| Abstract |
The enhanced portable inductive artillery fuze setter (EPIAFS) is a product improvement of the portable inductive artillery fuze setter (PIAFS). The EPIAFS was designed to receive data manually and via cable and to inductively set all the fuzes set by the PIAFS and initialize the Excalibur ammunition. The EPIAFS system consists of the platform integration kit (PIK) installed in the howitzer s fire control system, a 15-foot cable to connect the EPIAFS to a PIK receptacle on the howitzer, and the setter which can function in an un-cabled mode, a cabled stand-alone mode, and the cabled mode. EPIAFS is a system that consists of the PIK, cable, and setter. The terms EPIAFS setter and setter are used interchangeably in this report to indicate the portable hand-held portion of the EPIAFS system. Ten male Soldiers, ranging in rank from E1 to E6, arrived at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, to serve as participants in a limited user test to allow for a human factors assessment of the EPIAFS. The testing centered on the ability of the Soldiers to set up the EPIAFS, use the EPIAFS to set inert fuzes, and secure the EPIAFS after use. Soldiers were taken into the outside sunlight and a no-light room to assess their ability to read the un-cabled display of the setter. The Soldiers wore their battle dress uniform (BDU) or modified mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) equipment, which consisted of their mask and gloves with inserts, for alternating trials. The overall times for the Soldiers to set up the EPIAFS, which consisted of unpacking the EPIAFS and cable and connecting one end of the cable to the howitzer connector and the other end to the EPIAFS, were 0.8 minute in BDUs and 0.9 minute in the modified MOPP equipment. To set the first multi-option fuze, artillery (MOFA) required 5.0 seconds in BDUs and 4.5 seconds in the modified MOPP equipment. To set three more MOFAs required 7.7 seconds in BDUs and 7.9 seconds in the modified MOPP. |
