The United States is already testing the ATLAS system: the tank itself will show the gunner who to shoot at
In general, a tank is such a contraption that needs automation very much, and the more it is, the higher its efficiency. For example, automatic gun loader, automatic fire control system, computerized engine control - all these elements can hardly be overestimated. They really help.
This is all understandable, and has not been considered novelty for a long time. The question here is different: what if the tank also independently searches for targets for firing and even prompts the gunner which projectile should be loaded into the cannon for this? Fiction? Looks like no.
The Americans have such a system not only on paper or in angry threats. She is already being rolled on tanks Abrams. It is called ATLAS, which is an abbreviation for Advanced Targeting and Lethality Aided System, or translated into Russian - "advanced targeting and lethality enhancement system."
And why is it needed at all?
Of course, the presence of a thermal imaging sight and a commander's multi-channel panoramic observation device is already a mandatory standard for any modern tank. These gizmos significantly increase the combat effectiveness of the vehicle, and there are no questions about this. But there is one catch here: no matter what modern sighting and observation devices and the fire control system as a whole are, no one has canceled the human factor.
Take the tank commander as an example. Despite the fact that the gunner should also be engaged in the search and identification of targets, it is on this crew member that the lion's share of the load falls in this process - that's what the all-round view is given to him. But in tense combat conditions, the commander has very little time for a thoughtful examination of the terrain, since, in addition, he needs to maintain contact with the commanding unit, navigate the terrain, correctly assess the situation, make certain decisions on further actions of the crew, and so on. So even a cool "panorama" with a good thermal imager will not completely eliminate errors - something "blurred eye" may miss.
The gunner has fewer responsibilities, but he is not immune from mistakes. Even experienced tankers, especially at long ranges, sometimes misidentify targets and don't even notice them. Objects through the electronic vision of a thermal imager do not always contrast strongly with the background and clearly show their outlines. You may not understand what is in front of you. Situations are rare, but they do happen.
Source: dzen.ru
In addition, after detecting and identifying the target, you need to perform a number of operations to prepare the shot: measure the range, select the type of projectile, set the appropriate ballistics, and so on. All this takes time, albeit a relatively short one.
Hence the conclusion that an electronic system capable of automatically searching for targets, correctly identifying them, measuring the range to them and choosing the right type of projectile would still be useful. And the crew will unload, and reduce the time to defeat, and get rid of mistakes to the maximum.
This system under the abbreviation ATLAS has been working in the USA for more than two years. Previously, they only talked about her, but now she is lit up on tanks.
Development of a system for searching and identifying targets
According to the plans, ATLAS should become a fully automated software and hardware system that will be installed on tanks and other armored vehicles with minimal alterations. Its capabilities, of course, in the future will make it possible to minimize the work of gunners and commanders in searching for and identifying targets, as well as to facilitate and speed up the preparation of a shot due to automatic range measurement, selection of projectiles for hitting the enemy and making corrections for firing in real time. All this, of course, due to neural networks.
Roughly speaking, this thing will continuously inspect the battlefield and, having noticed the enemy, it will identify it itself and issue recommendations to the gunner. In a very exaggerated version, it will look like this: hey, gunner, I found the target and determined it - this is a tank, so I already measured the range to it, load the sub-caliber projectile and just press the trigger.
The initiator of the work, represented by the Aberdeen Proving Ground, in his requirements also indicates that a tank with ATLAS will have time to hit three targets in the time spent on one target in manual mode.
The program, judging by the abundance of areas of work, the scale is far from just research. They were divided into five main groups, and they were allowed to deal with not only specialized companies that ate a dog in service, but also companies completely far from the “military” in whose portfolios of orders the US Army had never appeared before. In fact, this is one of the rare cases when the potential of hardened and giant defense corporations seemed insufficient. However, the US Army Weapons Center and the C5ISR Center are listed as the main performers. How many contractors they involved is not specified.
ATLAS tests on the Griffin I tank. The photo was taken from a modified M113 armored personnel carrier, from where the vehicle was remotely controlled. Source: c4isrnet.com
So what are the directions?
First of all, these are works with a digital image. As part of these activities, target tracking systems (automatic target tracking), their complete identification up to determining the model of a specific piece of equipment in the sight, passive ranging, mapping and accelerated decision-making by the on-board computer are being worked out.
Equally important is the work with machine learning. The "brains" of ATLAS teach algorithms for determining targets, deal with signatures by which the system will identify the enemy, and also make the product resistant to visual interference and adapt the software of the complex for use on existing processors used in military equipment.
Signature definition of enemy armored vehicles on the battlefield. The capabilities of the system allow you to identify the model of the combat vehicle in the sight. Source: covar.com
The remaining three are fire control automation, integration into combat vehicles and the development of all kinds of sensors, from thermal imaging surveillance devices with sensitivity in different wavelength ranges to laser rangefinders and lidars.
It is worth noting that ATLAS will still be controlled by a person - a gunner and / or tank commander. Therefore, to clarify all the ergonomic points, the developers have already attracted several dozen tankers and other military specialties, who tested the controls of the system and gave their recommendations on how to refine it in order to make it more convenient to use.
Refinement of the ergonomic component of ATLAS. Source: nationaldefensemagazine.org
Not only on paper
Work on this product went far beyond scientific research. Prototypes are already being actively tested, presented to the general public and even provided with some comments on their characteristics.
Initially, the experiments were carried out on the platform of an experimental Griffin I tank from General Dynamics. Its modified turret was fitted with a 50mm autoloader cannon and controlled by wire from a nearby M113 armored personnel carrier.
ATLAS tests on the Griffin I tank. Initially, two electronic observation and aiming modules were used, but the integration of the system into the tank's FCS makes it possible to get by with one. Source: c4isrnet.com
Now the turn has come to the Abrams, the pictures of which were recently published in the West.
Tank "Abrams" with the ATLAS system for testing in order to refine the product. Source: sturgeonshouse.ipbhost.comt.com
The "eyes" of the system is an electronic module, somewhat reminiscent of a commander's panoramic sight, mounted on the roof of the tank in a mobile platform. This platform provides not only a 360-degree view, but also can rotate the module vertically for a more complete observation of the area. Cameras installed on all projections of the tank can also be used additionally, complementing the situational awareness of the crew and the ATLAS computer system.
In the module itself, based on rather scarce information, there are thermal imaging cameras susceptible to infrared waves of various lengths, a lidar and a laser rangefinder.
"Examining" the surrounding space on the battlefield in manual or automatic mode, the ATLAS thermal imager isolates objects that contrast with it from a general and generally homogeneous background. Accordingly, the slightest flashes of infrared radiation are immediately processed by "artificial intelligence" (neural network), which compares the contours of an object lit up in the sight with signatures sewn into memory. That is, having reference images of equipment and people, he determines what is in the sight - some kind of tank or infantry squad of the enemy, or even a pack of dogs running around.
If the computer nevertheless realized that there was a dangerous target in the lens of the thermal imaging camera, it informs the crew about this and remembers its coordinates in azimuth (the angle by which the electronic observation module was turned at the time the enemy was detected). Thus, ATLAS can store data on 3-4 targets, as they say, online.
In order to select a specific target from the list, the gunner (or commander) just needs to press the corresponding image on the touch screen. The system will immediately measure the range to it, turn the turret and issue a recommendation on the use of a particular projectile. For example, if a tank is caught, a message will appear stating that it is necessary to load a sub-caliber projectile, and if manpower, then a cumulative fragmentation or multifunctional high-explosive fragmentation projectile.
In general, a good help for the crew, which in the heat of battle is quite difficult to keep track of the situation in conditions of limited situational awareness.
Conclusions
Most publications about ATLAS in the Western media, and ours too, are based on the main slogan: destroy three times as many targets in the time it takes the crew to defeat only one. It sounds about the same as advertising some Internet provider tariff in the style of "speed up to 500 Mbps", where the main word is "to”, which means it could be less.
Yes, the speed of preparing a shot increases, but the main thing here is to reduce the neuro-physical load on the crew in terms of monitoring the battlefield, as well as reducing the number of errors in target identification. Of course, the neural network can have “bugs” and false positives, but they are successfully corrected by running new scenarios and signatures.
Of course, this is not a combat artificial intelligence. This is just an assistant to tankers, which expands the capabilities and improves the efficiency of the tank as a whole. And, apparently, the Americans are quite serious about the fact that they will be serially equipped with tanks and other combat vehicles. As they say, we'll see.
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