Artillery & Fire Control¶
Self-propelled guns, a naval gun and rocket launchers, with firing solutions computed from ballistic tables instead of the vanilla artillery computer. The ITC artillery vehicles have the vanilla artillery computer turned off: you lay the gun with the solution from the tablet and the readouts in the gunner sight.
Vehicles¶
| Vehicle | Classnames | Weapon | Loader |
|---|---|---|---|
| M4 mod. 0 Sholef 2 | itc_land_b_SPH_Sholef2, itc_land_b_t_SPH_Sholef2 |
155 mm howitzer (G155) | Automatic |
| 2S9 mod. 0 Sochor 2 | itc_land_o_sph_sochor2, itc_land_o_t_sph_sochor2 |
152 mm howitzer (G152) | Automatic |
| Mk45 mod. 0 Hammer 2 | itc_land_NGS01_hammer2 |
127 mm naval gun (NG127) | Semi-automatic |
| Mk45 mod. 1 Hammer 2 | itc_land_NGS01_hammer2_mod1 |
127 mm naval gun (NG127) | Automatic |
| M5 mod. 0 Seara 2 | itc_land_b_mlrs_seara2, itc_land_b_t_mlrs_seara2 |
230 mm rockets (M230) | — |
| Zamak MRLi | itc_land_i_mlrs_zamak, itc_land_o_mlrs_zamak |
230 mm rockets (M230) | — |
The guns hold one round at a time: every combination of round and charge is its own one-round magazine, and the ammunition handler loads the right one for you.
Munitions¶
Guns (155 mm, 152 mm, 127 mm)¶
| Round | 155 mm | 152 mm | 127 mm | Fuze modes | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Point detonate, proximity, time, delay | — |
| ICM (cluster) | ✔ | ✔ | — | Time | — |
| SMOKE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Time | — |
| ILLUM | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Time | — |
| MINE-AT, MINE-AP (scatterable mines) | ✔ | ✔ | — | Time | — |
| LASER GUIDED (LGM) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Point detonate, proximity, delay | Laser code |
| GPS GUIDED (PGM) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Point detonate, proximity, delay | Target grid and altitude |
| EXTRA | ✔ | — | — | Time | — |
| FALAT | ✔ | — | — | Time | Two laser codes |
- Fuzes: point detonate on impact, proximity once the shell descends below 9 m above ground, time once the time set in the ammunition handler has passed since firing (the cargo rounds release their payload then), delay 0.05 s after impact: in the ground the shell digs in about half a metre first, through a roof or wall it bursts inside, short of the ground beyond. Only the time is set by the crew (the tablet gives the fuze setting).
- Laser guided rounds steer to a laser spot with the matching ACE laser code.
- GPS guided rounds fly to the target grid and altitude set in the ammunition handler.
- Extra releases a loitering submunition when the time fuze runs out. It searches for armoured targets below it and fires a HEAT charge at the first one it finds, or destroys itself when it gets too low.
- Falat releases two laser-guided submunitions. Each one searches for the laser spot of its own code and fires a HEAT charge at it, or triggers after a timeout if it finds no spot.
Each round type has five propellant charges per gun.
Rockets (230 mm)¶
| Rocket | Magazines | Fuze modes | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M230 HE | 12 rounds | Point detonate, proximity, delay | — |
| M230 PGM | 12 or 6 rounds | Point detonate, proximity, delay | Target grid and altitude |
| M230 ICM | 12 or 6 rounds | Time | — |
| M230 G-ICM | 12 or 6 rounds | Time | Target grid and altitude |
| M230 MINE-AT, M230 MINE-AP | 12 rounds | Time | — |
Fire control on the tablet¶
The Self Propelled Gun app of the mounted SPG tablet computes firing solutions for the vehicle you are in.
- Enter the Target Position (grid) and Target Elevation.
- Pick the Munition Type.
- CALC SLN computes a solution for every charge, low and high angle, that reaches the target.
- Step through them with PRV SLN / NXT SLN. Each shows SLN (number of solutions), CHARGE, AZIMUTH, DEFLECTION, QUADRANT, TOF (time of flight), FUZE SETTING (rounds with a time fuze), MAXIMUM ORDINATE and TARGET DISTANCE.
The FUZE SETTING (FS) is the time fuze setting that bursts the round at its height above the target: smoke 100 m, ICM 400 m, FASCAM AT 300 m and AP 400 m, illumination 600 m (illumination is also aimed at that point), HE on time 15 m. Set it as the fuze time in the ammunition handler. The Extra and Falat cargo rounds keep a fixed offset from the time of flight for their carriers.
The selected solution is sent to the gunner sight as the mission azimuth and quadrant.
Fire data from the FDC¶
The guns are on the datalink, so a fire direction centre can link them in the BCS and send their firing data (SEND ADJ / SEND FFE). When it arrives, the crew hears a beep and gets a hint (FDC: fire data FM0001 FFE), the data becomes the selected solution in the gunner sight (mission azimuth and quadrant), and the SPG app shows where it came from (FDC FM0001 FFE and the round) above it. The newest data wins: new data from the FDC replaces your own solution, and CALC SLN replaces the FDC's.
The data comes with fire orders:
- The gunner sight's FCI ORDERS panel appears by itself and shows the mission and ADJ/FFE, the COUNT of rounds, the round and charge to LOAD, the FUZE (with the fuze setting for a time fuze), the target grid for a GPS round, and the azimuth and quadrant. It goes away when the FDC ends the mission or you compute your own solution.
- FDC ORDERS in the ammunition handler fills in the round, charge, fuze (a time fuze with the fuze setting), count and GPS target. Check them, then APPLY and LOAD as usual.
- The first shot after the data arrived is reported to the FDC, which starts its SHOT and SPLASH countdown. While the FDC's solution page is open, it sees your loader status.
DEFLECTION follows the US convention: 3200 mils when the target lies in the direction the gun is set to (the vehicle's direction in this app, the gun's direction in the BCS battery setup), more to the left and less to the right ("left add, right subtract"). The gun is laid by azimuth, so it is only for reference.
The Vehicle Status page shows the fuel level and the state of the vehicle's systems.
Gunner sight¶
The gunner sight of the guns shows:
- CA / CQ — the current azimuth and quadrant of the gun
- MA / MQ — the mission azimuth and quadrant from the tablet (FCI ORDERS)
- the heading of the gun and the laser range
- LOAD, FUZE, GUIDANCE and STATUS of the ammunition handler, with the round count of the current mission (
3 / 5)
Lay the gun until the current values match the mission values, then fire. All four values are in mils: NATO 6400 mils, or on the Russian guns (Sochor 2 and the ITC 2S1, 2S3; the D-30's current azimuth and quadrant too) the Russian 6000 mils, written 15-00 (the Russian guns in 6000 mils setting). The SPG app shows the same system.
The guns of other mods (compatibility) keep their own optics and reticle; the same readouts sit in boxes at the left of their sight.
On the ITC guns and the ITC versions of other mods' guns (Panzerhaubitze 2000, Boxer RCH 155, RHS 2S1, 2S3 and M109), while a solution is selected, an ITC crosshair shows as an alignment guide (over the other mod's reticle). A circle on the horizontal arm shows the azimuth error and one on the vertical arm the quadrant error; the dots are 25 mils apart, and both circles sit in the centre when the gun is laid. More than 100 mils off, an arrow at the end of the arm points the way to traverse or elevate instead.
Ammunition handler¶
The gunner opens it with Open Ammo Handling Interface (self interaction). It loads the gun for you, one round after the other.
- Pick the SHELL from the list. It shows how many of each the vehicle carries.
- Set the CHARGE with the arrows (1 to the highest charge of the round).
- Pick the FUZE mode and, for a time fuze, the Time.
- For guided rounds, enter the Code (laser guided), both codes (Falat) or the Grid and Elev (GPS guided).
- Set the COUNT: how many rounds to fire with these settings, 0 for no limit.
- APPLY SETTINGS, then LOAD.
The STATUS follows the loading sequence until READY TO FIRE. An automatic loader (Sholef 2, Sochor 2, Hammer 2 mod. 1) pulls and rams the shell, inserts the charge and closes the breech, about 5 s per round. A semi-automatic one (Hammer 2 mod. 0, the ITC versions of the RHS guns) also has the crew insert the primer and attach the lanyard, about 11 to 17 s per round. After each shot the handler loads the next round until the count is reached or the selected shell runs out. UNLOAD removes the loaded round again.
A mortar (the CUP M1129) is loaded by hand from the muzzle. PREPARE has the loader take a round and set its fuze and charge, until ROUND PREPARED: the round is in the loader's hands, not in the tube, so the gun can't fire yet. FIRE hangs the round and drops it, and the gun fires by itself. The next round is prepared right away. STOW puts a prepared round back. A mortar has no COUNT: the crew fires every round by hand. The loader seat and the gunner both open the handler; without a loader, the gunner prepares the rounds alone, half again as slow. The tube takes about 16 rounds at the crew's pace (about 4 to 5 s a round), then holds to 4 rounds a minute (TUBE HOT - COOLING). The gunner lays by hand: turn until CA matches MA and CQ matches MQ.
The handler state is shared: every crew member sees the same status, and the gunner sight shows it too.
Rocket artillery¶
The Seara 2 and the Zamak MRLi have the Guided Missile Configuration app on their mounted tablet (gunner seat). It computes firing solutions like the gun app, and sets the fuze (mode and time) and the guidance (target grid and elevation) of the rockets before you APPLY SETTINGS.
The launchers are on the datalink like the guns (Fire data from the FDC): the app shows where FDC data came from and the fuze setting, the MLRS sight has the FCI ORDERS panel, and FDC ORDERS on the fuze and guidance page fills in the round, the fuze (a time fuze with the fuze setting) and a GPS target before you APPLY SETTINGS.
Battery fire¶
For fire missions with several guns, see the Battery Computer (BCS).