Radar Bomb Scoring

Radar Bomb Scoring[1] is a combat aviation ground support operation used to evaluate Cold War aircrews' effectiveness with simulated unguided bomb drops near radar stations of the United States Navy, the USAF Strategic Air Command, and Army Project Nike units. USAF RBS used various ground radar, computers, and other electronic equipment such as jammers to disrupt operations of the bomber's radar navigator,[2] AAA/SAM simulators to require countermeasures from the bomber, and Radar Bomb Scoring Centrals for estimating accuracy of simulated bombings.[3] Scores for accuracy and electronic warfare effectiveness were transmitted from radar sites such as those at Strategic Range Training Complexes[3] (e.g., from Detachment 1 at the "La Junta Bomb Plot").

Most of the SAC sites were in the continental US with units (detachments) manned by technicians and operators of the Automatic Tracking Radar Specialist career field (AutoTrack). Radar Bomb Scoring and the Autotrack specialty were discontinued shortly after the end of the Cold War when increased munitions accuracy (e.g., GPS-guided JDAMs 1st used in 1993) reduced the need for scoring of simulated bomb runs, and GPS avionics allow onboard tracking for "no-drop bomb scoring" of unguided bombs.

  1. ^ Flight Information Handbook (PDF). United States Department of Defense. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    "Addendum A" (Supplement to Space, Missile, Command, and Control regulation). Range Planning and Operations (Air Force Instruction 13–212). Air Combat Command. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference RBSexpress was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Part 1- Unedited". Tone Break: The 1st Combat Evaluation Group Story. Retrieved 17 May 2012. MUTES ... new threat simulator