4 Requirements for Ballistic Weather Monitoring Systems
The latest white paper from Intellisense Systems examines how weather conditions affect long-range artillery and details the four requirements that all ballistic weather observation systems need to conserve ammunition and keep personnel safe.
As early as the 5th century BC, military strategists have studied the profound impact that weather can have in the theater of battle. In his treatise The Art of War, Sun Tzu listed weather as one of the five fundamental factors for success in battle. During World War II, the Allied and Axis powers had a number of operations called off or thwarted by inclement weather and, as a result, began competing for essential meteorological data in the North Atlantic. Although no fighting occurred in North America, a German U-boat surreptitiously installed an automated weather station off the coast of Newfoundland to gain a strategic advantage in devising forecasts and planning aerial raids over Great Britain.
Accurate meteorological information is now one of five requirements for all branches of the United States Armed Forces before opening fire. It is needed by mission planners because weather can change instantaneously and greatly affect the trajectory of ballistics, particularly long-range weapons that must fire at their maximum effective ranges. In addition to supporting Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), accurate weather data for long-range precision fire and high-caliber ballistics enable first round hits on target and increase the lethality of military forces. Accurate weather data in the use of long-range and high-caliber ballistics can also help conserve ammunition, decrease adjustment times, bolster the element of surprise, and reduce the potential of friendly fire.
Today, modern ballistic weapon systems like Main Battle Tanks employ a fire-control system (FCS) to swiftly collect data on the five requirements and make necessary calculations before firing their projectiles. These systems integrate advanced radio frequency, radar- and lidar-based sensing technologies to decrease the amount of time needed to gather information, acquire the target and determine the weapon solution (Find, Fix and Finish). In addition to tracking key weather parameters like temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind speed, this technology must also work through a variety of environmental and operational hazards, including ballistic shock, sand and dust, snow and ice, solar radiation, and electromagnetic interference.
This white paper examines four requirements for the weather-sensing technology that supports large ballistics and long-range weaponry. It not only delves into the five weather parameters needed to help determine air density and improve firing accuracy, but it also explores other determinants of ballistic trajectory like differences in altitude. It also presents other requirements like resiliency to environmental hazards and the benefit to having multiple sensors downrange. Finally, this white paper offers several solutions that address these four requirements, including some innovative portable weather stations developed by Intellisense Systems.
Download the full white paper by completing the form on the right.
As early as the 5th century BC, military strategists have studied the profound impact that weather can have in the theater of battle. In his treatise The Art of War, Sun Tzu listed weather as one of the five fundamental factors for success in battle. During World War II, the Allied and Axis powers had a number of operations called off or thwarted by inclement weather and, as a result, began competing for essential meteorological data in the North Atlantic. Although no fighting occurred in North America, a German U-boat surreptitiously installed an automated weather station off the coast of Newfoundland to gain a strategic advantage in devising forecasts and planning aerial raids over Great Britain.
Accurate meteorological information is now one of five requirements for all branches of the United States Armed Forces before opening fire. It is needed by mission planners because weather can change instantaneously and greatly affect the trajectory of ballistics, particularly long-range weapons that must fire at their maximum effective ranges. In addition to supporting Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), accurate weather data for long-range precision fire and high-caliber ballistics enable first round hits on target and increase the lethality of military forces. Accurate weather data in the use of long-range and high-caliber ballistics can also help conserve ammunition, decrease adjustment times, bolster the element of surprise, and reduce the potential of friendly fire.
Today, modern ballistic weapon systems like Main Battle Tanks employ a fire-control system (FCS) to swiftly collect data on the five requirements and make necessary calculations before firing their projectiles. These systems integrate advanced radio frequency, radar- and lidar-based sensing technologies to decrease the amount of time needed to gather information, acquire the target and determine the weapon solution (Find, Fix and Finish). In addition to tracking key weather parameters like temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind speed, this technology must also work through a variety of environmental and operational hazards, including ballistic shock, sand and dust, snow and ice, solar radiation, and electromagnetic interference.
This white paper examines four requirements for the weather-sensing technology that supports large ballistics and long-range weaponry. It not only delves into the five weather parameters needed to help determine air density and improve firing accuracy, but it also explores other determinants of ballistic trajectory like differences in altitude. It also presents other requirements like resiliency to environmental hazards and the benefit to having multiple sensors downrange. Finally, this white paper offers several solutions that address these four requirements, including some innovative portable weather stations developed by Intellisense Systems.
Download the full white paper by completing the form on the right.
