The AV-8B Harrier uses an angle rate bombing system (ARBS) to enable first-pass attacks. Which option best describes ARBS usage?

• A. FLIR
• B. angle rate bombing system (ARBS)
• C. TOW missiles
• D. Sidewinder missiles

Answer: (B)

ARBS works by using how fast the target appears to move across the aircraft’s sky, the angle-rate, to compute the exact moment to release bombs so they hit on the first pass. The system combines the target’s angular rate with the Harrier’s altitude, speed, and bomb ballistic data, and the sighting sensor (often the FLIR) feeds the data to a computer that determines when to release. This lets a pilot strike a target in a single pass, without needing follow-up passes to adjust aim. The FLIR is a sensing tool used to keep the target in view and provide data to ARBS, but it isn’t the bombing method itself. TOW and Sidewinder missiles are different weapons with their own guidance systems, not the ARBS-based first-pass bombing method.