Fire control (military)

From Citizendium
Revision as of 09:44, 27 January 2009 by imported>Howard C. Berkowitz
Jump to navigation Jump to search

In military usage, fire control is concerned with the techniques and equipment to designate weapons to be launched, launching them, and, especially when not precision-guided munitions, adjusting subsequent projectile launches so they achieve the desired effect.

For example, the Mark 99 Fire Control System is concerned with selecting and triggering the launch of missiles from a U.S. Navy shipboard vertical launch system. Forward observers communicate with the units actually operating indirect fire weapon such as howitzers and mortars, giving them initial targeting information, and then correcting the information to bring fire onto the target.