Plenty of such older systems had TV cameras for the visual image aspect (e.g. the US 1970s Mk86), but these could not be used to track targets or compute fire solutions; they could only be slewed onto a target cued by radar or manually controlled. This is of course primarily deficient against targets with a low radar cross section or in firing against shore targets; such firing tasks would essentially have to be manually controlled and corrected.So am I right in saying that older fire directors do not provide a visual image andinstead present data in the form of images on a screen?
Thales Mirador is specifically advertised for naval gunfire support and splash spotting, i.e. in manual fire correction. The primary purpose of such sights is surveillance; they can typically be cued towards targets in parallel with the main gun, but not much more.Can electro optical sights like the Thales Mirador be cued to the main gun?
The Lekius have a single Radamec 2400 mounted on top of the bridge for gunfire direction. The Radamec 2400 is a FCS suite with optronic channel, laser rangefinder, autotracking, fire prediction, weapon control modes for direct and indirect ship-to-shore fire and surveillance mode autoscan. It's controlled from a console in the CIC.I'm baffled about the MS1 30mm guns on the Royal Malaysian Navy's Lekiu frigates which do not have separate optical sights like the Emerlec but can still be fire renotely from the CIC.
That's the coaxial radar for measuring muzzle velocity btw, used to correct FCS fire prediction and properly fuze 3P ammunition for the right intercept point.the Bofors Mk2 57mm has what appears to be an optical sight fitted on the barrel of the gun
Incorrect. The 3P ammo is only compatible with the Bofors 57mm Mk3 gun, not the Mk2 (unless modified by the host country, not Bofors)....That's the coaxial radar for measuring muzzle velocity btw, used to correct FCS fire prediction and properly fuze 3P ammunition for the right intercept point.
I'm confused I guess. Are you saying a 3P round can be fired from a Mk2? Of course it can, but it simply turns this very expensive programmable round into a cheap proximity fused round. Without the fuse programmer ans associated software upgrades (to not only the Gun Control Computer, but to any weapon interface units and possibly to the Fire control systems as well) the 3P round is pretty pointless.Not exactly getting what you're trying to get at. As said, the MVR is used to correct FCS fire prediction (by adding the muzzle velocity under current conditions into the calculation); if using 3P ammo in an adapted Mk2, it is additionally used to calculate the proper setting for the 3P time-based IP preset. In the Mk3 the MVR fulfills the same dual purpose.
Bofors itself began offering a compatibility upgrade for 3P in Mk2 around 1994/95 (mostly software adaption, fuze setter and MVR), when the Mk3 was rolled out. To my knowledge no one has bought it. There are no austere Mk2 modifications to fire 3P.
Absolutely....while not the most ideal! (You are literally right beside the barrel and magazines. It was loud, smelly, hot and very very hard to hit anything.....)Would it be safe to assume that because there's a glass panel on the Mk1 that there was provision for it to be operated manually? The ship pictured in the centre below [pennant 1503] does not appear to have a fire director so the Mk 1 is probably operated by a chap in the turret itself. On the ship pictured on the far right, can anyone spot a fire director for the MK1 mounted on the stern?
Which brings to mind another question - can a ship with a fire director which is in very close proximity to another ship, use its fire director to 'control' the gun on the other ship?
I too, was shocked at the level of technology in place in these "old" guns (designed in the 1960's)....but, there is a reason Bofors has been a player for so long in the gun game...... :soldierThanks for the info!
Given that the Mk1 first appeared amost 40 years ago, the firing controls looks very 'advanced' wouldn't you agree?