Ukrainian artillery gunners released a video with around two dozens M777 fire missions.
Ten of these were M982 Excalibur. One of them gave away how the Ukrainians program their Excaliburs.
The video of that one Excalibur mission is here below.
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Ten of these were M982 Excalibur. One of them gave away how the Ukrainians program their Excaliburs.
The video of that one Excalibur mission is here below.
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In this screenshot we can see three of the components the Ukrainians use:
1) a tablet to receive fire missions and GPS coordinates over mobile internet
2) an M1155 Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter (EPIAFS) to enter GPS coordinates into Excalibur fuzes.
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1) a tablet to receive fire missions and GPS coordinates over mobile internet
2) an M1155 Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter (EPIAFS) to enter GPS coordinates into Excalibur fuzes.
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US troops can plug their EPIAFS into their M777A2 or M109A6 Paladins, which receive GPS coordinates from the Army's Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) through their SINCGARS radios.
As the US removed SINCGARS components from the M777 sent to Ukraine
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As the US removed SINCGARS components from the M777 sent to Ukraine
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the Ukrainians have to manually enter coordinates into their EPIAFS. The question was until now how they do it.
A possibility was the M701 Precision Lightweight Universal Mortar Setter (PLUMMS), which allows mortar crews to use EPIAFS to set precision guided mortar rounds.
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A possibility was the M701 Precision Lightweight Universal Mortar Setter (PLUMMS), which allows mortar crews to use EPIAFS to set precision guided mortar rounds.
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But with PLUMSS the EPIAFS connects to the Platform Integration Kit (PIK) in the carrying box (photo) and not to a Fire Control Computer (FCC) as in the video.
It looks like the US Army combined EPIAFS with the FCC of the M150 Mortar Fire Control System–Dismounted (MFCS-D) &
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It looks like the US Army combined EPIAFS with the FCC of the M150 Mortar Fire Control System–Dismounted (MFCS-D) &
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likely some other components we haven't spotted yet.
I assume these components could be an AN/PSN-13 Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), a Portable Universal Battery Supply (PUBS), and the PLUMSS's PIK.
The MFCS-D (photo) was never meant for export and therefore contains
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I assume these components could be an AN/PSN-13 Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), a Portable Universal Battery Supply (PUBS), and the PLUMSS's PIK.
The MFCS-D (photo) was never meant for export and therefore contains
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components that the US cannot give to Ukraine. However it seems the US Army rapidly built a brand new system from existing components and an iPad.
Very similar to how the US Air Force mounted AGM-88 HARM missiles on Ukrainian Mig-29 fighters.
American ingenuity at its best.
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Very similar to how the US Air Force mounted AGM-88 HARM missiles on Ukrainian Mig-29 fighters.
American ingenuity at its best.
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