An adaptive mix correction for fire support in combat operations

Firing shift is the shifting of artillery fire from one target to another by applying corrections to the firing data for the second target (the Application) based on the observed miss for the first (the Registration). In this paper, we suggest a way of calculating such corrections based on an adaptive mix of physical and environmental conditions. These corrections belong in spirit to the traditional principle of false ranging inweaponry. First, we introduce a linear model for artillery fire accuracy, and show how it can be used to evaluate existing firing techniques. Then we present the new method for implementing the shift. It is based on the solution of a constrained quadratic optimization problem for the proper mix of physical and environmental factors. The optimal mix depends on the given Application target-hence adaptive.We compare the resulting shift accuracy to that of unadjusted fire ("first shot") and to that of the currently used firing-shift algorithm. The proven potential of the newmethod suggests that it could have a big impact on combat operations.