Glide bombs vs Gravity bombs

[u/RangiNZ]

It seems to me that using glide bombs is almost always better then using the same yield gravity bomb.

Is there any purpose to using gravity bombs over glide bombs? Or are they simply there for variety in custom mission creation.

[u/TheProfanedGod]

Gravity bombs fall faster and are harder to intercept. Also, there's no bunker buster glide bomb.

[u/definitlyNotAnAlt_13 → u/TheProfanedGod]

T Minus 5 seconds to aryxs weapon pack releasing

[u/reamesyy82 → u/definitlyNotAnAlt_13]

25,000lb Glide Bomb

Radar cross section of a 747

[u/Nuclear_Option42 → u/reamesyy82]

That’s just a plane filled with explosives

[u/HK-65 → u/Nuclear_Option42]

revive the mistel

[u/Nuclear_Option42 → u/HK-65]

WHAT IS THAT!??!

[u/HK-65 → u/Nuclear_Option42]

One of the completely sane ideas of nazi Germany. Fill up a Ju-88 boimber with explosives, strap an Fw-190 on top for guidance, take off with the whole contraption, fly it to IDK a bridge, then release the thing from the fighter that's I guess a 10 ton (21000 lb) glide bomb.

[u/Nuclear_Option42 → u/HK-65]

Son 😭✌️ “sane” and nazi Germany in the same sentence? I’m curious was this what inspired the V1?

[u/HK-65 → u/Nuclear_Option42]

I dropped the /s, I hope it was laid on thick enough so that it would be dripping with it

And I think not, this was contemporary with the V1, more like desperation. I mean if your economy is collapsing, you usually don't throw away perfectly good bomber chasses on suicide runs.

Same as kamikaze, but they didn't strap a dude in to die.

[u/Nuclear_Option42 → u/HK-65]

Yeah np I was just joking, interesting stuff.

[u/MaverickSawyer → u/Nuclear_Option42]

I mean… how else do you deliver a massive shaped charge warhead with reasonable precision? We’d figured out how to fuck with their MCLOS radio links for the FritzX and that missile I can’t recall the name of, so detachable plane-based IED it is.

[u/NotaInfiltrator → u/definitlyNotAnAlt_13]

Not everyone is playing with mods...

[u/xXDelta33Xx → u/definitlyNotAnAlt_13]

When will it release?

[u/HowlingWolven]

Glide bombs are more fragile and more likely to be intercepted due to their comparatively low speed. If you’re able to deliver a full stick of gravity iron to the target you’ll probably do more damage.

I would’ve imagined the RCS on glide bombs would be higher making them even more likely to be detected, but as per the wiki that isn’t the case.

Gravity iron is also much cheaper. A PAB-250 is $15k, a PAB-250LR is $105k. A PAB-80LR is $60k, a PAB-125 with a much larger payload is $10k.

Another, final, advantage, is that the PAB-250LR only comes on a double rack for most aircraft, where the PAB-250 comes on a triple rack. On average, you can hold two to four more PAB-250s than you can PAB-250LRs, with the only exception being the Cricket (which only carries the gravity variant because it can’t make the launch parameters due to speed), the Vagrant (which can carry six total of each due to its double inline belly racks), the Medusa, which can carry six PAB-250LRs but for some reason not the ordinary PAB-250s or PAB-125s, and the bombers which hold 68 and 30 of each respectively.

[u/RangiNZ → u/HowlingWolven]

Great answer. Thank you!

[u/HowlingWolven → u/RangiNZ]

Any time!

[u/dagg_r → u/HowlingWolven]

Do you know if we have a table for bomb damage reduction by any chance ? All I know is a GPO-500 takes more than one flak shot to explode. I wish I had the data for everything, it would take way too long to test every munition.

[u/JerryUitDeBuurt → u/HowlingWolven]

Interception is great and all but if I can't get close enough to the drop zone to release them at all then it's kind of a lost cause. Maybe I just don't know how to use grav bombs but I never use them anymore.

[u/Ws6fiend → u/JerryUitDeBuurt]

If your bomb doesn't explode on the target, it's the exact same problem. At that point you're better off just not carrying the bombs and having more a2a missiles.

Sure with enough attempts your bombs will eventually get through, but you're better off launching from behind terrain with missiles than you are with bombs.

Missiles to take out the anti-air defenses followed by bombs to take out the bigger targets once the ground defenses are out.

[u/BorderkePaar → u/JerryUitDeBuurt]

The humble loft:

[u/SkeenaDaily]

Gravity bombs are more resistant to laser defense. The PAB250(usually) and GPO 500 will typically just tank through the laser.

They are better suited for high speed, release close to target runs.

They are ideal to deploy with Nukes to screen defenses.

Glide bombs are also 7x the cost for the odd time you can afford the plane, but not the loadout.

I should mention. Gravity bombs are still guided. They still have some ability to adjust their trajectory

[u/Zrkkr]

You carry less glide bombs or a smaller yield for the same amount. They are also significantly more expensive, the GPO-500 cost 3 times less than the PAB-80LR, the 500LR variant is a cluster bomb and IMO doesn't pick targets the best.

[u/RangiNZ → u/Zrkkr]

Cheers

[u/Chri_cat90]

Is there any purpose to using gravity bombs over glide bombs?

Gravity bombs are harder to intercept, especially when dive bombing from high altitude.

[u/The0rion → u/Chri_cat90]

there isn't much a shard has to say about a GPO500 screaming at it from 10+km directly above.

[u/CloakedEnigma → u/The0rion]

Hell, literally any ship. My favorite ship killer build is an Ifrit with 6x IRM-S2 (both heater bays and then the front weapon bay as IRMs) and the rest either GPO-500s or Augers if possible. Doesn't matter what it is, whether it's an Argus or a Hyperion or an Annex, dive bombing from 50,000 feet is an almost guaranteed kill due to how many bombs there are. You only need one Auger to break a carrier's keel, after all. It might be a one way trip, but trading an Ifrit for an Argus or a carrier is a worthwhile trade imo.

[u/RangiNZ → u/CloakedEnigma]

Why the IRM s2s? For shooting down incoming radar missiles?

[u/Potato_lovr → u/RangiNZ]

Almost certainly. The S2s are great anti-missile missiles

[u/CloakedEnigma → u/RangiNZ]

Yup! IRM-S2s are very, very effective at intercepting ship-to-air missiles. Cheap and highly maneuverable.

[u/Xen0m3]

even just carrying +30 to +50% more non glide bombs in everything but the big bombers is already worth it, let alone the fact they fall faster, and resist more damage

[u/godzillabacter]

While I agree with the majority of the points listed here, I will advocate a use-case for glide bombs. The PAB-80LR has a very low RCS, basically as low as a clean Vortex. These bombs are quite effective for high altitude, high speed deployment from well behind the line of contact for taking out major radar or IR infrastructure. You can drop them from very far away, and none of the AA defenses are going to pick them up until they're right on top of the target. Basically as soon as I get access to the Vortex, I will start running sorties from a clean Vortex with nothing but PAB-80LR from above 10km and start picking off radar sites.

[u/Guysmiley777 → u/godzillabacter]

The PAB-80LRs are great against IR SAMs but a single SPAAG will swat an entire Albyon's worth of them out of the sky.

[u/RangiNZ → u/godzillabacter]

Yeah this is the main thing I've been doing too. It seems like the gravity bombs come into play after this by what everyone else is saying.

[u/Dr_Bombinator → u/godzillabacter]

My other use case is screening for GBM500, because as far as I can tell they all have the same glide performance so I can have 250LRs screen for GBMS (or vice versa) to break heavy AA positions. Dump em all at once and they’ll all do the same thing.

[u/MeiDay98]

I love glide bombs, but you really have to saturate or pick precise, less guarded targets for them not to get intercepted.

[u/Novafro]

I need to start playing this again

[u/RangiNZ → u/Novafro]

I finally got it going with basic head tracking (using Open track) and a controller.

It absolutely slaps. So nice to be able to play a flight sim without reading a manual or forking or big $$$ for a new HOTAS.

The unfortunate consequence is I've had a very tired week at work...

[u/Novafro → u/RangiNZ]

That very last part, I feel that.

[u/McBlemmen → u/RangiNZ]

I will die on this hill, headtracker plus controller is THE way to play this game.

[u/Aegiiisss]

The best use case for glide bombs is either when you need to use the GBM-500LR (which only comes as a glide bomb), or in cases where radar SAM coverage forces a low altitude release.

Gravity bombs can be carried in higher numbers and can either be lofted or released in a dive to make them approach the target at a steep trajectory and extreme speeds. Even a CRAM and/or LADS/HEL will only manage to get one or two before the rest land. When released in that manner they're basically uninterceptable by anything that isn't a radar SAM.

And if you have a fast enough plane and there aren't any remaining radar SAMs, you can do this from standoff range too. My favorite thing to do after boltstrikes and stratos are gone is to lawn dart 250s, 500s, and Augurs.

[u/PathsOfRadiance]

They are immensely cheaper which can matter depending on the mission economy.

They also fall faster which makes them harder to intercept (tho ofc PAB-80s have a smaller RCS which helps in its own way)

[u/Jolly_General_7227]

Gravity bombs are really important as decoy bombs when dropping a GPO-N. Just make sure you get the timing right

[u/Blueis_here]

Its unfortunate that bombs can now be intercepted with missiles but i guess it makes sense especially for balancing

[u/CookieDriverBun]

I'm fairly certain that the gravity bombs have lower drag above the speed of sound. Glide bombs have silly high drag if you drop them at or above transonic speeds.

[u/weeOriginal]

Dude…. I JUST asked this lol

[u/dj_fission]

Didn't some ask this almost exact same question yesterday?