WASHINGTON—A rapidly fielded counter-fire radar was not able to detect and differentiate volley-fired mortars in tests, the Pentagon”s chief weapons tester found, but the Army said it has a plan to fix the problem.
While the Q-53 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar System was found to be effective against single-fired rockets, artillery and mortar munitions during a second initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in June 2015, it wasn”t able to handle the detection of more than one munition fired at the same time, J. Michael Gilmore, the director, Operational Test & Evaluation, finds in his annual report released Feb. 1.
“Volley-fire is a common technique used by a variety of threat nations and an important component of an operational evaluation for the counterfire radar,” Gilmore stated.