The US Army has fielded new fire control software designed to help vehicle-mounted weapons take down small drones while both the target and the vehicle are moving.
Adapted from technology originally developed for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, the software continuously pulls data from onboard sensors to keep weapons accurate on the move.
It uses a modular open-systems approach, enabling future improvements to be quickly integrated and fielded across the service.
The software was recently demonstrated at Aberdeen Proving Ground using a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station as part of the Simultaneous Weapon Autonomy Technology for Fire Control (SWAT-FC) project.
According to the development team, data collected during the test will help refine future versions of the system, with further gains expected in speed and accuracy.
“It’s a great start to the effort. The SWAT-FC team has put considerable time and effort into developing our advanced fire control algorithms and preparing for this test,” SWAT-FC Armaments Project Officer Nick Cascia said.
“Once we started destroying drones, it showed the hard work was paying off.”
Solving the Small Drone Problem
The SWAT-FC project was launched in response to the growing threat posed by small unmanned aerial systems on the battlefield.
Neutralizing a maneuvering drone from a moving vehicle presents one of the more demanding targeting challenges, as movement on both sides makes it harder to maintain a stable firing solution.
Seeking a way to improve engagements against those targets, army officials pursued an advanced fire control solution capable of maintaining accuracy during movement.
The effort is led by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center as part of a broader science and technology initiative.
