Objective Weapon Elevation Kit
The Objective Weapon Elevation Kit was one of the ten "Army Greatest Inventions of 2009".
Objective Weapon Elevation Kit: In January of 2008, ARDEC received an urgent request from the 401st Army Field Support Brigade in Afghanistan for a way to safely engage enemy combatants firing from super-elevated positions. In response to this urgent request, ARDEC utilized its rapid acquisition process and prototype integration facility to develop, prototype and produce Objective Weapon Elevation Kits, while engaging the Field Assistance in Science and Technology Team 17 to obtain critical user feedback. The system equips warfighters with the capability to safely engage elevated targets at up to 80 degrees while remaining in a protected posture within the Objective Gunner Protection Kit, which is mounted atop various combat vehicles. To date, over 700 systems have been fielded through the Project Manager for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles and U.S. Special Operations Command.
When I first saw the photo I wondered if the M2 was once again being used as anti-air and who they were planning to engage with it. Using it in mountains makes much more sense.
Um…donno if the request remark was a joke, but that’s the way military contracts always work, and have for decades now.
It would also be handy for engaging individuals on top of buildings in urban areas.
The same sort of high-angle modification is being looked at for the CROWS.
I’m glad it works, but the write-up sounds like complete slop. Seriously, how would this situation be addressed in past conflicts? I doubt it would begin with a ‘request’. I’m so glad the ‘warfighters can safely engage’ the enemy now.
How is the HK-made M320 a Picatinny innovation?
Where do I send my inventions to improve our warfighting capabilities?