Fire your own NLOS cannon
Posted by John McHale
Last week a friend in the industry clued me into a link that not only lets you learn about a new weapon platform but play with it in a simulation.
The platform is the new Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) mobile artillery system. The NLOS canon is the first vehicle to be rolled out of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. According to the web site HowStuffWorks.com, the cannon "can hit a target accurately from as far away as 30 kilometers (about 18 miles), depending on the ordinance it's firing. The cannon being developed by BAE Systems for the U.S. Army uses a 155mm .38 caliber howitzer and allows for a wide choice of ordinance.
"Since the firing process is automated, the cannon can shoot rapidly. Automated firing also cuts the four or five personnel required to operate modern mobile artillery down to two soldiers."
Click here to play the online game "NLOS Cannon Challenge". The game, developed by InHance, is on the Discovery Channel's web site on "Future Weapons." It lets you choose your elevation, your velocity, and just fire away!
My first try I made it halfway through round 8 and scored 51,400 points.
Let me know if you top that score and don't forget to turn up the volume on your computer for the full effect.
Learning is fun.
Last week a friend in the industry clued me into a link that not only lets you learn about a new weapon platform but play with it in a simulation.
The platform is the new Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) mobile artillery system. The NLOS canon is the first vehicle to be rolled out of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. According to the web site HowStuffWorks.com, the cannon "can hit a target accurately from as far away as 30 kilometers (about 18 miles), depending on the ordinance it's firing. The cannon being developed by BAE Systems for the U.S. Army uses a 155mm .38 caliber howitzer and allows for a wide choice of ordinance.
"Since the firing process is automated, the cannon can shoot rapidly. Automated firing also cuts the four or five personnel required to operate modern mobile artillery down to two soldiers."
Click here to play the online game "NLOS Cannon Challenge". The game, developed by InHance, is on the Discovery Channel's web site on "Future Weapons." It lets you choose your elevation, your velocity, and just fire away!
My first try I made it halfway through round 8 and scored 51,400 points.
Let me know if you top that score and don't forget to turn up the volume on your computer for the full effect.
Learning is fun.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
