New Army rifle range uses sensors to improve marksmanship

A new electronic system that users acoustic sensors to detect hits or misses on Army rifle ranges has passed government acceptance tests, Army officials said.

The location of miss and hit, or LOMAH, system tracks rounds fired on or near targets to support basic rifle marksmanship training. The new system boosts rifle range efficiency, increases training effectiveness, and saves time for commanders and soldiers, the officials said.

LOMAH also makes it unnecessary to raise and lower targets to show shooters their performance as previously required on known distance ranges.

LOMAH employs acoustic sensors to detect hits or misses on or within a two-meter radius of a target, the officials said. It works by having sensors at the target emplacement relay the results to an Android-based tablet at the firing point.

The system automatically triangulates the shot group to provide the shooter with corrective data, the officials said.
 
"LOMAH will provide immediate feedback to Soldiers to help them improve their shooting skills," said Matt Golden, Targetry Development team chief of TCM-Live at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
 
During the government acceptance test, or GAT, held at both Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., the system successfully detected hits and misses for targets at 75 meters, 175 meters and 300 meters.
 
At Fort Benning, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment, provided support during all phases of testing and was instrumental in its success. The company also is the sponsor for the range and will continue to be actively involved with the LOMAH system as the range cadre.
 
The LOMAH system is designed for both the M16 rifle and the M4 carbine with iron sights, back-up iron sights, close-combat optic or advanced combat optical gun sights, officials said. It can be used for basic rifle marksmanship and advanced rifle marksmanship.
 
The LOMAH system embedded on a qualification range will allow all three tasks to be completed on one range, the officials said. Soldiers move more quickly through the tasks because each lane is run independently and shooters can progress to the next task.

LOMAH will be added to Fort Jackson, S.C. this fiscal year.