Wind-Corrected Tracking

Weapons Delivery Principles and Procedures

Weapons

have a negligible effect. It is easy to see, then, that you will have to offset your final aimpoint to com-

pensate for the wind at release altitude. In addition, you will have to change your initial aimpoint and

tracking procedure to compensate for the drift of the aircraft during the run.

WIND-CORRECTED TRACKING

Because the wind will cause your aircraft to drift during the run, you must modify your tracking tech-

nique. Figure 21 shows how the pipper moves during three stages of tracking: no-wind, pipper-to-bull,

and wind-corrected. No-wind tracking refers to the method given earlier and involves tracking the

pipper along the run-in line so that it reaches the target at release. Pipper-to-bull is a simplified

method designed to obtain a consistent grouping of hits downwind from the target. This will demon-

strate the effect of the wind so you can visualize corrective action. It is discussed below.

Wind-corrected tracking is the method you can expect to use on all of your weapons flights after

Wep-06. As Figure 21 shows, wind-corrected tracking requires that both the initial and final aimpoints

be offset. For this reason, the roll-in point must also be offset so that when you roll out, your pipper will

be on the initial aimpoint. As the pipper tracks toward the final aimpoint during tracking, your heading

should be parallel to the run-in line. If there is a crosswind, your pipper will track diagonally and not

parallel to the run-in line.

NO WIND

PIPPER-TO-BULL

WIND-CORRECTED

Bull's Eye is

Final Aimpoint

Probable Hit

Roll-in Point

Figure 21: TYPES OF TRACKING

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