What's the strange rocketing technique being used in Ukraine?
Russian and Ukrainian aircraft are using an unusual rocketing technique to attack each other's forces.
Footage has emerged of gunships and jets making a steep climb before releasing their unguided rockets.
One piece of footage shows a Russian Mi-35 Hind over Ukraine beginning its attack run. On nearing its target the pilot is shown pulling up steeply before then firing off a salvo of rockets.
Some reports have described this technique as 'lofting', which dates back to the 1940s and later Cold War nuclear bombers.
RAF Tornados used it during the First Gulf War to, in effect, 'throw' their bombs further, but their trajectory was plotted by onboard computers giving a degree of accuracy.
However, a former Tornado pilot told Forces News that what has been seen in Ukraine is far from targeted.
Lofting is a technique that has some degree of trajectory science behind it, whereas what is happening in Ukraine is random aerial artillery, a "lottery".
Former Deputy Commander (Operations) Air Command, retired Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, said: "The big difference is if it's a bomb, then a bomb flies pretty predictably. It's a lump and it's got physics and it does what physics tells it to do and gravity takes over and you know the weight of the weapon.
"So you can work out to a pretty high level of accuracy the path of that bomb.
"A rocket, of course, has got something up its backside, which sends it a lot faster and a lot further."
The former Tornado pilot added: "But every rocket is different. The burn rate, the details of the actual rocket itself. So rockets are inherently a little bit shaky in terms of their guidance.
"When you're pointing them at the ground, you can get away with that because you're literally firing something that is going to go in a straight line, very quickly and more or less straight, and hit the ground.
"If you fire it into mid-air, it's a lottery, an absolute lottery."
It is not just the Russians who are using this technique as footage appeared to show a Ukrainian helicopter using the same tactic – throwing its unguided rockets upwards before then fleeing as fast as possible.
Watch: In June, footage circulated appearing to show a Russian Colonel killed in Ukraine.
It is thought that the reason these aircraft are performing these manoeuvres is due to the number of losses they have taken.
Russia, in particular, lost dozens of aircraft to Ukrainian surface-to-air missile systems like the American stinger at the start of the war.
This tactic is designed to keep them as far from danger as possible.
Plus, Russia still uses a lot of unguided weaponry such as rockets and, as it has done in Syria, uses blanket bombing as a tactic to weaken its enemy's resolve.
Mr Bagwell said: "They want to keep low, because if they get too close to the target and go too high or a combination of both, then someone will shoot them down.
"However if they're also indiscriminately area bombing, i.e just creating a nuisance into a town or into a formation of troops, then they're trying to have, shall we say, a pretty crude effect.
"So they (Russia) can get away with doing the technique because the effect they want to achieve is just a terror weapon.
"But they also stay safe. They are not aiming at targets, there's just no way," he added.
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