FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 7, 2016) -- U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence collaborated with the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center to evaluate the Science and Technology Project: Medium Caliber Armament System (MCAS) and its newly developed Fire Control System with Soldiers from the 316th Cavalry Brigade Bradley Master Gunner School Aug. 30-31 at the Donovan Research Library.
Representatives from ARDEC conducted four demonstrations of the MCAS Fire Control Graphical User interface in order to receive feedback from Soldiers on its functionality and ease of use.
"We want to get (the Soldiers) input on this. This is truly a Soldier-developed system, and we're trying to get (their) experiences on gunnery and combat," said Cliff Jackson, a mechanical engineering technician and integration lead with ARDEC. "We want to get as much input as possible on this so that we can put it in a nice, cohesive package."
Jackson explained that the intent is to develop a system that the user actually wants and not what engineers in a vacuum come up with.
He also emphasized that the Soldiers' feedback on the system is critical to its development.
"(Their input) is going to go a long way. We hope this is something that they are going to see in the field and help increase their ability to defeat the enemy," Jackson said.
Daniel Pierrez, the ARDEC project lead for the medium caliber interface, explained that they are not contractors, but Army civilians.
"I say that because this (system) is developed and designed to meet your requirements ... If you don't like this, we will change it. That's why we want your feedback," Pierrez said.
Jackson explained that the primary goal of the MCAS program is to provide a common medium caliber fire control solution for medium caliber weapon system platforms. MCAS will debut its technology onto a Stryker platform within Stryker brigade combat teams, while delivering a user interface capable of supporting all calibers of weapons.
"Finding a common interface will substantially decrease the learning curve for Soldiers as they transition between BCTs with different equipment sets, increasing effectiveness along with decreasing production cost as the assets will be common," Jackson said.
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