Editing Fire-control system (section)

==Modern fire control systems==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2019}}

Modern fire-control computers, like all high-performance computers, are digital. The added performance allows basically any input to be added, from air density and wind, to wear on the barrels and distortion due to heating. These sorts of effects are noticeable for any sort of gun, and fire-control computers have started appearing on smaller and smaller platforms. Tanks were one early use that automated gun laying had, using a [[laser rangefinder]] and a barrel-distortion meter. Fire-control computers are useful not just for aiming large [[cannon]]s, but also for aiming [[machine guns]], small cannons, [[guided missile]]s, [[rifle]]s, [[grenade]]s, and [[rocket]]s—any kind of weapon that can have its launch or firing parameters varied. They are typically installed on [[ship]]s, [[submarine]]s, [[aircraft]], [[tank]]s and even on some [[SALW|small arms]]—for example, the [[FN F2000#Grenade launcher|grenade launcher]] developed for use on the Fabrique Nationale F2000 bullpup assault rifle. Fire-control computers have gone through all the stages of technology that computers have, with some designs based upon [[analog computer|analogue technology]] and later [[vacuum tube]]s which were later replaced with [[transistor]]s.

Fire-control systems are often interfaced with [[sensor]]s (such as [[sonar]], [[radar]], [[infra-red search and track]], [[laser range-finder]]s, [[anemometers]], [[wind vane]]s, [[thermometer]]s, [[barometer]]s, etc.) in order to cut down or eliminate the amount of information that must be manually entered in order to calculate an effective solution. Sonar, radar, [[IRST]] and range-finders can give the system the direction to and/or distance of the target. Alternatively, an optical sight can be provided that an operator can simply point at the target, which is easier than having someone input the range using other methods and gives the target less warning that it is being tracked. Typically, weapons fired over long ranges need environmental information—the farther a [[munition]] travels, the more the wind, temperature, air density, etc. will affect its trajectory, so having accurate information is essential for a good solution. Sometimes, for very long-range rockets, environmental data has to be obtained at high altitudes or in between the launching point and the target. Often, satellites or balloons are used to gather this information.

Once the firing solution is calculated, many modern fire-control systems are also able to aim and fire the weapon(s). Once again, this is in the interest of speed and accuracy, and in the case of a vehicle like an aircraft or tank, in order to allow the pilot/gunner/etc. to perform other actions simultaneously, such as tracking the target or flying the aircraft. Even if the system is unable to aim the weapon itself, for example the fixed cannon on an aircraft, it is able to give the operator cues on how to aim. Typically, the cannon points straight ahead and the pilot must maneuver the aircraft so that it oriented correctly before firing. In most aircraft the aiming cue takes the form of a "[[pipper]]" which is projected on the [[heads-up display]] (HUD). The pipper shows the pilot where the target must be relative to the aircraft in order to hit it. Once the pilot maneuvers the aircraft so that the target and pipper are superimposed, he or she fires the weapon, or on some aircraft the weapon will fire automatically at this point, in order to overcome the delay of the pilot. In the case of a missile launch, the fire-control computer may give the pilot feedback about whether the target is in range of the missile and how likely the missile is to hit if launched at any particular moment. The pilot will then wait until the probability reading is satisfactorily high before launching the weapon.