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Fire Discipline
Fire discipline is a system of communication in the military, primarily for directing artillery. By definition, fire discipline is the language of fire control. It consists of words, phrases, rules, and conventions which have specific meanings and which result in some definite action being taken with the guns. All ranks concerned in fire control must be thoroughly familiar with the language and the resulting actions. The aim of fire discipline is to ensure that in response to calls for fire (from a forward observer), the appropriate action is taken at the FPC (future planning cell), FSCC (fire support coordination center), FDC (fire direction center) and at the Guns/MRL, strictly in accordance with the intentions of the originator and with the minimum of delay. Six elements of a call for fire An initial call for fire (to an artillery battery) consists of six elements: *Observer identification *Warning order *Target location *Target description *Method of engagement *Method o ...
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Artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons were developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to Shell (projectile), shell-firing Field gun, guns, howitzers, and Mortar (weapon), mortars (collectively called ''barrel artillery'', ''cannon artil ...
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Fire-control System
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately. Naval fire control Origins The original fire-control systems were developed for ships. The early history of naval fire control was dominated by the engagement of targets within visual range (also referred to as direct fire). In fact, most naval engagements before 1800 were conducted at ranges of . Even during the American Civil War, the famous engagement between and was often conducted at less than range. Rapid technical improvements in the late 19th century greatly increased the range at which gunfire was possible. Rifled guns of much larger size firing explosive shells of lighter relative weight (compared to all-metal balls) so greatly increased the ...
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Forward Observer
An artillery observer, artillery spotter, or forward observer (FO) is a soldier responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto a target. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that indirect fire hits targets which those at a fire support base cannot see. History Historically, the range of artillery steadily increased over the centuries. In the era of bombards or ''Steinbüchse'', the gunner could usually still fire directly on the target by line-of-sight. As ranges increased, methods of employing indirect fire were developed. This made a forward observer essential in order to be able to use artillery effectively. The proximity of the observer to the target depended on the terrain and battlefield situation. Elevated observation posts could be used as an aid to facilitate communication between the guns and the observers. The development of optical and communication aids for observation advanced significantly in t ...
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Military Grid Reference System
The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)
Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems
is the geocoordinate standard used by NATO militaries for locating points on Earth. The MGRS is derived from the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid system and the Universal polar stereographic coordinate system, Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) grid system, but uses a different labeling convention. The MGRS is used as geocode for the entire Earth. It’s also referred as 10-digit coordinates. An example of an ''MGRS coordinate'', or ''grid reference'', would be [21_18_34.0_N_157_55_0.7_W_&language=en 4QFJ12345678], which consists of three parts: * 4Q (grid zone designator, GZD) * FJ (the 100,000-meter square identifier) * 1234 5678 (numerical location; Easting and nort ...
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BMP Development
The BMP series were among the first production line infantry fighting vehicles. Included in the series are the mainline BMPs, the airborne variant BMDs, and licensed modified (i.e. MLI-84) and reverse engineered versions (i.e. Boragh, Type 86). BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'' – . They were initially developed in the 1960s in the Soviet Union. Background World War II began with the concepts of armored warfare relatively undeveloped, particularly the use of combined arms teams. Tank and infantry units were often organized as separate units, which led to problems of command and coordination. As the war progressed the doctrine of combined arms became better refined, and the need for specialist vehicles to keep the infantry in close contact with the armor became increasingly important. Most of these vehicles were half-tracks. There were expedient measures; the infantry of the Red Army often rode on the top of tanks. In 1944 the Canadians introduced the practi ...
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Fire Direction Center
In the US system for land-based field artillery, the field artillery team is organized to direct and control indirect artillery fire on the battlefield. Since World War I, to conduct indirect artillery fire, three distinct components have evolved in this organization: the forward observer (FO), the fire direction center (FDC), and the firing unit, sometimes referred to as the gun line. On the battlefield, the field artillery team consists of some combinations of all of these elements. In other words, there may be multiple FOs calling in fire on multiple targets to multiple FDCs and any component may be in communication with some of the other elements depending on the situational requirements. History Modern artillery shoots at targets miles away, a hundredfold increase in range over 18th century guns, a result of development of rifled cannons, improvements in propellants, better communications, and technical improvements such as computing the aim. The enemy is engaged at su ...
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16"/50 Caliber Mark 7 Gun
The 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 – United States Naval Gun is the main armament of the ''Iowa''-class battleships and was the planned main armament of the canceled . Description Due to a lack of communication during design in 1938, the Bureau of Ordnance assumed the ''Iowa'' class would use the /50 Mark 2 guns constructed for the 1920 ''South Dakota''-class battleships and ''Lexington''-class battlecruisers. However, the Bureau of Construction and Repair assumed that the ships would carry a compact 16-in/50 turret and designed the ships with barbettes too small to accommodate the 16-in/50 Mark 2 three-gun turret that the Bureau of Ordnance was actually working on. The lightweight 16-in/50 Mark 7 was designed to resolve this conflict. These guns were 50 calibers long, 50 times their bore diameter with barrels long, from chamber to muzzle. Each gun weighed about without the breech, and with the breech. They fired projectiles weighing from at different muzzle veloci ...
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Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition
A dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) is an artillery or surface-to-surface missile warhead designed to burst into submunitions at an optimum altitude and distance from the desired target for dense area coverage. The submunitions use both shaped charges for the anti-armor role, and fragmentation for the antipersonnel role, hence the nomenclature "dual-purpose". Some submunitions may be designed for delayed reaction or mobility denial ( mines). The air-to-surface variety of this kind of munition is better known as a cluster bomb. They are banned by more than 100 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. United States DPICM projectiles Development work for DPICM projectiles began in the late 1950s. The first projectile, the 105 mm M444, entered service in 1961. Its submunitions were simple bounding anti-personnel grenades (ICM). Production of the M444 ended in the early 1990s. The first true DPICM was the 155 mm M483, produced in the 1 ...
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M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system. The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivered in 1983, and were adopted by several NATO and non-NATO militaries. The platform first saw service with the United States in the 1991 Gulf War. It has received multiple improvements since its inception, including the ability to fire guided missiles. M270s provided by the United Kingdom have seen use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Description Background In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union had a clear advantage over U.S. and NATO forces in terms of rocket artillery. Soviet doctrine dictated large-scale bombardment of a target area with large numbers of truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), such as the BM-21 "Grad". By contrast, U.S. artillerists favored conventional large-caliber artillery for its relative accuracy and ...
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Spotting Rifle
A spotting rifle or ranging gun is a small-calibre rifle used as a ranging device for artillery. The ballistics of the spotting rifle are matched to those of the artillery piece, so that if a shot from the spotting rifle lands on the target, it may be assumed that the main weapon will also do so. Anti-tank recoilless rifles Spotting rifles were most commonly used with recoilless rifles as anti-tank artillery, from the 1950s to the 1970s. These weapons are used for direct fire with line-of-sight visibility to the target. As recoilless rifles have a relatively low muzzle velocity and thus a high trajectory, accurate ranging is important An optical sight can measure the bearing to a target, but not easily or accurately measure the range. Optical rangefinders were too large for lightweight portable artillery, and the later development of laser rangefinders would in turn make spotting rifles obsolete. The British BAT series of 120 mm anti-tank recoilless rifles used a ...
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Fire For Effect
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fuel reaches its ignition point temperature. Flames from hydrocarbon fuels consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, and nitrogen. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma. The color and intensity of the flame depend on the type of fuel and composition of the surrounding gases. Fire, in its most common form, has the potential to result in conflagration, which can lead to permanent physical damage. It directly impacts land-based ecological systems worldwide. The positive effects of fire include stimulating plant growth and maintaining ecological balance. Its negative effects include hazards to life and property, atmospheric pollution, and water contamination. When fire removes protective vegetation, h ...
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