  LOFT is a satellite mission currently in Assessment Phase for the ESA M3
selection. The payload is composed of the Large Area Detector (LAD), with 2-50
keV energy band, a peak effective area of about 10 m2 and an energy resolution
better than 260 eV, and the Wide Field Monitor (WFM), a coded mask imager with
a FOV of several steradians, an energy resolution of about 300 eV and a point
source location accuracy of 1 arcmin in the 2-30 keV energy range. Based on
preliminary considerations and estimates, we show how the scientific
performances of the WFM are particularly suited to investigate some of the most
relevant open issues in the study of GRBs: the physics of the prompt emission,
the spectral absorption features by circum-burst material (and hence the nature
of the progenitors), the population and properties of XRFs, and the detection
and rate of high-z GRBs. Measurements of the early afterglow emission with the
Large Area Detector (LAD) may also be possible depending on the mission slewing
capabilities and TOO observations policy. More refined analysis and simulations
are in progress.
