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Artillerymen at Fort Bragg, N.C., became the first unit in the Army to receive digitized M119A3 howitzers, which will make it possible for Soldiers to start firing rounds and evade return fire quicker in combat. The M119 is a lightweight 105 mm howitzer that provides suppressive and protective fires for infantry brigade combat teams.
The upgraded M119A3 is equipped with a digital fire control system that includes an inertial navigation unit, guided-precision system technology and other features that will give the weapon the ability to determine its precise geographical location on its own.
The digitized M119A3 includes a GPS-aided Inertial Navigation Unit, or INU, that detects where the weapon is at all times, so optical sites are not needed to determine location.
The INU allows the Soldier to prepare the howitzer and fire the first round in two to three minutes, as opposed to the 10 minutes it could take them to ready the M119A2 for fire.
In addition to assisting infantry troops quickly, the digital fire-control system will help the M119A3 cannoneers avoid enemy fire, allowing them to "Shoot and Scoot."
The digitization package is integrated onto existing M119A2 guns, creating the M119A3 howitzer.
The software development and integration of the digital fire control system onto the first 16 of approximately 600 M119A3's was conducted in-house at ARDEC.
To upgrade the Army's additional howitzers, a team from Picatinny Arsenal will travel to each unit location to apply the digitized package, provide manuals, tools, and initial spares, and to provide new equipment training to the Soldiers.
Ninety percent of the software used on the M119A3 was taken from the M777A2.
This provides useful standardization between the Army's three howitzers, the M777A2, the Paladin self-propelled 155 mm Howitzer and now the M119A3.
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Specifications >>
Weight 2,130 kg
Caliber 105 mm (4.13 in)
Rate of fire Maximum: 8 rpm for 3 minutes
Maximum range 11.6 km M195 RAP: 12.1 mi (19.5 km)
