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.
- Clearance of fires
- The check made before firing to confirm no friendly forces (or other restrictions) are in or near the target area.
- 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 tactical-level targeting methodology taught in this course. Its four functions form a continuous cycle.
- Destroy
- Desired effect: put the target permanently out of action.
- 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.
- HAT — HPTL, AGM, TSS
- The single worksheet a fire support cell 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.
- HVT — high-value target
- A target the enemy commander needs to accomplish his mission.
- 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.
- M109A2
- 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.
- OP — observation post
- A hidden position from which soldiers observe an assigned area.
- 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.
- 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.
- S-2
- The intelligence officer/section of a battalion or brigade staff.
- 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 M109A2 battalion accepts 200 m, the mortar battery 100 m.
- Track
- Continuous observation of a target. Timeliness begins to run at the moment track is lost, not at the moment the report was written.
- 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.