What was Combat Skyspot?

Short answer

It was the USAF's ground-directed bombing operation in the Vietnam War, using Bomb Directing Centrals, and the Marine Corps' equivalent with Course Directing Centrals. Its main equipment was the AN/MSQ-77 radar, with a vacuum-tube trajectory computer. It ran from 1965 to 1973.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

A B-52 Stratofortress flies near the North Pole

Bombing with someone else's radar

Combat Skyspot was the United States Air Force's ground-directed bombing (GDB) operation in the Vietnam War, carried out through Bomb Directing Centrals, and the Marine Corps' equivalent, carried out through Course Directing Centrals. It provided command guidance to B-52s and to tactical fighters and bombers. It was used for aerial bombing of strategic targets, close air support, interdiction and other mission types.

The equipment

The main equipment included the AN/MSQ-77 radar system, with a vacuum-tube trajectory computer, as well as the Marine Corps' AN/TPQ-10 radar. It was a combination of radar, computer and communications known as the "Q" system.

How the bombs were dropped

Radar station personnel verbally relayed guidance instructions to the crew by radio and also called out the release of munitions with a countdown, which allowed bombs to be placed precisely thanks to continuous calculations during the bombing run. The system was operational from 1965 to 1973, and the first 15,000 sorties were flown between March 1966 and March 1967. By March 1967, radar-directed sorties accounted for 54% of the B-52D missions flown.