The use of satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has drastically reduced the time required to activate artillery systems, writes Breaking Defense.
According to the American publication, spacecraft and UAVs can quickly detect the location of targets, the coordinates of which are transmitted to the army artillery systems for strike. During the recent exercises held at the Yuma training ground, the time interval from target detection by a satellite or a drone to the use of artillery systems was less than 20 seconds.
The publication notes that in the event of threats from China and Russia, this figure “will not be tens of minutes.”
Breaking Defense writes that in the fall, as part of the Project Convergence army games, it is planned to use commercial satellites located in low-earth orbit, MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones and ground sensors to determine the location of the target, the data from which will be processed using artificial intelligence (AI) systems. at the Joint Lewis-McCord Base of the United States Army and Air Force (Air Force) in Washington state. A self-propelled howitzer M109, MQ-1C Gray Eagle or some ground platform is considered as a test weapon.
In September, during a demonstration of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, an adapted M109 Paladin 155mm howitzer shot down a BQM-167 Skeeter air target imitating a Russian cruise rocket.
Thus, the United States conducted exercises simulating a military conflict with Russia.
