2003 US Army BRADLEY GUNNERY 503p.pdf - Survival Books

FM 3-22.1the gun reticle and the horizontal-ranging stadia line. Even though they still have akinematic lead, they will not have range-finder capabilities for the BOT.6-19. 25-MM AREA TARGETSOne of the Bradley's primary missions is suppressing enemy positions to support theinfantry rifle squad's movement. With its 5-meter bursting radius, HEI-T ammunitionsupports this capability beyond coax range (900 meters), out to 3,000 meters.a. Suppressive fire is direct fire on known or likely target locations to degrade one ormore of the enemy's basic combat functions: moving, shooting, observing, andcommunicating. Success depends on suppressing the enemy--denying him the terrain, theability to observe, and the chance to engage.b. A section repeats suppressive fire as often as needed to keep the enemy fromestablishing a strong base of fire, or until the section clears the area of activity. To sustainsuppressive fire, the section can alternate fire between vehicles. This prevents each onefrom using all of its ammunition.c. Area targets can include terrain features, man-made objects, deployed soldiers, ora location defined by enemy fire.(1) The specific type of enemy units and weapons systems might be unidentifiable.(2) Area targets include any that are too large for a point engagement. They alsoinclude any that are very wide, very deep, or both, thus requiring extensive traversing.Two examples of area targets include enemy positions in a tree line or troops on a hilltop,when either spans an area wider than 10 meters.d. Accurate range estimation ensures the effectiveness of area fire. Beyond2,000 meters (tracer burnout), the round's slow flight and high angle of fire require thegunner to check his sight picture by firing a sensing round. If the ammunition haschanged, the gunner fires two rounds, leaving the reticle in place until the round impacts.This verifies the correct range and aiming point for the specific engagement.e. To engage an area target with HEI-T, the gunner uses a suppression techniquesuch as the "Z" pattern (Figure 6-34, page 6-36). He corrects range by indexing adifferent range or by adjusting the reticle. The number of rounds in a burst depends onthe size of the target and degree of success (one round for every 10 to 25 meters).Developing and maintaining the ability to engage targets at extended ranges (1,800 to3,000 meters) requires practice.(1) The gunner lays the reticle on center mass of the target area and fires aninitial burst of 3 to 5 rounds. Then, he starts firing using suppression technique such asthe "Z" pattern.(2) Once he reaches the opposite edge, he fires a second burst diagonally across thetarget area to the opposite corner of the area.(3) Finally, he fires a burst across the far depth of the target, covering theentire width.(4) He continues firing until he has covered the entire width and depth of the targetarea, or until the BC commands CEASE FIRE.6-35