No, Time on Target or Multiple-Round Simultaneous Impact is to
have one tube firing a number of rds with different elevation and
propllent charges so that each rds will land on the one target at
the same time as shown below:
Becos of different elevation and propllent charges , each rd will
have different trajectory & each flight time will be different,
so you fire the longest one first then the next longest etc , with
proper timimg of firing for each rd , you could have a few rds
landed on the same target at the same time( maybe 2~4 sec
apart).
I did some reading and I found that some mortar rds do come with
variable charges, they have main propellant cartridges and number
of removable incremental propellant charges.
ST Engg 120mm ICM
And a number of new mortar systems has already developed such MRSI
capability
Patria-Hägglunds AMOS ( double barrel)
http://www.defense-update.com/products/a/amos.htm
Another single barrel version, Nemo from the same company.
http://www.defense-update.com/products/n/nemo-mortar.htm
US new Non-Line-of-Sight Mortar
http://www.baesystemspresskit.com/AUSA-2006/NonLineofSight_Mortar.cfm
Here how AMOS mortar system does MRSI which is actually similar to
how SPH does it:
AMOS can fire 26 rounds in one minute and the first 14 rounds
can be set to impact on the target at the same time. This happens
by adjusting the angle and power of the shots and carefully
calculating the time between the shots. The first rounds are shot
with higher angles and loads of propellant so that the rounds fly a
high arc. The next rounds are shot a couple of seconds afterwards
with a slightly smaller angle and with less gunpowder so that they
fly a lower arc but fly as far as the first rounds. This can be
done seven times in a row, always adjusting the angle and power, so
that the result is that all the 14 rounds hit the target
simultaneously. The adjustment between the shots is done by
a computer. The strike of one AMOS unit roughly equals one
strike of an artillery battery.
Note: All the above system are turreted and the AMOS and NEMO
have direct fire mode.
So far , SRAMS never mentioned abt MRSI capability but it does come
with FCS computer, it could theoretically calculate based on
distance from target, the charges required, the elevation and
timing for each subsequent rd to achieve MRSI , perhaps 2~3 rds
MRSI capability.
Comments???
