loft bombing

9.9

A way of dropping bombs by flying low then pulling the plane up before release to escape the blast

noun
/lɔft ˈbɑːmɪŋ/

NSFW

: bombardeo en picado

The squadron practiced loft bombing techniques to minimize exposure to enemy air defenses.

Examples

Modern jets often use loft bombing to take advantage of their speed and agility.
During the exercise, they simulated loft bombing runs over the training range.
The military conducted a loft bombing exercise yesterday.
Have you heard about the new loft bombings in the region?
During the exercise, they simulated loft bombing runs over the training range.
The squadron practiced loft bombing techniques to minimize exposure to enemy air defenses.
Modern jets often use loft bombing to take advantage of their speed and agility.

Synonyms

toss bombing

vsloft bombing

Specialized

9.9

A way of dropping a bomb by flying low, pulling up, and releasing it so it flies farther

focuses on escaping the blast by pulling up before release

Surface Forms

loft bombing singular

loft bombings plural

Morphology

loft + bombing

The compound is directly compositional: 'loft' (to send high into the air) plus 'bombing' (an attack using bombs) describes an attack in which bombs are lofted/released upward. Although it denotes a specific aviation maneuver, the core meaning (bombs being thrown/released high) is predictable from the constituents for a learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Loft bombing comes from the picture of a plane flying low then pulling up to loft its bombs during a bombing run so they fly in a high arc. By sending the bombs forward this way, the aircraft can drop them and get away from the explosion, so the phrase means this way of bombing to 'escape the blast area'.