Monday, June 06, 2005
AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder Weapon Locating System
October 25, 2004 By Megan Scully, Special to the Army Times
Before the Army deployed its 20-year-old AN/TPQ-37
Firefinder Weapon Locating System to Iraq, the service developed new software
to bring the system up to date. But at least one operational unit said the
upgraded system failed to do what it was intended to do: detect mortar rounds.
For soldiers in 1st
Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the TPQ-37 was more of a problem than
an asset. The unit came under mortar fire 40 times in Iraq, but the system detected rounds only three times. The squadron suffered between 10
and 15 injuries from mortars.
We stopped, we moved the radar around, the technical guys
around worked the [software] programming, said Lt. Col. Gregory Reilly, the
squadrons leader. We tried everything humanly possible.
The unit even fired its own mortars at the system in an
attempt to work out the bugs. [Which is about all its good for: target
practice.] Even under the best circumstances, the radar detected only
one out of five rounds. I just dont think there was fidelity in the
system, Reilly said.
Thales Raytheon Systems Q-37 Firefinder radar, which can be
transported on a 2.5-ton truck, was first fielded in the 1980s to detect rounds
from long-range Soviet artillery up to 30 miles away.
The enemy also has adapted their tactics to defeat the
radars, using nontraditional trajectories and nonstandard launchers, Bowman
said.
Moreover, the Q-37 was
built to protect division-size units. Five apiece would cover an entire front
line. But in Iraq, the friendly units are smaller and the enemies more mobile.
The Firefinders have been parceled out to brigades, typically one each. Offering
only 90-degree coverage, the Q-37 leaves part of the battlefield uncovered,
Bowman said.
The Armys teams also are working on software problems with
the TPQ-36, which has been picking up too much clutter, or interference.
AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder Weapon Locating System
