In this work, we propose a formulation to evaluate aerodynamic forces for flow solutions based on Cartesian grids, penalisation and level set functions. The formulation enables the evaluation of forces on closed bodies moving at different velocities. The use of Cartesian grids bypasses the meshing issues, and penalisation is an efficient alternative to explicitly impose boundary conditions so that the body fitted meshes can be avoided. Penalisation enables ice shedding simulations that take into account ice piece effects on the flow. Level set functions describe the geometry in a non-parametric way so that geometrical and topological changes resulting from physics, and particularly shed ice pieces, are straightforward to follow. The results obtained with the present force formulation are validated against other numerical formulations for circular and square cylinder in laminar flow. The capabilities of the proposed formulation are demonstrated on ice trajectory calculations for highly separated flow behind a bluff body, representative of inflight aircraft ice shedding.