Here a M109 brought up to
M109A3 standard. The modification increased effective
range to 18 - 24 km pending on type of ammo.
Around 2002/2003 the howitzers were upgraded with SIFCOM,
a Gun Guidance system
for a battery of Guns.
Using secure military
wireless networks, Java and touch sensitive screens, the
artillery is now capable of sharing intelligence,
performing ballistic calculations, and co-ordinating
activities using digital data exchanges.
Terma A/S has provided the ability to exchange
information between Artillery Guns and the Fire Direction
Centers of a Battery, including the ability to exchange
data with the meteorological station of the battalion.
The communication is based on military wireless network,
using standard Internet Protocol addressing and can run
on a normal network, as well.
The communication system is based on a military modem
standard, using the army standard Combat Net Radio and a
commercially available modem. The project also included
the integration of a NATO ballistic calculation program
and development of a management application, including
the user interface for the guns. The military computer
offers full military specifications and a touch sensitive
screen, which enables the user to operate it inside the
gun vehicle.
As of 2010 only a small number of
howitzers are kept operational, in order to keep the expertise within
the army.
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