Chapter 3: Sensor Suites & Targeting Language

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Sensor Suites & Targeting Language — Weaponization & Hardpoints (for Vehicle Concept Artists)

Why Sensing and Targeting Make or Break a Mount

A mount that traverses and elevates beautifully is useless if it cannot see, classify, and aim under motion, weather, and recoil. Sensor placement, stabilization, and the language you use to describe targeting behavior are the connective tissue between mechanics and effects. Concept‑side artists must show believable sightlines, fields of regard, and symbology that communicates what the system knows. Production‑side artists must turn that intent into boresight geometry, power/thermal budgets, EMI hygiene, calibration access, and maintenance logic—without over‑promising performance or breaking structural rings.

The Core Targeting Stack

Most weaponized sensor heads include some combination of:

  • EO (Electro‑Optical) day cameras: visible spectrum, high resolution, color; great for identification.
  • IR (Infrared) imagers: LWIR (8–12 µm) for thermal contrast; MWIR (3–5 µm) for long‑range with cooled detectors; SWIR (0.9–1.7 µm) for haze penetration and night‑sky glow.
  • Lidar / Laser rangefinder: time‑of‑flight distance and 3D point clouds (lidar), or single‑point range for ballistic solutions (LRF). Include designator only when painting is part of the fiction; show apertures and safety shutters.
  • Radar: surface/air search, track‑while‑scan, all‑weather cueing (AESA panels, mechanically steered dishes, or compact FMCW for ground movers).
  • Inertial sensors: IMU/gyros for stabilization; GNSS for absolute position; magnetometer/baro as auxiliaries.
  • Auxiliaries: laser spot tracker, illuminator, range‑gated camera, low‑light intensified (I2) sensor, acoustic shot detector. Concept sheets should group these into a gimbal head close to the weapon’s elevation pivot to reduce parallax; production notes should call out FOVs, spectral bands, and whether apertures share windows or have independent domes.

Geometry: Boresight, LOS, and Fields of Regard

Boresight is the angular relationship between weapon line of fire and sensor line of sight (LOS). Keep elevation pivots coaxial when possible so LOS doesn’t translate relative to the barrel during recoil or traverse. Field of view (FOV) describes what a sensor sees at a given zoom; field of regard (FOR) is the total gimbal envelope. Draw FOR in plan and section, clipped by keep‑out maps (masts, rotors, doors). Production‑side, specify:

  • Boresight tolerance (mrad or MOA);
  • Gimbal limits (° azimuth/elevation);
  • Backlash & stabilization bandwidth (Hz);
  • Parallax distance for fused reticles.

Stabilization & Image Quality in Motion

A believable turret shows two‑axis (or three‑axis) gimbals, rate gyros, and mass centered near pivots. Image quality hinges on jitter control and optical performance:

  • MTF/Resolution: tie pixel size to optics so you’re not inventing impossible detail.
  • IFOV/GSD: instantaneous FOV or ground sample distance informs recognition ranges.
  • NEΔT (for IR): sensor noise floor; controls how “milky” thermal images appear. Production‑side, route cables through slip rings or FORJ (fiber) and specify stabilization loops (inner rate loop, outer position loop) and their bandwidth.

Weather, Obscurants & Windows

Sensors need clean apertures. Use sapphire/spinel/ALON windows for abrasion; gorilla‑class glass for weight‑sensitive heads. Add hydrophobic/ice‑phobic coatings, wipers/air knives, or spin windows on maritime decks. For IR, keep window materials spectrally matched. Place wash jets and heater grids within wipe zones; show dew/defog ducts in cutaways. Production callouts: Taber abrasion targets, spectral transmission %, heater power, and service access for window replacement.

EMI/EMC, Power & Thermal Budgets

Radars, high‑rate motors, and HV conduits can swamp camera sensors. Separate power/ground planes, twist pairs, bond shields at both ends, and keep sensor returns isolated from HV returns. Budget power for coolers (Stirling for MWIR), heaters, motors, and processors; budget thermal with conduction to structure or small radiator packs (keel coolers at sea, louvered vents on land/air). Provide BIT (built‑in test) and health telemetries (temps, currents, vibration).

Targeting Language: From Search to Assess

Communicate the state machine clearly—on paper and in UI:

  • Search: wide FOV, scan pattern, low confidence; show broad search gates.
  • Detect: blob/track appears with low confidence halo.
  • Classify: target type inferred; track box tightens; add label.
  • Identify: visual/IR features sufficient; confidence band rises.
  • Track: kinematic lock (track‑while‑scan, Kalman‑filtered).
  • Solution: valid range, lead, and elevation; show lead cue and range gate.
  • Engage: interlocks clear; symbology declutters to essentials.
  • Assess: post‑event stabilization and sensor reread. Avoid real‑world ROE specifics; instead, show abstracted confidence and interlock signifiers (diegetic bands, HUD badges, tones).

Symbology & Diegetic Echoes

Use a consistent symbology family:

  • Reticle/aim point with lead directors for moving targets.
  • Track box with confidence halo or thickness.
  • Range ladder and time‑to‑impact arcs (abstract units if needed).
  • No‑fire arcs and inhibit flags when traverse enters blocked sectors.
  • Boresight cross during alignment mode. Mirror critical states as diegetic lights on yokes/panels so operators feel mode changes without eyes‑off‑world. Production‑side, define brightness ranges, color semantics, and declutter rules at high workload.

Multi‑Sensor Fusion Reads

Fuse EO/IR/radar cues in graphics, not magical claims. Show cue‑to‑slew (radar handoff arrow), picture‑in‑picture IR inset within EO, or contour traces from lidar overlaid lightly. Keep registration honest: add tiny offset tick marks when boresight drift exceeds tolerance; provide boresight trim controls in the UI.

Recoil, Muzzle Flash & Sensor Survivability

Muzzle blast saturates sensors and coats windows. Place the sensor offset from muzzle flow or add blast baffles. For co‑mounted guns, time AGC/auto‑gain and shutter behavior to avoid whiteout streaks; for lasers, include safety shutters and interlocks. Production‑side, specify standoff distances, window stow angles during firing, and cleaning cycles (wash/wipe intervals).

Calibration & Alignment

Make calibration part of the design:

  • Boresight panels/targets on the vehicle for quick alignment.
  • NUC (non‑uniformity correction) flats for IR sensors.
  • Rangefinder zero routines and laser boresight collimators.
  • BIT that exercises motors and sensors at power‑up. Include access doors and datum pins so modules re‑install within boresight tolerance; document thermal drift policies (re‑boresight after heat soak).

Safety Arcs, Interlocks & Keep‑Out Maps

Tie geometry to software: inhibit fire in blocked sectors, require cover/door closed states, and gate laser emissions to safe zones. Add service mode that slows slews, disables emitters, and opens boresight aids. On concept sheets, overlay no‑fire wedges and service envelopes; in production, list the sensors and switches that implement them and latency budgets.

Mount Integration: Where Sensors Live

  • Ring/pedestal: small stabilized heads near trunnions; route cables down the post; shields must not shadow the FOR.
  • RWS: compact EO/IR head coaxial with elevation; keep ammo box and chutes out of the FOR.
  • Turrets: internal stabilized cradle with external windows or side blisters; slip‑ring stack below race; environmental seals.
  • Chin/cheek (VTOL): chin domes with wide FOR and defog; cheek blisters offset—verify parallax compensation.
  • Deck mounts: gimbal on a mast or director; salt‑fog heaters, spin windows, and lightning bonding.

Human Factors: Consoles, Anchors & Workload

Operator stations need hand anchors, wrist rests, and three‑axis controls (rate or slew‑to‑cue) with adjustable detents. Keep displays at near‑world focal distances to reduce refocus. Provide freeze/track toggles, boresight trim knobs, and safe/arm guards. Production‑side, include training/record hooks, event markers, and playback for debrief.

Maintenance & Modularity

Design sensor heads as LRUs: swapable camera blocks, coolers, and windows. Use captive fasteners, keyed connectors, and self‑test that isolates faults to a module. Provide cleaning ladders, lens covers, desiccant ports, and re‑calibration flows after window change. For maritime/desert, specify IP/IK ratings, salt‑fog resistance, and lens coating life.

Reading a Sensor Suite at a Glance: Visual Diagnostics

Credible designs show: clear windows sized to optics; gimbals with honest mass and bearings; sensors close to elevation pivots; reasonable FOR without clipping structure; weather protection and drains; cable paths that won’t snag. Red flags: tiny windows claiming huge ranges, sensors far from the gun with no parallax story, or gimbals buried behind blast paths.

Rendering & Callout Tips for Artists

Ghost FOR envelopes in plan/section; sketch keep‑out wedges; label bands (EO, SWIR, MWIR/LWIR, LRF). Indicate window materials and coatings; draw spin‑window/wiper hardware. In UI mockups, use a coherent reticle/track‑box language with confidence halos and inhibit banners. Keep symbology scale consistent across pages for recognition.

Concept‑to‑Production Handshake

Close with numbers: spectral bands, FOV ranges, FOR limits, stabilization bandwidth, boresight tolerance, window transmission %, heater power, slip‑ring/FORJ channels, power/thermal budgets, IP/salt‑fog ratings, and calibration procedures. These keep expectations honest and turn linework into a testable system.

Case Studies in a Paragraph

A patrol rover’s RWS places an EO/MWIR head coaxial with elevation; the LRF sits in a small sapphire window above the bore. FOR clears the cab and antenna mast; slip‑ring stack and drains live below the race. A chin turret on a VTOL uses a broad spin‑window with hydrophobic coating, dual‑band (EO/LWIR) optics, and a range‑gated illuminator; the FOR avoids landing gear doors via software inhibits. A maritime deck mount uses a mast‑top director with AESA panel and EO/IR ball; salt‑fog heaters ring the windows, and a lightning bond strap ties the head to the deck.

Final Encouragement

Targeting is choreography between seeing and steering. When your pages show honest optics, clean fields of regard, stabilization that lives at the pivots, and a readable targeting language—mirrored in diegetic cues—your mounts will feel credible to both artists and engineers.