam the altitude/airspeed caret located at 140 ITP, it is time to use IAA to correct towards the wire. Take
mils.With a good understanding of the previous two deliv- note of how many degrees the target is off the ITP reference
ery techniques, lets move on to a little more complicated, (20 degrees in this example) at track altitude. In the example
yet useful technique, also which can be applied to degraded of the high wire, the target is two degrees steeper than the
mode deliveries. 20 degree ITP. For a perfect "on the wire", you would set
your IAA 5 degrees above the target -- setting the TVV on
IAA: Initial Aim-off Angle is the angle between the AOP and the planned dive angle of 15 degrees. With the high wire
the target at track altitude. IAA is setting the TVV a planned showing the target two degrees steeper than the planned 20
number of degrees above the target at a specific altitude -- degree pitch ladder, set the TVV two degrees steeper than
track altitude. For example, on a 15 degree LAHD the IAA is the planned dive angle. In the case of the high wire, set the
5 degrees. At track altitude, crosscheck to see that your TVV
is 5 degrees above the target. When on "the wire" your TVV
will be at your planned dive angle of 15 degrees. Often you
are not on the planned wire, you need a method of deter-
mining whether or not you are on the wire and how much
correction is necessary. A technique for determining this wire
error is called ITP. Using ITP in conjunction with IAA makes
for a good combination to recognize wire errors and then
apply a correction. Refer to figure 10 for the bomb triangle
relationship to IAA and figure 11 for a HUD representation
of IAA (some HUD symbology left out for simplicity).
Figure 11. IAA/ITP examples (15 LAHD, IAA=5, ITP=20)
ITP: Initial Target Placement is the position of the target
relative to a pitch ladder at track altitude. This reference can TVV at 17degrees (two degrees steeper than the planned 15
give instant feedback as to where you are on the wire. Refer degrees) for a 5 degree IAA, and a correction towards the
to figure 11 for an example of a high wire, on the wire, and wire. Take a look at the low wire example. The target is two
a low wire representation referencing an ITP. Take a look degrees shallow of the ITP, set the TVV two degrees shallow
first at the high wire representation. At track altitude, the of the planned dive angle and you will set an IAA, and a
20 degree pitch ladder should be overlaying the target to be correction towards the wire (13 degrees in this example).
on the wire. In this situation the 20 degree pitch ladder is Working with ITP and IAA takes practice. You need to
above the target, indicating you are above the wire -- a high stay ahead of the aircraft, cross-checking your pitch ladders
wire (think of your aircraft being the 20 degree pitch lad- as you are executing the roll in, do not wait until track alti-
der). In the example of the low wire, at track altitude you tude to analyze the information, it will be too late. By ana-
see the 20 degree pitch ladder is below the target, therefore, lyzing the pitch ladders as they track through the roll in
you are on a low wire. And finally, the center HUD depiction you can make adjustments to the wire early. You can recog-
shows you at track altitude with the 20 degree pitch ladder nize where your 20 degree pitch ladder will arrive relative to
on the target, you are on the wire. If your inflight guide the target well before rolling out on final. Change your roll
does not give you both IAA and ITP here is a way to deter- in as necessary to make your ITP arrive where you want it.
mine the missing information. At higher dive angles, 30 degrees and above, it requires sig-
IAA = ITP - planned dive angle nificant pitch changes to get little change in pitch ladder line-
ITP = planned dive angle + IAA. of-sight (LOS) across the ground. At lower angle deliveries
you can get a higher LOS from your pitch ladders relative to techniques to help you roll out on the perfect wire apply,
the target enabling you to more effectively place your de- now you can set a cue, the DRC, and continuously update
sired pitch ladder , ITP, where you want it. your wire throughout the pass since it is continuously com-
ITP/IAA is a technique that comes in handy when you puting and making minor changes for airspeed, AOA, G load-
lose other references such as AOD references or when your ing, etc.
AOD is so long that it becomes impossible to set. ITP/IAA Use the DRC by executing a normal roll in, use one of
takes a lot of practice and a solid crosscheck, take the time the techniques previously mentioned (AOD, IHP, ITP/IAA) to
to practice it, you might like it. allow roll out with the DRC arriving near the target. Set the
All of the previously mentioned techniques require wind DRC on the target and maintain it on the target throughout
correction just as IPP does. To correct IAA for winds, there the pass until pickle. A technique is to set the DRC 3-5 mils
are 17.45 mils/degree, therefore, for each 17 mils of wind above the target with LASTE v4.0 due to the DRC tracking
correction, add or subtract a degree. For example, a 1.7 mil/ down slightly through the delivery. The DRC is continuously
knot correction factor for headwind/tailwind, 10 knots of computing, maintaining the DRC on the target is the "right
headwind, add one degree to IAA (17 mils). A technique for answer". Do not let the DRC tracking down catch you by
where to check the wind is to take twice your dive angle in surprise, you might find yourself in a battle with the MRS
hundreds and add that number to release altitude. For ex- shortly and maybe even aborting the pass.
ample, a 20 degree delivery would be 400 feet above release
altitude. This is due to the A/OA-10 taking two seconds to Conclusion
"accept" winds, this technique provides an altitude approxi-
mately two seconds above release altitude. This paper has given you guidance on how to use the
One last technique that may be used for CCIP weapons various bombing techniques available, with or without
delivery, and by far the easiest to use -- the DRC. LASTE. It is extremely important to practice each technique,
analyze film, and talk to others to make sure everyone has
DRC: The Desired Release Cue is designed to indicate a time the concepts well understood. Weapons delivery does not
of fall by which to employ your weapons. Setting a DRC stop with the topics mentioned in this paper. Think about
ensures you will meet parameters sufficient to avoid frag, establishing solid crosschecks, proper safe escape maneuvers,
dudding a bomb, or hitting the ground by employing prior and how to make that next bomb better than the last so
to the MRS (remember considerations with CBU). The other when it comes time to do it for real, it only takes one pass!