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FM 17-98 SCOUT PLATOON

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Capabilities<br />

Mortar capabilities include the following:<br />

• A close working relationship with scouts.<br />

• Fast response time.<br />

• Availability for low-density targets.<br />

Limitations<br />

Mortars have the following limitations:<br />

• They have only short-range capability.<br />

• Only limited types of ammunition are available.<br />

• Mortar elements can carry only limited amounts of ammunition.<br />

• The fire direction center (FDC) and mortar tubes are not linked to the initial fire support automated system<br />

(IFSAS).<br />

FIELD ARTILLERY SUPPORT<br />

Scouts must fully understand how to use artillery support to their best advantage. It is often their primary means of<br />

impeding and disrupting enemy formations and suppressing enemy positions. FA can provide immediate, responsive,<br />

accurate fires with a wide variety of munitions.<br />

FA support is normally provided by an artillery battalion in direct support (DS) of a committed maneuver brigade or<br />

an armored cavalry regiment (ACR). The armored cavalry squadron also has an organic howitzer battery to provide<br />

dedicated indirect fire support. Scouts may receive FA priority of fire.<br />

Capabilities<br />

In support of the scout platoon, FA elements have the capability to perform the following functions:<br />

• Provide fire support in all weather conditions and types of terrain.<br />

• Shift and mass fires rapidly.<br />

• Support the battle in depth with long-range fires.<br />

• Provide a variety of conventional shell and fuze combinations.<br />

• Provide continuous fire support by careful positioning and timely displacement.<br />

• Be as mobile as the supported unit.<br />

Limitations<br />

FA support has the following limitations:<br />

• Limited capability against moving targets.<br />

• Limited capability to destroy point targets without considerable ammunition expenditure.<br />

• Vulnerability to detection by enemy target acquisition systems because of its firing signature.<br />

Available munitions<br />

FA employs a wide variety of munitions that can be tailored for the engagement of different types of targets. These<br />

ammunition types include the following:<br />

• HE, for use against personnel, field fortifications, and vehicles.<br />

• Smoke, for obscuration and screening.<br />

• Illumination.<br />

• WP, for obscuration, burning, and marking.<br />

• Cannon-launched guided projectiles (Copperhead), for use against point targets.<br />

• Improved conventional munitions (ICM), for AP use, and DPICM, for use against personnel and light armored<br />

vehicles in the open. An important consideration is the danger to friendly troops in areas where AP munitions<br />

are fired. The potential dud rate of ICM makes maneuver in the area of an ICM field hazardous.

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