Glossary

Every term and acronym used in this course, in plain language.

AGM — attack guidance matrix: A decide-phase product recording, for each high-payoff target: when to attack it, how to attack it (which asset), and the desired effect.
ASP — ammunition supply point: A stockpile location where a unit stores and issues ammunition.
ATGM — anti-tank guided missile: A guided missile designed to destroy armored vehicles.
BDA — battle damage assessment: The estimate of damage and effect achieved on a target after an engagement.
CDE — collateral damage estimation: The estimate, made before an attack, of what damage it would cause to civilians, civilian property, or anything else we are required to protect. It is done alongside the check against the rules of engagement, before a weapon is assigned to the target.
Clearance of fires: The check made before firing to confirm no friendly forces (or other restrictions) are in or near the target area.
Collection plan: The intelligence staff's plan for finding what the commander needs to know. It names the question, what the activity looks like on the ground, where to look, who looks, and by when the answer must arrive.
Combat assessment: The overall evaluation of engagement results. It combines BDA, munitions effectiveness assessment, and a re-attack recommendation.
CP — command post: The location from which a commander and staff command and control their unit.
D3A — decide, detect, deliver, and assess: The targeting methodology taught in this course. Its four functions form a continuous cycle.
Destroy: Desired effect: put the target permanently out of action.
Dynamic targeting: Attacking a target that was never planned, or changing the plan for one that was, while the operation is running. It follows the F2T2EA steps. The work you did in the decide phase produced the plan; dynamic targeting handles what the plan did not foresee.
Emerging target: Something a sensor has detected which shows enough of the characteristics of a target to be worth developing, but which has not yet been confirmed as one. It is what the find step produces.
ESI — electronic signals indication: Detecting enemy electronic emissions — radio, wifi, or satellite communication — and estimating where they come from. It gives an area, not an exact point, so it is normally used to cue another sensor.
F2T2EA — find, fix, track, target, engage, assess: The six steps one target passes through while the operation is running. It sits inside D3A rather than beside it. Find, fix and track are the work of the detect function, target and engage belong to deliver, and assess is the fourth function.
FSCC — fire support coordination cell: The staff cell that runs targeting for the brigade. It holds the three decide-function products, checks every report against them, and orders the attack.
HAT — HPTL, AGM, TSS: The single worksheet the FSCC keeps, holding all three decide-function products together. One column per priority target; read a column downwards and you have the complete instruction for that target.
HPT — high-payoff target: A target whose loss will significantly contribute to the success of our mission. Chosen from the HVT list.
HPTL — high-payoff target list: The prioritized list of HPTs for a phase of an operation. A key product of the decide phase.
HVI — high-value individual: A person the enemy commander needs in order to accomplish his mission. Do not confuse it with HVT, which may be a unit, a vehicle, a position, or anything else. No HVI appears in Operation RIVER GATE. The term is here because it is used in the F2T2EA examples.
HVT — high-value target: A target the enemy commander needs to accomplish his mission.
Indicator: What an enemy activity looks like on the ground, written so that a soldier or an aircrew recognises it when they see it.
IPOE — intelligence preparation of the operational environment: The systematic analysis of the enemy, terrain, weather, and other factors, done before this course begins. Its products are the foundation of the decide phase. (Some services call it IPB — intelligence preparation of the battlespace.)
ISR — intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance: The collection assets (sensors, observers, aircraft) used to find and track targets.
Long-range ISR UAS: A large unmanned aircraft that flies deep over the enemy area for many hours with a powerful camera. It can watch one place continuously and report at once. In this course it is the sensor that finds targets far behind the river.
LTIOV — latest time information is of value: The time after which an answer no longer helps, because the decision it feeds has already been made. It is set by the decision, not by the sensor and not by the target.
M101: A 105 mm howitzer. In this course it equips the battery we hold the most rounds for. Its shells crater, so it may not be used near the bridge.
M109: A 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. In this course it equips the brigade's artillery battalion and is the long-range delivery asset. Its shells crater, so it may not be used near the bridge.
Minimum size: How much of a target must be present before it is worth engaging. It is a judgement about payoff, not a rule about counting — two engineers on the bridge meet the standard, one mortar tube does not.
MOE — measure of effectiveness: A criterion that answers: “Did our action create the effect we wanted?”
MOP — measure of performance: A criterion that answers: “Did we perform the action correctly?”
Neutralize: Desired effect: make the target unable to perform its function for a period of time.
OWA-UAS — one-way attack UAS: A small unmanned aircraft that searches for a target and then flies into it and explodes. Its warhead is small and precise, so it destroys what it hits without heavy damage around it. It is used once. In this course it is the only asset permitted to strike a target on or beside the bridge.
PID — positive identification: Confirmation that what the sensor is looking at really is what we believe it to be, and that it is a lawful target. Without it we may not engage, however accurate the location is.
PIR — priority intelligence requirement: A question the commander must have answered in order to make a decision. The collection plan exists to answer them.
RFA — restricted fire area: A fire support coordination measure. It marks an area of ground where fires are limited in a stated way, and fires beyond that limit are not permitted without further coordination. In this course the RFA is the circle around the bridge, badge G on the map. Cratering munitions are forbidden inside it, and only the one-way attack UAS may strike there.
ROE — rules of engagement: The commander's rules for when, where, and against whom force may be used. Every target is checked against them before a weapon is assigned to it.
S-2: The intelligence officer/section of a battalion or brigade staff.
Scout team: Soldiers in hidden positions, an observation post (OP), watching an assigned area. Very reliable, but they see only the ground in front of them.
SIR — specific information requirement: A smaller question that helps answer a priority intelligence requirement. Answer all of the SIRs and the PIR is answered.
sUAS — small unmanned aircraft system: A small camera drone flown by the unit itself. Short range and short flight time, used to confirm exact locations near the front line and to observe the results of an attack.
Suppress: Desired effect: degrade the target's ability to act, but only while our fires are landing.
Timeliness: How old a report may be and still be acted on. Sometimes called the decay rate. Where a target must be watched without a break, the standard is written as continuous track.
TLE — target location error: The difference between where we think a target is and where it actually is, in metres. It comes from the sensor. How much of it we can accept is set by the weapon: the M109 battalion accepts 200 m, the M101 105 mm howitzer battery 100 m.
TOT — time on target: The clock time at which fires must arrive on the target. It restricts when the effect lands, not when the mission is sent. A fire mission sent at T-1:15 with a time on target of T-1:00 moves that target to Engage straight away, even though nothing has been struck yet.
Track: Continuous observation of a target. Timeliness begins to run at the moment track is lost, not at the moment the report was written. Track is also the third step of F2T2EA, where one sensor keeps custody of a confirmed target until the strike, and usually past it, so that the same sensor can report the result.
TSS — target selection standards: The criteria a target report must meet before the target may be engaged. This course uses three: target location error, minimum size, and timeliness. A report must pass every one.
UAS — unmanned aircraft system: A remotely piloted aircraft, used here for finding targets, confirming locations, and observing results. This course uses three kinds: the short-range sUAS, the deep-looking long-range ISR UAS, and the striking OWA-UAS.

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