Paveway II Delivery Profiles - Buddy-Lasing - Medium Altitude - Fighting Wing (17/x)

In our previous work on Paveway II employment, the full set of self-lasing delivery profiles were covered: level, dive, pop-up, loft and toss. Before starting this article, it might be useful to review quickly the level bombing profile, that will be the default delivery profile for all the medium and high altitude buddy lasing profiles.

Also, we will assume here that you are familiar with the standard buddy-lasing timeline and phraseology. From that baseline we focus purely on the relative geometry and tactics between two aircraft when the delivery is split between a "SHOOTER" (the aircraft releasing the Paveway II) and a "LASER" (the aircraft providing target acquisition and laser designation).

Note that "SHOOTER" is a brevity word, but "LASER" is not.

Before we go into the individual buddy-lasing profiles, we must establish a short set of assumptions and practical caveats. These are the baseline constraints that make the rest of the discussion meaningful and safe in both real life and in the sim.

I. Introduction

I.1 - Profiles:

The medium/high-altitude buddy-lasing profiles offer a small set of formations.

• Fighting wing: visual formation, simplicity and rapid transition from self-lase to buddy-lase.

• Wedge: mutual-support formation providing improved laser-to-target line (LTL) geometry without excessive separation.

• Trail: two options (immediate-turn and delayed-turn): maximizes LASER stand-off and good LTL geometry.

• Circling: two options as well (omnidirectional and directional): persistent tracking and illumination for moving targets or multiple attack windows.

These are the 6 practical profiles we will compare in the following posts. Each profile trades off stand-off, geometry and complexity in predictable ways.

I.2 - Differences vs Self-Lasing Profile

When you compare the single-ship self-lasing with the two-ship buddy-lasing, 4 important factors can be taken into account.

• Stand-off (for the LASER): during the lasing phase, the LASER aircraft is a sitting duck: the aircraft is flying a gentle and predictable turn, while the pilot’s attention is driven inside the cockpit to guide the bomb. A missile launch, even with RWR, can easily be missed or underestimated during that phase. Every extra nautical mile between the LASER and the target materially increases the LASER’s survivability.

• Target acquisition and tracking: distance between the LASER and the target at weapon release determine how much time LASER will have to identify the target and announce the "CAPTURED" call. Acquisition time is a function of sensor quality (modern TGP vs legacy pods), imaging mode (day/visible vs night/IR), target size/contrast and environmental factors (like smoke, dust, or humidity). Large or high-contrast targets need less cursor time and therefore permit greater LASER stand-off, while small or low-contrast targets (dismounted personnel, camouflaged assets) require to get closer to achieve reliable capture.

• Line-of-Sight (LOS) variation: the TGP's line of sight will vary during the weapon's time of flight. In order to maximize weapon's seeker ability to track the LASER spot, staying close to the SHOOTER's FAH (Final Attack Heading) is optimal. During the 30" to 40" escape maneuver, the LASER's LOS can vary as much as 60°. Keep in mind that shorter LASER–to–target range, longer weapon time-of-flight, or a shallower egress bank all increase LOS variation.

• Coordination: complexity increases sharply with separation and timing requirements. When comms, available workload, or common training are limited, simpler profiles should be favored. More complex geometries can be tactically powerful, but a complicated geometry flown poorly is worse than a simple geometry flown well.

I.3 - Similarities

The following point will remain true for all 6 buddy-lasing profiles.

• Bomb delivery profile: for the SHOOTER, it is recommended to use the standard medium/high-altitude level delivery profile in order to maximize stand-off, but technically any other delivery profile can be considered. However, all other profiles will add additional difficulties in terms of coordination. For exemple, a low level SHOOTER in coordination with a medium/high altitude LASER will make visual acquisition and mutual support virtually impossible.

  That's why the level delivery will be the baseline for comparison: the SHOOTER will fly around 450 kt / M0.89, with a typical weapon release in the 4–5 NM window when releasing between roughly 10,000 and 20,000 ft above the target. The self-lasing escape is normally a 30°–40° continuous turn to avoid target overflight and podium effect. This default trajectory and escape profile are the reference against which all buddy-lasing profiles should be measured.

The level bombing delivery profile will be used to compared buddy-lasing profiles.

• Deconfliction: between the SHOOTER and the LASER.

  The assigned roles for each aircraft, and associated procedures, must be thoroughly planned, well defined during the briefing phase or clearly assigned during the flight if needed.

  When relying on visual deconfliction, the LASER (normally positioned in the SHOOTER’s rear sector) should be the primary visual monitor during the ingress phase so the SHOOTER can focus on flying the release profile precisely. In close formations (like fighting-wing), expect a trade-off: the LASER will have to spend more time outside the cockpit, which reduces the time available for sensor work and target acquisition. Once the weapon is released, the SHOOTER is immediately freed to resume lookout and deconfliction duties while the LASER must remain focused in the cockpit for the weapon’s time-of-flight. Therefore, it is recommended to explicitly swap deconfliction responsibility at the release point (RP).

  However, the easiest way to ensure deconfliction is by following more procedural rules: assigning the LASER aircraft in a position with a clear positive staging of 500 to 1.000' ensures that both SHOOTER and LASER can concentrate on their tasks in the cockpit as often as needed. It doesn't mean that they don't need to look outside, let alone for mutual support considerations, but it means that they place visual acquisition of the other aircraft on a lower priority in their ongoing tasks during the busy attack phase. The LASER will always be placed above the SHOOTER in order to ensure that, whatever the coordination issues that might happen, the weapon's trajectory will never cross the LASER's path.

When using altitude separation as a mean of deconfliction, it is recommended to use autopilot altitude hold mode, if equipped.

Note: altitude deconfliction with the weapon is ensured only for Paveway II bombs, since other weapons like Paveway III or SBU-64 Hammer can have a "bumb up" trajectory and climb above the SHOOTER's altitude after release.

II. Fighting Wing

II.1 - Description

Horizontal view of the fighting-wing buddy-lasing profile. The black dotted line is the self-lasing trajectory used for comparison. Obviously, both the SHOOTER and LASER can egress on either side, depending on the target situation.

The LASER is in fighting wing on either side of the SHOOTER (ideally outside of egress side, in order to be able to keep VISUAL more easily during the egress). The range shall be comprised between 0.5 and 1.0 Nm. Closer, you'd be forced to focus on visual deconfliction, further, you'd struggle to keep a good visual on the SHOOTER, and in particular be able to spot the bomb release visually if needed (eg. radio jamming environment, or unreliable radios in some circumstances, as described in this real life example).

In some circumstances, it might be necessary to get closer than 0.5 Nm. The most notable use case is when the SHOOTER is not able to determine the release point by itself (weapon system failure, or inherent limitation), and needs to rely on the LASER to determine the release point. In that case, roles will be inverted: the LASER will be in a lead position, and the SHOOTER will be in a wingman position, ideally below 0.1 Nm. Weapon release will be ordered by radio or visual means by the LASER when reaching the RP.

This video gives you an example of close formation buddy-lasing in MFFO, or Mixed Fighter Force Operations. You will soon understand buddy-lasing well enough to spot mistakes in this video yourself!

II.2 - Tactical Balance

The fighting-wing profile is best understood as a trade-off between tactical advantage and execution simplicity. Its primary value lies in its role as a straightforward, contingency-ready formation.

As usual now: tactical balance for the fighting-wing profile.

• Simplicity: the profile's main advantage is its ease of execution. Because it closely mirrors a standard self-lasing run, it serves as an excellent contingency. If a mission is planned for self-lasing and the SHOOTER's equipment fails (a DEADEYE call), the formation can transition to buddy-lasing using this profile without complex in-flight re-planning.

"DEADEYE" is a brevity word.

• Geometrical Weakness: this simplicity mentioned above comes at a cost. The profile offers no geometric advantage over self-lasing. This results in two major tactical drawbacks. First, it has the worst stand-off, and the LASER aircraft gains no additional survivability, as it follows the SHOOTER down to the release point. It also has the worst lasing geometry. With minimal separation, the LASER's line-of-sight (LOS) to the target changes significantly as the SHOOTER egresses.

• Workload: the close proximity requires visual monitoring. For a single-seat LASER, this increases workload, splitting attention between formation keeping and sensor employment during the critical attack phase.

Conclusion

In summary, the fighting wing profile is a foundational, not optimal, tactic. It sacrifices the key benefits of buddy-lasing (stand-off and superior geometry) for simplicity and predictability. It is the go-to option when coordination is limited, time is critical, or when a flight must unexpectedly shift from a self-lasing plan.

While fighting wing establishes a baseline, the true tactical potential of buddy-lasing is reached through formations that introduce greater separation. In our next posts, we will analyze the Wedge and Trail profiles. These techniques are designed specifically to enhance the geometry by minimizing LOS change for the weapon, at the cost of increased coordination and complexity.