By Li Xingchao and Wang Yidi
BEIJING, Dec. 28 -- In mid December, a brigade with the PLA 78th Group Army held an artillery live-fire assessment, which not only focused on the fire rate and accuracy, but also examined whether the actual damage effect of shells meets expectations.
According to the brigade commander, the previous artillery live-fire assessment just required excellent hit, which led to the troops’ one-sided pursuit of shooting speed and range, while little attention was paid to the damage effect. In an assessment last year, although an artilleryman hit all targets, the damage effect was quite limited, and the target weapon systems were still capable of combat.
To this end, evaluation on damage effect is highlighted this time. They studied the fatal points of various targets, and set up specially designed targets equipped with steel plate, or fortifications made of different materials, with the possible damage effect being classified into three levels, namely, hit, damaged and destroyed. Meanwhile, they also inspected the damage effect of the weapons and equipment in batches and ordnance types, and established a database to provide a reference for the formulation of damage effect assessment standards.
As shown in the assessment field, when a vehicle target popped up, a soldier quickly sighted in and fired at it with precise hit. Next to the target, a camera captured the explosion scene, and sent it back for damage effect evaluation in real time. Then, the assessment team comprehensively judged the soldier’s shooting performance based on the damage effect evaluation report.