FCS Fundamentals
A Fire-Control System (FCS), is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system in targeting, tracking and hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately.
Overview[]
Even with the addition of rifled barrels and fin-stabilized ammunition, a gun or cannon can still become inaccurate due to outside forces, such as uneven or unstable terrain, wind velocity and direction, temperature, and whether the shooter or target is moving or stationary. A fire-control system compensates for these factors by calculating the trajectory of the round in relation to the target and accounts for a moving target's future position and speed, as well as any factors that might affect the round in flight.
Before the invention of the FCS, firing on the move was a hit-or-miss affair. On land, the shooter either has to be very close to the target, fire while stationary, or fire in volleys in order to guarantee a hit. On the ocean, shooting accuracy is further compounded by the constant motion of the waves. In the air, a pilot had to estimate distance and manually lead his target.
New World Solutions[]
For every military in the First, Second and Third Civilization Areas, the answer was simple: add more guns. The more guns that could be brought onto the target, the bigger the chance of scoring a hit. On land, since the Third Civilizations lacked rifled barrels in their cannons and muskets, shooting in volleys was the only way to guarantee hits. On the ocean, 30-150 gun ships-of-the-line were common, as a full broadside was the only way to victory. Even though the First and Second Civilizations had rifled barrels and rotating turrets, they still fired all their cannons in broadsides, as they cannot compensate for the movement of the waves or the movement of their targets.
The Gra Valkas Empire does seem to have a primitive analog FCS due to their level of technology being equivalent to World War II, at least on their naval vessels. They also have access to reliable proximity fuses. As a result, their guns have better range and better chances of hitting their targets. They proved this during their battles with the Holy Milishial Empire's Zeroth Fleet and the Mu Navy. However, their large-caliber guns still cannot account for the movement of waves, which can throw off their aim. Although their anti-aircraft batteries are effective against wyverns and fighter planes, they cannot track supersonic jets or missiles. It was only by sheer luck that they managed to down one Harpoon missile.
On land, the problem of accuracy remained, as armies battle in Napolean-style tactics of volley-fire. Firing on the move just wasn't possible. Even the Gra Valkas military was unable to solve this problem with their vehicles, including their main battle tank. Tank crews were forced to stop on level ground to aim and fire their weapons, leaving them vulnerable to attack.
In the air, with both the shooter and the target moving, the possibility of achieving accuracy is greatly lowered. A pilot must either be in close proximity or has to manually lead his target to guarantee a hit. Bombing is subject to wind currents and speed. The Gra Valkas bombers must brave anti-aircraft fire while flying level to improve accuracy. Dive bombers must risk crashing to get close enough to the target for a hit.
Japan's Solutions[]
Japan had the advantage of having advanced and accurate FCS when it was transferred to the New World. As a result of high-speed digital computers that take care of all the computations, accuracy is almost 100% in normal conditions. The other civilizations were astounded at the fast and accurate firepower of the Oto-breda 127/54 Compact Gun. And the 4th Armored Division was completely baffled over the fact that the Type-10 Main Battle Tank could fire accurately while on the move, and the GVE needed to stop on level ground to shoot. In addition to advanced FCS, Japanese tanks had gun-stabilizing technology that kept their weapons level, even while moving on rough terrain. For aircraft, F-15 and F-2 pilots have the advantage of a Heads-Up Display, (HUD), which calculates distance, speed and altitude of enemy fighters and incoming projectiles, as well as calculating lead, and future positions of a target when firing their M-61 cannons or missiles.
On the other side, FCS is essential in terms of anti-air defense. Weapons such as the Phalanx CIWS are able to compensate for a variety of factors such as predicting the target's speed, altitude and future position as well as the speed of its own rounds, their trajectories and any wave motions.This was also displayed during the battle between the Izumo-class Destroyer Kaga and the Grade Atlastar, where the AEGIS Combat System was used to intercept the shells of the battleship's main guns.