[109356] in Cypherpunks
CORPS TESTS ROBOTIC ARTILLERY TECHNOLOGY DURING URBAN WARRIOR
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jukka E Isosaari)
Sat Mar 20 11:07:30 1999
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 17:36:16 +0200 (EET)
From: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
To: anti_ms@enemy.org
cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
Reply-To: Jukka E Isosaari <jei@zor.hut.fi>
Guess which OS this ingenious system is running? ;-)
http://208.198.29.7/mcwl-hot/uw/media/articles.html#CORPS TESTS
CORPS TESTS ROBOTIC ARTILLERY TECHNOLOGY DURING URBAN WARRIOR
BYLINE: SGT. TED L. HANSEN, USMC
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Forrest R. Lindsey recalls sitting alongside his
crewmembers in Vietnam as a lance corporal, with a slide rule, a
chart, some pins, string and a protractor. After receiving a call for
fire support they would manually calculate the positioning of their
mortar tube and launch the heavy firepower, giving away their own
position in an effort to support the Marines downrange. On top of
that, Lindsey said, the method was not very accurate either --
comparatively speaking.
A 24-year career made him an expert in artillery. Today, as a civilian
employee at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va.,
he is tasked with a project to make life safer for today's Marine
artilleryman without compromising the Corp's necessity for heavy,
mobile firepower.
The lab tasked Lindsey with the project to develop what was originally
called a "box mortar" in January 1997. The goal of the project was to
develop an artillery system that could be fired remotely, be able to
fire 8-30 rounds of at least 120 millimeters in succession, and be
deployable aboard the Corps' new MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
Seventeen months later at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., Lindsey's
handiwork fired it first round. It hit the target dead on.
The 6,500 pound system developed with the help of Thomson-Daimler
Armaments, Allied Signal Corps and the Army Engineering and
Development Command, did this at a range of more than 4 miles.
"It can be used with a gun crew or without a gun crew depending on the
tactical situation," Lindsey said. Reflecting on the antiquated system
Lindsey first used to fire a mortar, he noted, "This is a vastly
different system; advanced; high-tech."
The Dragon Fire has drawn mixed reviews from the Marines, who will use
the system without live ordnance at the former Oak Knoll Naval
Hospital during the "Urban Warrior" advanced warfighting experiment.
Gig Harbor, Wash., native Sgt. Paul E. Haley, a mortarman with the
Instructor Battalion at The Basic School, Quantico, Va., said "Remote
fire is a good thing." Recognizing it would save the lives of
artillery crews, Haley said, "I just hope it doesn't make me
obsolete."
Lance Cpl. Shawn M. Bradshaw, an Omak, Wash., native with 2nd
Battalion, 11th Marines, Camp Pendleton, Calif., said the system is a
great idea. He said the system still has some flaws to work out. "But
that's why we're here," he said. Bradshaw said that although the
Dragon Fire has only two-thirds the firepower and a shorter range than
the towed M7 155mm howitzer currently used by Marine Corps artillery
units, the system is idea for the urban environment.
Sergeant Christopher A. Thomas, a Knoxville, Tenn., native with the
Instructor Training Battalion at TBS, said,
"They've got a good intent, but they've got a while to go with it.
It's not grunt-proof yet,"he said, referring to the technology
involved with the new system.Lindsey said the Dragon Fire is still
experimental and is continually being refined. In fact the funding for
the magazine which will feed rounds to the system has not yet been
disbursed, nor have the dollars needed to refine the design of the
system to drop its cargo weight more than 2,000 pounds. According to
Thomas the lower weight is necessary if the system is to be operated
by a two-man crew.
Lindsey said the Dragon Fire will not
Sergeant
Christopher
A.
Thomas,
mortarman
with
Infantry
Training
Battalion
at
Quantico,
Va.,
reviews
digital
targeting
information
on the
experimental Dragon Fire 120mm rifled mortar during Urban Warrior.
(Photo by Sgt. Ted L. Hansen) make artilleryman obsolete. To the
contrary, he said, it is to make them more effective and to protect
them. Likely use of the Dragon Fire system would have a gun crew
located several hundred yards away. Close enough to guard it, but at a
distance safe from any likely return fire.
The current Battery Computer System and Field Artillery Tactical
Battle System used by the Corp's artillery units has improved
accuracy, but does not have the remote operating capability of the
Dragon Fire.
Armed with a built-in radio and computer, and hydraulic capability to
rotate itself 360 degrees, the Dragon Fire can also put rounds on
target at a radius distance exceeding five miles, according to
Lindsey. The system can be emplaced and operational in less than five
minutes, he said. It can also fire projection and self-propelled
rounds which cost about $700 each, according to Lindsey.
Lindsey said, although the system, which operates on Windows 95, can
be controlled via satellite, the likely method of firing will involve
a Marine using a set of Forward Observer - Forward Air Controller, or
FOFAC, binoculars. The Global Positioning Satellite system, range
finder, and radio in the FOFAC would allow a Marine to, "stick his
head up, point at a target, push a button and send a fire mission,"
Lindsey said. If the communications systems fail to operate the system
it can be done manually with a joystick located on the unit itself.
According to Lindsey, the Dragon Fire can process a fire mission in
less than a second and launch its supporting fire in less than 10.
"Just 10 seconds and you have a round on the way, supporting these
teams very accurately," he explained. Programming the system to refuse
fire missions in certain areas can also prevent "Friendly fire".
While some allege the Dragon Fire may replace the current lightweight
M-7, 155mm Howitzer, Lindsey said it is only being used
experimentally. "Perhaps some of the things we're learning with the
Dragon Fire will apply to the M-7. We'll have to see," Lindsey said.
"The Marine Corps has not committed to use the Dragon Fire for
anything," he said. "It's still a very experimental system. There
aren't any plans I know of to build hundreds of these things and put
them out in the fleet." In fact, the demonstrator model at Oak Knoll
is the only one of its kind. The Dragon Fire is the first robotic
artillery system in the world, according to Lindsey.
Lindsey believes the weapon's portability makes it worth adding to the
arsenal of Marine Expeditionary Units. The current unit weighs 6,500
pounds and can be towed by a heavy HMMWV, or "Hummer." Even at its
current weight and size, the Dragon Fire meets the Corps requirement
of being transportable via the V-22 Osprey aircraft.
During Urban Warrior, the Dragon Fire will not actually fire any
mortars. "Strictly dummy rounds. Strictly dry fire and simply yelling
'Bang!" Lindsey explained. Instead, the experimental unit will be run
through drills in conjunction with the exercise to see if it's capable
to reacting fast enough to support teams in the urban environment.
Lindsey is confident the system will "hit the mark," but that will be
determined during Urban Warrior.
