Fire control system of several snipers
Since the occurrence of small weapons the designers' efforts were aimed at solving the problem of increasing the accuracy - “one shot - guaranteed target loss”. With the development of technology, weapons become more powerful and more long-range, but the problem of guaranteed target destruction is still relevant. The construction of small-bore sniper weapons within the framework of modern technologies has reached its logical limit in terms of efficiency.
Tactical tasks of warfare dictate conflicting conditions to developers:
A. increase the distance from the arrow to the target,
B. improving the accuracy of hitting the target,
V. improving the conditions of secrecy (masking) the position of the arrow.
Despite the efforts of the designers, only any two of the required three conditions are satisfied fairly well. Sniping is still mostly an art, a lot of highly skilled professionals, and not a mass military profession. The best examples of sniper weapons are also hand-made piece items that are not intended for mass production.
The existing alternative to the trends is to impart new properties to the sniper rifle-bullet system with the help of modern microelectronics. This could include the well-known DARPA (USA) - EXACTO program [Details here: http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Extreme_Accuracy_Tasked_Ordnance_(EXACTO).aspx], as well as the technical development of the independent company Tracking Point (USA ) [Details here: http://tracking-point.com/innovations]. No matter how fantastic these developments look, they still solve only a part of the set conditions.
Why is this so?
Consider the physics of the processes taking place in the rifle-bullet-target system.
The accuracy of the shot is primarily affected by the work of the automatic shutter mechanism. During shot production, shutters with automatics create a large number of unbalanced mechanical impulses. Therefore, the most accurate rifles - with bolt bolt, but to the detriment of the rate of fire.
To increase the distance of the shot is required to lengthen the barrel and increase the mass of the powder charge. But the longer barrel experiences a large amplitude of transverse vibrations caused by the pressure of hot powder gases - which reduces accuracy.
To give the bullet stability in flight, the designers increase the inertial mass of the bullet, which leads to an increase in the powder charge, an increase in the recoil momentum and, again, a decrease in accuracy. An increase in the charge of the powder leads to a greater pressure of gases inside the barrel and a greater amplitude of transverse deformation of the barrel during the shot. Which is just as bad.
Installation of acoustic silencers on a rifle leads to a decrease in the pressure of powder gases on the bullet, a decrease in the initial velocity of the bullet and, consequently, a decrease in the distance to the target. But even the use of silencers does not save the shooter from detection.
In the armies of the most advanced countries adopted the system of acoustic detection of sources of shot.
More information here:
1. http://bbn.com/boomerang
2.http: //www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/archive_2011/details_964.php
3. http; // www.aaicorp.com/products/advanced_prog/acoustic_detection.
4. http://www.microflown-avisa.com/Platforms/
A system of several microphones receives the sound of a shock wave shot, and a mathematical processor calculates the direction to the sound source. Next comes the command to defeat the terrain from which the shot was fired, with rocket artillery fire.
The technical implementations of the structures of detection systems are based on the well-known physical process and the developed mathematical apparatus described in the patent for the invention of US 8,005,631 B2 from 23 in August 2011.
In short, the physics of the process is as follows. Several (5-7) microphones register a supersonic air front of a flying bullet. Next, the microphones register the subsonic wave front from the powder gases of the shot. The difference in time is processed using a mathematical apparatus, which allows us to calculate the azimuth of the direction to the source of the shot. The effectiveness of this equipment is determined by the processing speed of mathematical algorithms. The speed and accuracy of calculations is also influenced by the number of microphones. According to the authors of the invention, fewer 5 microphones are not enough, more than 7 are redundant.
Are there any other methods of guaranteed target destruction? It is possible to increase the probability of hitting a target numerically by sending several bullets to the target. This is exactly how automatic small arms work. But it has a lot of limitations - a large number of mechanical pulses of the shutter and, therefore, low accuracy, relatively low long-range, rapid heating of the barrel also affects the decrease in accuracy.
Escape from this vicious circle tried the designers working on the program EXACTO. The main technical solution - the trajectory of the bullet in flight is corrected by the reflection of the laser beam from the target. Shooting calculation consists of two people - an arrow and a gunner. The gunner illuminates the target with a laser beam at a distance of up to two kilometers. A heavy bullet fired from the barrel of a sniper rifle flies along a ballistic trajectory and compensates for the influence of atmospheric factors on the trajectory with the help of miniature ailerons.
But where will the bullet get in the conditions of rain, snow, fog, dust, if the reflection of the laser beam is scattered in the atmosphere? Another minus - the bullet has a fairly large weight, and the sound of the shot will be perfectly recorded from a distance much more than the distance of the shot. The shot is supposed to be made from a heavy rifle and the arrow is difficult to quickly change position after each shot. In addition, the combat crew is not capable in the event of the injury or loss of one of the team members.
Lockheed-Martin, on the instructions of DARPA, is developing the DInGO (Dynamic Image Gunsight Optics) program for developing an adaptive sight. The experience of fighting in Afghanistan has shown that the main clashes occur at distances from 100 to 600. The new sight has a built-in laser rangefinder and electronics for quick adjustment of the zoom lens (sharpens). The developers indicate that the rifles equipped with such sights will have advantages over the enemy exactly at distances from 300 to 600. There are no weather sensors and ballistic calculators. This sight is supposed to be installed on automatic weapons. [more info here: http://lockheedmartin.com/us/mst/features/110922-ready-aim-fire.html]
The original technical solution to improve accuracy was proposed by the designers of Tracking Point (USA). The electron-optical equipment mounted on the rifle determines the distance to the target, calculates the estimated trajectory of the bullet and automatically fires if the shooter combines the crosshair of the sight with the intended point of impact. The advantages of this invention include the fact that the designers tried to take into account the influence of external factors on the trajectory of the bullet and equipped the rifle with a microcomputer that calculates the necessary corrections in hardware. In general, everything is acceptable, but ... Although the designers stated that the attachment includes an anemometer (a device for measuring transverse wind speed) this is more of an advertising move. Effective, in reality, laser anemometers have a weight of several tens of kilograms and can only be installed on transport platforms (tank sights or weather satellites). Consequently, the probability of a bullet hitting a target remains mathematically probabilistic. The biggest disadvantage of this invention is that electronics decides when to fire a shot. How this is combined with the motor skills of the shooter and the psychophysical readiness to fire a shot is not clear.
The invention proposed by the author allows to break the vicious circle and bring sniping to a new qualitative level, to make the army sniper profession a mass one. The most probable field of application of the invention is tactical army or anti-terrorist operations.
What are the advantages of the invention over the existing samples and what makes it possible to speak about the qualitatively new, “breakthrough” features of this technology?
1. Complete and reliable information about the coordinates of the target (s).
2. The most complete account of external factors affecting the trajectory of the bullet.
3. The possibility of high-speed software and hardware data processing.
4. Protected remote control arrows and weapons.
5. Providing acoustic masking of the positions of the shooters and the command post.
6. The ability to produce simultaneous salvo of several rifles for a single or group target.
7. Flexible tactical maneuvering, including weapons calibers. High autonomy of each combat unit team.
8. The possibility of a tactical "game" with the enemy.
9. Minimize the cost of training snipers.
The main idea of the invention is to form a team of snipers from 2-20 man, armed with sniper rifles of a single or various calibers with optical-electronic equipment installed on them. Individual rifle equipment is integrated into a local wireless network, through which video information about targets, information about sight corrections, information about the state of shooters, and information of verbal arrow control commands circulates. Managing the actions of snipers and firing shots (or synchronous shots) is made from the command post. A more complete description of the equipment and possible embodiments are described in the text of the invention. (Invention of the Russian Federation RU 2012111374 "Multi-Sniper Fire Control System").
What a tactical operation using this invention might look like.
Before the commencement of the operation, the commander forms a team of several (2-20) snipers with rifles of different (single) caliber and assigns each shooter an individual position and target. Arrows take up positions and activate rifle attachments. Active equipment automatically forms a local wireless data transmission network, and the commander has the opportunity on his display to observe all the targets assigned to the arrows.
The image of all targets is presented on the display of the commander of the operation in a multi-screen format. In addition to the image of the target, each individual window displays information about the distance to the target, information about the readiness of the shooter to shoot and tools for controlling the zoom of the video camera from the attached equipment. The mark “readiness of the shooter” appears on the image as soon as the shooter puts his finger on the trigger of the rifle. If the shooter removes the finger from the trigger - the readiness label in the individual window disappears.
The commander has the opportunity to consider in detail each goal. To do this, you need to transfer the individual window of the arrow to full screen (s) or to achieve the necessary image detail with the help of zoom control tools. Along the way, the commander verbally controls the actions of the shooters, assigns or reassigns targets, based on tactical necessity.
The commander has the ability to remotely make a shot from any rifle included in the local network. The commander has the ability to combine the equipment of all or several rifles into a group and produce a synchronous salvo. The command of readiness for the commander to fire a shot is transferred verbally to the designated shooter (s).
Each individual kit receives information about the necessary amendments to the sights from the ballistic calculator of the central post. A computerized ballistic calculator, first of all, receives data from each individual set — the exact satellite coordinates of the arrow, the distance from the arrow to the target, the angle of elevation, and data from the command post equipment — the coordinates of the post, the individual tactical and technical parameters of each rifle.
The exact satellite coordinates are projected onto a detailed three-dimensional map of the combat area, and further, the computer takes into account in the calculations the meteorological data from the sensors of the meteorological station installed at the central post. After performing the necessary calculations, the ballistic calculator transmits through the network individual corrections for each sight. Each rifle is equipped with a motorized and remotely controlled mechanism for amending the sight. The arrow can only slightly adjust the rifle, according to the promptly made amendments, and follow the verbal commands of the leader.
If the target is equipped with the acoustic detection equipment of the shooter, then the synchronous shot produced will confound the system of “smart” microphones. Bullets, having a supersonic speed, hit the target almost simultaneously. All fronts of supersonic waves created by bullets will be perceived as a single wave, and from different azimuths, since will be registered by various microphones. The fronts of subsonic waves (pops of shots) will also come from different azimuths, but will have a greater time spread due to the effects of wind and the heterogeneity of the atmospheric pressure gradient. There is no physical ability and mathematical apparatus for comparing such sound phenomena. Simply put, if you hear a synchronous sound from several spatially separated sources, you cannot determine the direction to the sound source.
What are the advantages of my invention in relation to modern rifle systems.
- According to the description of the invention, mounted optical-electronic equipment is ready for installation on almost all modern designs of sniper rifles.
- An increase in the lump sum of bullets fired into a single target guarantees one hundred percent defeat of a target or the simultaneous defeat of several targets.
- The ability to produce a synchronous salvo from several positions creates an acoustic masking of the positions of the shooters.
- A set of the proposed equipment allows you to more fully take into account all the factors affecting the trajectory of the bullet.
- Calculation of corrections of sights is done in hardware, from a protected command post, using a high-performance computer.
- Each shooter in the team is an autonomous combat unit, not constrained by the need to independently make measurements and calculations for the production of a shot. In case of loss of communication with the command center, each shooter can act on the battlefield quite independently.
- All components of the mounted optical-electronic equipment and equipment of the command post are technologically mastered by modern industry.
Is there a demand and what is the cost of this invention? Everything is relative.
Each company keeps secret the size of investment in the development of new technologies. Open sources have information about the amount of funding by the DARPA agency for design and development work under the EXACTO program. This program has similar tasks with the described invention and, as a result, a similar marketing cost.
For 3-4 of the year, the US government, through the DARPA agency, paid contractors more than 50 million dollars. More details here: http; // www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Budget.aspx (file FY2011PresBudget28Jan10 Final.pdf, Volume 1-196, page 56 or page 214 in pass-through numbering), and here: http: // www .teledyne.com / news / tdy_09302010.asp.
The working version of the technical implementation of this project, the developers plan to demonstrate somewhere in 2015 year.
The cost of one weapon from Tracking Point starts from 17 thousand and up to 23 thousand US dollars. The Pentagon does not show interest in this product due to the inconsistency of the logic of the product to the field tactics of snipers (the government program Land Warrior). [Details here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/17000-linux-powered-rifle-brings-auto-aim-to-the-real-world/]
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