Applicability of Low-Cost Video Training to Various U.S. Army Weapons
Abstract
A prototype simulator, labeled MACS (Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator) using an inexpensive microcomputer, light pen attached to the weapon, and a video monitor, has been developed by the Army Research Institute for the M16 rifle and the Viper light antitank weapon. This investigation produced a list of representative U.S. Army weapons which were rank ordered in terms of their suitability of MACS-type training. A two-stage process was used. In Stage 1, a long list of potential weapons was narrowed down to a shorter list of representative U.S. Army weapons using a number of objective criteria. In Stage 2, the weapons from Stage 1 were rank ordered for suitability on the basis of three objective criteria (number of hours of training in current basic training, cost of ammunition, and number of weapons in the current Infantry Table of Organization and Equipment), and one subjective criterion (opinions of trainers and MACS developers about the feasibility of adapting MACS to a given weapon). The following weapons were identified (listed in the order of suitability): (1) M16Al/A2 Rifle, (2) M72A2 Light Antitank Weapon (LAW), (3) M203 Grenade Launcher, (4) M60 Machinegun, (5) Dragon, (6) TOW, (7) .45 Caliber Pistor, (8) M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), (9) M202Al FLASH, and (10) .50 Caliber Machinegun.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA149602
Entities
People
- James E. Schroeder
- Mary N. Perkins