Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System

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Under the Army Battle Command System (ABCS) at higher headquarters level, the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) forms, with other service and national systems, a common operational picture (COP) of fire support, not just artillery but also guided missiles and air operations.[1] The system is being co-developed with the U.S. Marine Corps, and replaces the Controlling close support to ground forces|TACFIRE system. It is ABCS that interfaces to the Global Information Grid, not AFATDS.

Artillery control

AFATDS generally goes to a tactical headquarters that actually directs the weapons, but it can interface to precision-guided munitions or long-range weapons systems.

M109 155mm Howitzer

AFATDS does not go down to the individual artillery piece level, but the Platoon Operations Center for a M109 howitzer|M109A6 howitzer firing platoon interfaces to AFATDS using the lightweight computer unit (LCU) with battery computer system (BCS) software.[2] The LCU, in turn, communicates with the Automated Fire Control System (AFCS) of each artillery piece. [3]

M777 Lightweight Howitzer & the next generation

Not only does the M777 howitzer replace the M198 towed howitzer, it is the first artillery piece that can fire the XM982 Excalibur guided shell, a 155 mm precision-guided artillery round with extended range. The projectile is a joint development with the Swedish Army. AFATDS does interface to the Excalibur, and to the now-cancelled future Non-Line of Sight (N-LOS) artillery piece.

M270 launcher

While the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System was originally intended for both unguided rockets with greater range than the 155mm howitzer, as well as the MGM-140 ATACMS surface-to-surface missile, its M26 (rocket)|M26 unguided rockets are being replaced with two guided rockets with lesser range than ATACMS but longer range than the M26: the M30 (rocket)|M30 with cluster submunitions, and the XM31 (rocket)|XM31 with a unitary warhead. ATACMS can communicate with these extended range systems.

Interoperability

This Army and Marine system can exchange information with the AN-|AN/SYQ-27 Naval Fire Control System (NFCS) aboard Burke-class destroyers.[4] NFCS, in turn, interfaces to the Navy's Global Command and Control System-Maritime.

With the Air Force Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS), the two systems work together to deconfliction|deconflict Army artillery fires with the air tasking order|Air Tasking Order. The TBMCS operates as part of the Global Information Grid at the level of Unified Combatant Commands.

Internationally, it works with the Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities (ASCA): U.S. AFATDS, French ATLAS, Italian, German ADLER and British BATES. ASCA is a superset of NATO standardization agreements (STANAG).

References

  1. Hughes, Dan & Ron Filak, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS)
  2. U.S. Army (Department of the Army) (1 August 2000), Chapter 1: Mission, Organization, and System Description, Field Manual FM 3-09.70: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for M109A6 Howitzer (Paladin) Operations
  3. U.S. Army (Department of the Army) (1 August 2000), Appendix B: Automated Command and Control, Field Manual FM 3-09.70: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for M109A6 Howitzer (Paladin) Operations
  4. Kollar, Gregory T. (March-April 2005), "Naval Fire Control System", Field Artillery