Indirect Fire

Indirect fire, simply described, refers to a method of weapon employment that does not rely on a direct visual observation of the target to engage it. Primarily contrasted with direct fire, which requires a visual line-of-sight to the target, indirect fire often engages targets obstructed by significant terrain features and foliage or targets beyond the horizon. As such, indirect fire relies on both a shooter and an observer/sensor. The observer identifies the target, and the shooter fires the weapon system in response. A technical system largely developed during the era of World War I, when communications technologies caught up with weapons capability, indirect fires, primarily from land-based artillery systems such as howitzers, mortars, and rocket launchers, are one of the means of attacking enemy forces ...