The Army M119A1/A2 Howitzer provides direct and indirect fire support to the forces deployed in combined arms operations. It is easily moved and rapidly deployed in the field to deliver optimum fire power with less combat weight, a lower silhouette, and can fire without a recoil pit. It is primarily towed by the HMMWV (high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle), can be air-dropped by parachute, or carried under slung helicopters.
Maintenance and sustainment of the M119A1/A2 requires specialized skills and extensive software expertise due to the level of technical complexity. PIDESO serves as technical expert for M119 maintenance tasks and for Computer-Based Trainer/Computer-Aided Instruction (CBT/CAI) Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI) products. PIDESO developed and incorporated software diagnostic updates for the Digital Fire Control Software (DFCS), investigated and corrected electronic anomalies with the Fire Control Computer (FCC) imaging tool, and integrated Tactical Partition Imager software into the M119 Downloader. Collaborating with Army software engineers, PIDESO developed, incorporated and tested working prototypes of the Muzzle Velocity Sensor (MVS) Ethernet/UDP downloader and integrated updated Maintenance Manager plug-in architecture into the Core Server Download functions.
PIDESO technical staff modified the Graphical User Interface (GUI) modules for the Gunner’s Display (GND) Emulator, performed a full analysis of failure modes of the GND testing monitor for the M119 Emulator Software and then redesigned the software from C# to QT/C++. PIDESO also provided recurring electronic updates to the Software Configuration Management database and Project Forge documentation.