Chapter Eight Division Air-To-Ground Tactics and Procedures

CHAPTER EIGHT

DIVISION AIR-TO-GROUND TACTICS AND PROCEDURES

800. INTRODUCTION

Military aircraft are designed to destroy an enemy's potential to wage war. This mission is

primarily accomplished by delivering various types of ordnance upon enemy personnel,

equipment, and/or installations. Accurate delivery of ordnance on surface targets is one of the

primary missions of military aviation and is accomplished with a wide variety of special and

conventional weapons. Delivery techniques vary as widely as the weapons themselves, and vary

from conventional dives of all angles to computer-integrated loft maneuvers. This phase of

training will only touch on a few of them.

The primary objective of the division weapons training in VT-86 is to develop your basic

understanding of the weapons pattern, to introduce you to the concepts of weapon delivery, and

the coordination required to get to and from a target area.

801. DIVISION FLIGHT PREPARATION

Brief

The following items should be completed prior to the WEPS 3 brief:

File DD 175 or put appropriate stereo route on file.

2. Set up briefing board with Z diagrams (in MSL) and safety data (all altitudes except dive

recovery will be MSL).

Prepare a kneeboard card for the instructor with Z diagrams in MSL.

Have a briefing guide and T-2 models in briefing room.

Have a tactical callsign for the flight (generally lead IP's callsign).

"Z" Diagrams

As introduced previously during section WEPS, "Z" diagrams, are useful presentations of pattern

and weaponeering information and will be included on briefing boards and kneeboard cards.

During the division weapons pattern, a 10-degree and 20-degree dive pattern will be employed.

The generic 10 weapons pattern altitudes are depicted in the "Z" diagram below (Figure 8-1).

Similar to the earlier Weapons flights, the "Z" diagram altitudes will be adjusted to reflect MSL

target elevation.

To minimize in-flight calculations, all kneeboard card "Z" diagrams will again be presented in

MSL. To review the definitions and components of a "Z" diagram see Chapter 6.

DIVISION AIR TO GROUND TACTICS AND PROCEDURES 8-1