During the Russo-Ukrainian war, helicopters have been observed using a maneuver similar to a technique developed in the 1950s known as “over-the-shoulder bombing.” This technique involved tossing a bomb upward mid-air and flying away to avoid the nuclear blast.
It was necessary because airdropping a nuclear bomb in the 1950s was challenging as pilots needed to hit the target accurately and have enough time to escape the nuclear blast.
The technique of dive bombing allowed for accuracy without the need for complex calculations, but it made the dive bomber vulnerable to low-level ground fire.
Toss bombing mitigated this problem by tossing the bomb forward. It significantly increased the time between the moment of release and impact, allowing the pilot to get away.
The Russian and Ukrainian helicopters are using a similar technique, shooting a salvo of rockets and flying away. However, unlike toss bombing, rockets have an unpredictable trajectory, making it difficult to determine where they will hit accurately. It is unclear why they would use such a technique.
Precision-guided munitions have eliminated the need for such complicated and risky maneuvers, making the technique of toss bombing obsolete. However, the use of rockets in the Russo-Ukrainian war suggests that there may still be a use for this type of maneuver in modern warfare.