US 7,470,125 B2
System and method for training and evaluating crewmembers of a weapon system in a gunnery training range
Lenard V. Ramboyong, South Riding, Va. (US); Philip S. Zinser, Fredericksburg, Va. (US); Paul W. Bachelder, Fairfax, Va. (US); Charles S. Thomas, Fredericksburg, Va. (US); Mark A. Roberts, Fredericksburg, Va. (US); Edwin L. Duncan, Fredericksburg, Va. (US); and Lawrence D. Clark, Lignum, Va. (US)
Assigned to The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, D.C. (US)
Filed on Feb. 15, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/57,787.
Prior Publication US 2006/0183084 A1, Aug. 17, 2006
Int. Cl. F41A 33/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 434—11 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system to permit training exercise evaluators in an observation tower monitoring a live-fire exercise of a combat vehicle on a gunnery training range to hear audio communications within the combat vehicle and to observe video imagery both of the combat vehicle's crew and the range's pop-up targets in order to prevent the crew from shortcutting approved operating procedures within the vehicle and to confirm that target hits are accurately scored, comprising:
a tower receiver module having a pair of inputs and an output;
a vehicle radio frequency system mounted to the vehicle and connected by a microwave radio frequency link to one of the inputs of the tower receiver module for inputting from the vehicle to the tower receiver module three quadrant video with an audio signal, including video of the actions of the vehicle crew's gunner and loader;
a thermal imaging module mounted in the tower;
at least one thermal imaging module located down range from the tower,
the thermal imaging modules providing surveillance of the targets;
a tower control module connected between the other input of the tower receiver module and the outputs of the thermal imaging modules for inputting full screen video imagery from the thermal imaging modules to the tower receiver module; and
a monitoring system connected to the output of the tower receiver module for receiving four-quadrant video with an audio signal from the tower receiver module for use by the training exercise evaluators, the four-quadrant video combining the video from the vehicle and the video imagery from the thermal imaging modules.