Application of indirect fire weapons, such as mortar systems and grenade launchers, into live training has been a critical desire for the training community for years with minimal success to date. As a result, live training exercises are conducted largely without any such weapons at all. With renewed focus in the live training community on solutions to this technology gap, Inertial Labs along with the US Army DEVCOM Divisions: Soldier Center and Armaments Center are working together to complete a system to address several of the key limits that currently exist for introducing indirect fire weapons. The Fire Control System & Technology Directorate within Picatinny Arsenal has recently completed a full working prototype of the US Army’s first man-portable dismounted soldier digital fire control system. Designed initially for 60 and 81mm mortars the fire control system comprises of a Pointing Device (Inertial Labs OptoWOM), a lightweight handheld computer, tactical fire control software, and a battery power source. Its pointing device, the Inertial Labs OptoWOM, makes use of fused data from two onboard cameras along with inertial sensors to provide barrel azimuth and elevation of the mortar tube within 3mils and 2mils accuracy respectively. Within this paper we will describe the completed system components and the ongoing development currently underway within an active DoD Ordinance Technology Consortium OTA. This work includes: translation of barrel azimuth and elevation into the ballistic solution for the round impact point, provisions for utilization on the 60/81mm mortars as well as Mk19 grenade launcher, and fabrication of a full prototype solution projected for completion and demonstration by Q3 2021.
Keywords
BLENDED TRAINING,SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENT
Additional Keywords
Weapon Orientation, Fire Control, Navigation