impactttk

TheBEAMHIT330Aand110Marks-manshipTrainingSystemsareindoor,laser-activatedtargetengagementsys-temsthatcanaccuratelyengagetargets,usingactualweapons,withouttheuseofliveammunition.
Thesedevicescanbeusedforbothbasicandadvancedmarks-manshipinstruction.
Themajorcompo-nentsofthesystemsincludealasertransmitter,alasertransmitterrod,andatargetsensor.
Thelasertransmitterisadaptabletomultipleweaponssystemsbytheuseofdifferentlasertransmitterrods.
Oneendoftherodscrewsintothelaser,andtheotherendoftherodfitsintothebarreloftheweapon.
Vibrationsfromtheweapon'sfiringmechanismtriggerthelaserwhentheweaponisdryfired.
Thesystemsrequirenoammunitionofanykind.
9mmrodsarestandardwithbothBEAMHITsystemsandboththeM16A2andM4carbinescanbeusedwithanoptionallasertransmitterrod.
ThedifferencesbetweenthetwotypesofBEAMHITsystemsarethesizeofthetarget,thefeedbackprovidedbythetar-get,andthecomponentsrequiredformoredetailedfeedback.
The330Asys-temconsistsofaten-inch,circularbull's-eyelasertargetwithpowersupply,alasertransmitter,a9mm-transmitterrod,acomputerprogram,andelectricalcablestoconnectthetargettoa286orhighercomputer.
Onceconnectedtothecom-puter,thetarget'seyefaceisdisplayedonthemonitor.
Whenasoldierfiresatthetarget,thelaserbeamemittedfromthesoldier'sweaponstrikesthefaceofthetarget,causingthetargettoemitabeep.
Thetargetinstantaneouslytransmitsthelocationofthelaserstriketothecom-puter,anddisplaysitonthemonitor.
Subsequentlaserbeamstrikelocationsappearonthemonitor,andthedistancebetweeneachlaserhit,(theshotgroupdispersion)ismeasured.
The110systemisasmallereight-inchtargetthatconsistsofacircularbull's-eyetargetwithpowersupply,andalasertransmitterwitha9mm-transmitterrod.
Thistargetsystemprovideshitormissfeedbacktotheshooter.
Whenthelaserhitsthetarget,thetargetemitsabeep,anddisplaysthenumberofhitsobtainedontherightsideofthetarget.
ThephotoaboveillustratestheuseoffourBEAM-HIT110targetsontheM9mini-range.
BothsystemsarecompatiblewithM4,M16A2,and9mmweapons.
WhenactualM4carbinesandM16A2riflesareusedwiththesesystems,theymustberecharged,bypullingbackonthecharginghandleaftereachshot.
Therechargingactionaftereachshotrequiresthesoldiertobreakthecheektostockweld.
Al-thoughthisisnotaproblemforanexperiencedshooter,suchasaNa-tionalGuardsoldierpracticingatthearmory,thiscanbeadifficultproblemforabeginningshootertoovercome,anddoesnotassistinteachingtheproperbasicmarksman-shipfundamentals.
ThephotoatrightillustratespneumaticreplicasofM4carbinesandM16A2riflesthatBEAMHITdesignedforuseinbasicriflemarksman-shiptraining.
Bothpneu-maticriflesautomaticallyfireeverytimethetriggerispulled,anddonothavetoberecharged.
SoldierswhotrainontheM9usingtheBEAM-HITsystemfiresingleactionwithnoadverseimpactontraining,however,BEAM-HIThasdevelopedapneu-maticdevicetococktheM9afterfiring,andprovideasimulatedrecoil.
CCompany,3-81AR,thebasicriflemarksmanshipcompanyforthe1stAr-moredTrainingBrigade,FortKnox,Kentucky,usesthe330Asystemtotrain19Kand19DOneStationUnitTraining(OSUT)soldiers,andbasictraining(BCT)soldiers,onthefundamentalsofmarksmanship.
19KOSUTsoldiersre-ceivetrainingusingtheM4carbinepneumaticrifle,whilethe19DOSUTandBCTsoldiersreceivetrainingusingtheM16A2pneumaticrifle.
TheBEAM-BEAMHIT:ThisMarksmanshipTrainingSystemUsesLasersandCanGoAnywherebyCaptainEricG.
DulinSGTFrankMegow,aninstructoratC3-81AR,en-gagesa330AtargetusingapneumaticM4carbine.
Below,astationoftheBEAMHIT110M9minirange.
Targetsarecalledoffinatimedsequenceprovidingchallengingandrealistictraining.
44ARMOR—January-February1999HIT330Asystemhasbeenintegratedintotheprogramofinstruction(POI)forallthreegroupsofsoldiersforuseduringthefirstdayoffundamentalstraining.
Soldiersfireathree-shotgroupata25meterzerotargetplacedoverthe330Atarget15metersaway,fromboththefoxholesupportedandproneunsup-portedfiringposition.
Eachsoldiermustachieveathree-roundshotgroupwithashotgroupdispersionoflessthen40millimeters,orfourcentimeters.
Thefour-centimetercircleisthebuildingblockforfollow-on25-metershotgroupingandzeroingtraining.
Thetask,conditionsandstandardsfortheBEAMHIT330Aare:TASK:DemonstrateconsistentaimingduringtheBEAMHITexercise.
CONDITIONS:GivenanM16A2rifleorM4carbine,computertarget,BEAM-HITlaser,andsimulatedfoxhole,whilewearinghelmetandLBE.
STANDARDS:Eachsoldierwillfiretwothree-roundshotgroups,onefromthefoxholesupported,andonefromtheproneunsupported,eachthree-roundshotgroupmustfitwithinafourcentime-tercircle.
TheBEAMHIT330Asystemallowsthesoldiertoobservethestrikeofeachroundandmonitorthedispersion.
Adrillser-geantoramarksmanshipinstructorcri-tiquestheshooterduringfiringforobvi-ousfundamentalerrors.
Afterthesoldierfinishesfiring,thesoldierandtheinstruc-torexaminethecomputerscreen.
Thepatternoftheroundsonthescreencanindicatefundamentalshootingerrors,suchasimproperbreathingortriggerjerking,asindicatedinFM23-9.
ThephotoonthenextpageillustratesthefeedbackreceivedfromfiringtheBEAMHIT330Asystem.
The330Asystemisanintegralpartofthe19KOSUTprogramofinstructionfortheM4carbine.
Thissys-temprovidesmaximumbenefittothe19KsoldierbecausetheWeaponeershootingsystemthatFt.
Knoxusesfor19DOSUTandBCTmarksmanshipinstructionisnotcompati-blewiththeM4carbine.
SFCDavidParker,SSGMichaelLove,andSSGUweThon,instructorsatC3-81AR,developedaBEAMHIT330Aand110trainingsystemthatpro-videdenormousbenefitfor19K9mminstructionandwasincorporatedintothePOI.
The330Asystemisusedtodevelopbasicshootingskillsbymeasuringtheshotgroupdisper-sionofa12-roundshotgroupfiredatthe330Atargetatadistanceof15meters.
Asoldierengagesthetargetfromthestand-ingcrouchedpositionusingthetwo-handedgrip.
Thesoldierismonitoredbyadrillsergeantormarksmanshipinstruc-toragainforobviousshootingerrors,suchasimproperbreathingortriggerjerk.
Oncethesoldierfiresall12rounds,thesoldierandthecoachobservethecomputerscreenandcritiquehisperformancebyusingtheroundstrikesdisplayedonthescreen.
Thetask,conditions,andstandardsfortheBEAMHIT330Aare:TASK:Engagea15-meterBEAMHITtargetusingaM99mmpistolandlasertrans-mitterwithashotgroupdis-persionof120mmorless.
CONDITIONS:Day,fromastandingfiringposition,engagetargetsfromagivendistanceusingtheM99mmpistolwithlasertransmitterdevice,firingsingleaction,whilewearinghelmetandLBE.
STANDARDS:Soldiersmustobtain9outof12regis-teredhitswithin120mmtoreceiveaGO.
TheBEAMHIT110systemisusedtodevelopmoread-vancedshootingskillssuchastargetacquisitionanden-gagement.
FortyBEAMHIT110systemshavebeenlinkedtogethertocreateaminiature,indoor9mmpistolrange.
Thetargetsarearrayedintenfour-targetsta-tionsrunasacompletefiringorder.
Tensoldierssimultaneouslyengagethefourtargetsatrangesofeighttotenmetersasthetargetnumbersarecalledoff.
Thesizeofthetargets,theminimalamountoftimebetweenengagements,andseveralsimultaneousengagements,createchal-lenging,realistictraining.
Thetask,conditions,andstandardsfortheBEAMHIT110systemare:TASK:EngageBEAMHIT110targetsateightmetersusingtheM99mmpistolandlasertransmitter.
CONDITIONS:Day,fromastandingposi-tion,atagivendistance,usinganM99mmpistolwithlasertransmitterdevice,firingsingleaction,whilewearingLBEandKevlar.
STANDARDS:Thesoldiermustobtaineightregisteredtargethitsoutofapossibletwelvetargets,withaminimumoftwohitsoneachtargettoreceiveaGO.
SGTMegowengagestheBEAMHIT330Afromtheproneunsupportedposition.
Thetanktohisrightsuppliesenergyforre-cockingandsimulatestheweapon's"kick.
"Thepneumaticweaponreplicas.
Fromtoptobottom,lefttoright,anM4carbine,alasertransmitterandrodfortheM4/M16A2,apneumaticM4,anM9,alasertransmitterandrodforanM9,apneumaticattachmentfora.
45calpistol(nowavailableforanM9),anM16A2,alasertransmitterandrodfortheM4/M16A2,andapneumaticM16A2.
ARMOR—January-February199945TheBEAMHITsystemswerefirstusedfor9mmmarksmanshiptraining.
Aninitialstudyconductedaftertheirimple-mentationintothePOIshowedanin-creaseinthenumberofsoldierswhoqualifiedthefirsttime,anincreaseinthenumberofsoldierswhoqualifiedexpert,andadecreaseintheaveragenumberofroundsneededtoqualifyeachsoldier.
TheBEAMHITsystemwasintegratedintothe19Kand19DPOIasasupple-menttothetargetboxexercise.
TheuseoftheBEAMHITsystemprovideseachsoldieranadditionalopportunitytofiresimulatedroundsandgainconfidenceinhisshootingabilitypriortofiringliveroundsforthefirsttime.
Thepneumaticweapon,life-sizedtarget,andfourcenti-meterstandardprovidearealistictrainingexperience.
TheBEAMHITsystemisacost-effectivetrainingsystem.
AlthoughtheprimarypurposeoftheBEAMHITisbasicmarksmanshiptraining,bothsys-temsareexcellenttoolsformarksman-shiptrainingpriortoweaponsqualifica-tion,andarefrequentlyusedbyperma-nentpartyunitsonFortKnox.
TheBEAMHITisalsousefultoNationalGuardorROTCunitswhoneedtocon-ductmarksmanshiptraining,butcannolongeruseindoorranges.
DuringtheTRADOCCommander'sConferenceatFortKnoxin1997,BEAMHITunveiledthenewBEAMHIT2000,whichisa"virtualreality"range.
TheBEAMHIT2000canuseapicturetocreatearealis-tic,working,scaled,indoorreproductionofaweaponsrange,whichoperateswithsuchsimpletoolsasacomputer,abedsheetforaprojectionscreen,andthelasertransmittersandrodsusedwiththeBEAMHIT330Aand110systems.
Thedeviceisveryimpressive,andcouldbeextremelyusefulforforward-deployedunitstoconductbasicandadvancedmarksmanshiptrainingtoinclude"virtualqualification.
"POINTSOFCONTACTForinformationcontact:ForBEAMHIT9MMTraining:SFCRuise/SSGThon,C3-81AR,DSN464-7911ForBEAMHITM16A2/M4Training:SSGStroud,C3-81AR,DSN464-4867ForinformationonBEAMHITdevices:Mr.
SteveRosa,BEAMHITCorporation,1-800BEAMHITSSGUweThon,oneofthethreesoldierswhodevelopedtheM9POI,engagestheBEAMHIT110systemsduringaM9minirangeexercise.
TheresultsofSGTMegow'sthree-roundshotgroup.
Thedarkercircleonthemonitorindicatesthecenterofmassofthethree-roundgroup.
Theresultsarewithinthe40mmdis-persalrequired.
CPTEricG.
DulinwascommissionedinArmorfromtheLou-isianaStateUniversityROTCprogramin1993.
Heservedin5-17Cavalry,Korea,asascoutplatoonlead-er,troopexecutiveofficer,andsupportplatoonleader.
HewasassignedtoFt.
Knoxwhereheservedasanexecu-tiveofficerforB2-81AR,a19KOSUTtrainingcompany,andasthecommanderforC3-81AR.
Heiscur-rentlyastudentintheArmorOfficerAd-vancedCourse.
46ARMOR—January-February1999