Paveway II Delivery Profiles - Buddy-Lasing - Medium Altitude - Wedge & Trail (18/x)

In the previous post we studied the Fighting-wing buddy-lasing and used the medium-altitude level delivery as our baseline. If you missed it, review it before you continue.

This part covers the next two buddy-lasing profiles: Wedge and Trail. Just as for the Fighting Wing profile, we will study the geometry between the SHOOTER (the aircraft releasing the Paveway II) and the LASER (the aircraft providing target acquisition and laser designation), the sequence to fly, the practical numbers you must brief, and the tactical trade-offs you will accept.

The following assumptions remain true:

• The SHOOTER will fly the standard level delivery;

• Positive staging will be the primary deconfliction means, even when visual deconfliction remains doable: the LASER will be 500 to 1,000ft above the SHOOTER.

I. Wedge

I.1 - Description

As its name implies, for this profile the LASER will be in a wedge formation with the SHOOTER.

For those who are not very familiar with all formations, here is the definition of the wedge formation as per 16v5 (F-16 Combat Aircraft Fundamentals):

Wedge is defined as the wingman positioned from 30º to 60º aft of the leader's 3/9 line, 4000' to 6,000' back (Figure 3.6). The advantages of wedge are that the leader is well protected in the 6 o'clock area and is free to maneuver aggressively. The wingman may switch sides as required during turns. He may also switch sides as required to avoid terrain, obstacles or weather but must return to the original side unless cleared by the leader. The flight lead may extend the formation spacing to 12,000' to meet particular situations or requirements.

The most significant disadvantage of the wedge is that it provides little to no six o'clock protection for the wingman. Lead changes, if required, are difficult to execute.

In our case, the LASER should be between 2 and 3 Nm away from the SHOOTER, opposite from the egress side, with a positive staging as reminded just above.

At SHOOTER release, LASER makes a 30-40° turn toward the SHOOTER, bringing the TGP's LOS (Line of Sight) into near-parallel with the weapon path for the remainder of TOF (Time of Flight), instead of moving away like during a self-lasing profile.

Description of the Wedge formation.

The wedge’s objective is simple: finish the lasing sequence near the weapon’s line-of-sight so the seeker sees the most favorable LASER spot aspect during fall. In practice that means the LASER sits back enough that, after the SHOOTER releases, a short, predictable motion keeps the LASER close to the shooter’s final attack heading (FAH) at the end of the weapon’s time-of-flight. As a consequence, you easily understand that the longer the TOF, the further the LASER should sit. At 15,000 ft AGL release altitude, 3 NM is a good starting point.

Note that the LASER speed should match the SHOOTER speed ( ≈420–450 kt or ≈M0.89) in order to easily preserve formation geometry, and retain energy for threat react.

I.2 - Tactical Balance

This profile offers great advantages. In particular, when executed properly, the Wedge formation has the best lasing geometry, with the weapon seeker perfectly aligned on LTL during the last few seconds of TOF.

In the mean time, the geometry is very easy to fly, and can be maintained visually, which enhances deconfliction and mutual support.

The only real drawback is that the stand-off is only average: it's better than self-lasing or fighting wing, but as you'll see just after, it's worse than trail. If threat management is a crucial aspect on the attack, it might not be the best solution.

Tactical Balance for the Wedge profile.

Overall, it is a very good profile, that is tactically more interesting that the fighting wing profile, and nearly as easy to fly.

II. Trail

II.1 - Description

Without surprize, the Trail profile takes its name from the fact that the LASER will be in trail behind the SHOOTER. As for the Wedge formation, the ideal distance between the two aircraft will depend on the weapon's TOF, and therefore the altitude of the SHOOTER.

The trail formation, also sometimes called "Line Astern", is when the wingman is behind the lead, in its trail... The issue of wake turbulence is here nullified by the range between the two aircraft, and even more surely, by the positive staging of the LASER aircraft.

The Trail profile has two variations based on the LASER's turn timing post-release: an immediate turn, initiated at the moment of bomb release , and a delayed turn, which commences after flying along the attack axis for an additional 15 to 20 seconds to improve lasing geometry.

Immediate turn: maximum stand-off, less optimal geometry.

Delayed turn: better geometry, but less stand-off.

The ideal distance between the SHOOTER and the LASER is derived from the weapon's time of flight: in case of no escape turn, we want the LASER to be approximately at the SHOOTER's RP (Release Point). A standard technique is to set the time separation between the SHOOTER and the LASER equal to the weapon's TOF. For medium to high-altitude deliveries, this is typically 30 to 40 seconds. This time separation must then be translated into a physical distance, a calculation that requires using the aircraft's True Airspeed (TAS).

5 Nm is an excellent and easy-to-remember baseline for most medium-altitude scenarios.

Note: you might face here some mental calculation issues if you are not familiar with aeronautical speeds and how they translate into practical uses.

First, it's important to have a basic understanding of the differences between IAS, CAS, TAS and GS. While cockpit instruments display Indicated Airspeed (IAS), distance calculations require True Airspeed (TAS). The ability to quickly estimate TAS from IAS is a critical skill.

A reliable rule of thumb is to increase your IAS by roughly 2% for every 1,000 ft of altitude. For faster mental math and more precise approximation, you can use the 6-6-5-4 rule:

• At 0 ft, TAS ≈ IAS;

• At 6,000 ft: TAS is ~10% higher than IAS (+6,000 ft);

• At 12,000 ft: TAS is ~20% higher than IAS (+6,000 ft);

• At 17,000 ft: TAS is ~30% higher than IAS (+5,000 ft);

• At 21,000 ft: TAS is ~40% higher than IAS (+4,000 ft).

Above ~21,000 ft, it is often easier to use Mach number: TAS ≈ 600 x Mach.

Let's apply this to a typical scenario: an aircraft at 15,000 ft flying at 450 kt IAS, with an expected weapon TOF of 30 seconds.

Estimate TAS from IAS: at 15,000 ft, we are between the +20% (12k ft) and +30% (17k ft) marks, placing us at approximately a 25% increase over IAS. TAS≈IAS+(IAS×0.25)≈560kt

Convert TAS to Distance per Minute: an aircraft's speed in knots is its speed in nautical miles per hour. To find nautical miles per minute, simply divide by 60. Distance per Minute = TAS​/60=560/60​≈9.3 Nm/min

Calculate the Trail Distance: with a 30 second (0.5 minute) TOF, the required distance is half of the distance covered in one minute. Trail Distance = 9.3×0.5≈4.6Nm.

The exact calculation would give us 4.56 Nm: close enough!

II.2 - Tactical Balance

As usual, the tacical balance will help you decide which profile is the most adequate.

Tactical blance for the Trail profile.

The decision to use an Immediate or Delayed Turn variant of the Trail profile depends on a direct trade-off between survivability and lasing geometry.

By turning immediately at weapon release, the LASER aircraft maximizes its egress distance from the target area. This makes the Immediate Turn the superior choice in a high-threat environment where survivability is the primary concern.

Delaying the turn improves the lasing geometry by keeping the LASER on the attack axis for longer. The primary strength of the Delayed Turn is its effectiveness in highly restrictive environments, such as when targeting through a break in a cloud layer or into a steep-sided valley. In these situations, an immediate turn would cause the terrain or clouds to instantly obstruct the TGP's line-of-sight. By delaying the turn, the LASER can maintain a clear LOS for the majority of the weapon's TOF, beginning its egress maneuver only in the final few seconds before impact. This makes the Delayed Turn the only viable option for many challenging target presentations.

When the cloud layer is a limiting factor, a Trail profile can be a suitable buddy-lasing solution where the self-lasing and other buddy-lasing profiles are not an option. If the range between the SHOOTER and the LASER is correct, the egress turn can be delayed until weapon's impact. If the range is too close, without escape the LASER might overfly the target, with all the associated risks (threat, podium effect, etc...)

When it comes to the drawbacks, two primary issues must be taken into account. First, the mutual support between the two aircraft is poor, and at 5 Nm it might be impossible for the LASER to keep VISUAL on the SHOOTER. Since the set-up of the trail formation must be anticipated, it will not be uncommon for the two aicraft to be more or less on their own as far as 20 Nm from the target area, where the threat level is at its highest...

However, the most significant limitation is target acquisition. Depending on environmental factors (such as night operations or humidity) and the technical performance of an older-generation Targeting Pod (TGP), it can be difficult to acquire, identify, and precisely designate the target within the necessary timeline. For a smooth buddy-lasing procedure, the CAPTURED call must occur no later than 10 seconds before bomb release. At this point, the SHOOTER is approximately 5 Nm from the target, and the LASER is still 10 Nm away.

Consequently, the LASER must often be able to identify the target from distances of 15 Nm or more. While this is achievable for large targets like a factory or warehouse, it becomes highly impractical for smaller targets, such as a single house in a suburban area. For human-size targets, it becomes simply impossible if PID is mandatory...

Conclusion

As we have seen, the Wedge and Trail profiles offer a clear trade-off: the Wedge prioritizes superior lasing geometry and mutual support, while the Trail maximizes standoff distance for survivability.

The final profile taht we will see next, commonly used in CAS scenarios like those in Afghanistan, is the Circling Profile. This method prioritizes the target acquisition phase over all other considerations, making it suited primarily for low-threat environments where prolonged, stable sensor coverage is the key to mission success.