Proton bombs functioned as potent explosive armaments deployed from bomber platforms such as the BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighters and the TIE/sa bombers. The physical form of these bombs was generally spherical; however, when housed inside cylindrical storage units, they could also serve as high-yield explosives, capable of inflicting substantial damage upon heavily fortified vehicles, for example, AT-ATs.
During the period of the Clone Wars, the Navy of the Confederacy of Independent Systems utilized Hyena-class Droid Bombers carrying proton bombs in engagements such as the Battle of Christophsis. The Galactic Republic's Navy, particularly its BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bombers, also made extensive use of proton bombs throughout the conflict. During the Ryloth Campaign, Separatist forces redeployed Hyena bombers to obliterate several villages situated on Ryloth in a futile effort to falsely attribute the impending Republic victory to an act of extreme violence.
The Galactic Empire employed proton bombs throughout the duration of the Galactic Civil War. The rebels were desperate to get their hands on these bombs.
Decades afterward, amidst their War against the First Order, the Resistance deployed proton bombs in combat using MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 bombers. The proton bombs found on Resistance StarFortresses frequently featured decorations consisting of cartoons or provocative messages aimed at their adversaries. They were deployed to bombard the Fulminatrix, a Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought during the evacuation of D'Qar. Despite the bombers incurring substantial casualties—particularly when three bombers were eliminated in a chain reaction triggered by a TIE fighter impacting one of the bombers' bomb bays—a single bomber piloted by the sole survivor, Paige Tico, succeeded in releasing its entire payload onto the dreadnought, resulting in the destruction of both the bomber and the dreadnought.