Page 226 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

232 NAVAL SKILLS

Watchstanders monitor the tactical situation in the command and control center of the cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63). (Lowell Whitman)

Elements of fire control that guide a weapon, set the fuse of \Vhat is the system or component unit supposed to do?
its explosive payload, or "program" it to reach the target (for How well is the system or component supposed to do it?
example, i1 torpedo or surface-to-air guided missile)
The answer to the first question is called the military reqllire-
A destructive payload capable of destroying the target when II/Cllt . It is a statement of the nature of the equipment and its capa-
exploded all contact with it, or in dose proximity to it bilities. Some examples of this might be the range and rate of fire of
The effective use of any naval weapon requires that a payload, a gUll, the range, accuracy, and sensitivity of a radar, or the speed,
usually an explosive device, be delivered to a target, which most aCClll'ilC)', and limits of operation of a missile control computer.
The answer to the second question concerns general require-
often is moving. Accuracy ill determining the location and veloc-
ments that are applicable to <111 weapon systems, regardless of the
ity of the target is vital to the success of the attack. Moreover, the
threat to our ships posed by modern air, surl~lCe, and subsurface nature of the systern or its components. Some of the current gen-
weapons is sllch that today, to be effective, all defensive weapons eral requirements are described below.
Reliability and flexibility. The system must be able to function
must be capable not only of individual usc, but also itS part of it
total weapon system. satisfactorily in spite of some failures in its power supply, or with
The trend in recent times has been toward design and pro- certain components disabled and others substituted.
curement of complete weapon systems. This is especially so in the Safety. The system should reduce hazardous conditions by
case of the newer missile systems, with their complex guidance and interlocks 01' other means; it must not endanger friendly ships and
aircraft, or its own ship's structure or personnel.
propulsion components.
Simillicity of operation. Even though modern weapon systems
Any weapon system or component designed today must effec-
are complex, they should be designed for uncomplicated opera-
tively address two basic questions:
tion by average, trained human beings.