The Armed Forces of Ukraine have already received 18 International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems – IFATDS from the United States. This specialized computer network is used for coordinating artillery fire and manifests on the battlefield in capabilities that improve the odds of successful counter-battery fire.
The IFATDS is the export version of the AFATDS utilized by the U.S. Army as part of their network-centric warfare doctrine, ArmyInform points out.
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The first systems were known to arrive in Ukraine in December 2022. Since then, 18 kits were supplied in total, and integrated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Basically, an IFATDS is a computer network that runs all data exchange via a special terminal over a radio channel protected from EW interference.
The main purpose of IFATDS is to help commanders to better grasp the situation on the battlefield and quickly make decisions for a strike by removing the so-called "vertical hierarchy" in the military when each strike query must be approved on each level, from the officers on the ground all the way to the high-ups and return back as orders.
Instead, the system unites all operators, both on the frontline and in the rear, in a single network that provides artillery units with information in the fastest way possible, from a variety of sources: counter-battery radars, UAV pilots, satellite and electronic intelligence, units deployed on the front line, and more.
The following illustrative video shows a recent example of how this kind of interaction works: a drone operator detects russian Msta-S howitzers and sends their coordinates to HIMARS teams. Although we don't know the backstage of such communication, the quickness of decision-making was a key factor – all four russian howitzers were destroyed with precision strikes.
No less important is that the IFATDS is compatible with a number of Western artillery systems, including PzH 2000 and CAESAR self-propelled howitzers, or M142 HIMARS and M270 rocket systems. Over the past few months, we have seen multiple times HIMARS effectively eliminate russian equipment, there is a chance IFATDS played an important in this success.
Among the lines, ArmyInform journalists also mention the Kropyva command and control system which has a similar purpose and is also used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is regarded as very helpful by the officers.
For example, once the Kropyva system helped Ukrainians to take down three russian IFVs that were a problem for nearby infantry units and were troublesome to reach with direct fire.
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