ROMANIAN ARMY`S JOINT FIRE SUPPORT APPROACH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN CONDUCTING MILITARY OPERATIONS

Abstract

In this paper I wanted to highlight those characteristic elements regarding the joint fire support In this paper I wanted to highlight those characteristic elements regarding the joint fire support concept as they are presented and detailed in our standing national doctrine and field manuals. From a national point of view, joint fire support is described as being the use of specific fire support platforms – land, maritime or aerial – that have the ability to execute indirect fire to generate planned effects on ground targets in direct support for land force operations. This is somewhat a limited perspective that comes, in my opinion, from our current level of equipment with modern fire support systems. The increasing need for modernizing armed forces capabilities and for implementing ongoing and future army equipment programs determine from a conceptual and a doctrinal point of view an adaptation regarding how these new structures and capabilities can best contribute to military operation’s success. Equipping the Romanian Army with modern systems designed to engage targets from distant standoff positions offers new possibilities for the joint fire support system, possibilities that require a new level of integration and synchronization for activities and actions that specialized armed structures, existing at the component level or attached from higher, need to execute in order to properlyengage and exploit these fire support capabilities concept as they are presented and detailed in our standing national doctrine and field manuals. From a national point of view, joint fire support is described as being the use of specific fire support platforms – land, maritimeor aerial – that have the ability to execute indirect fire to generate planned effects on ground targets in direct support for land force operations. This is somewhat a limited perspective that comes, in my opinion, from our current level of equipment with modern fire support systems. The increasing need for modernizing armed forces capabilities and for implementing ongoing and future army equipment programs determine from a conceptual and a doctrinal point of view an adaptation regarding how these new structures and capabilities can bestcontribute to military operation’s success. Equipping the Romanian Army with modern systems designed to engage targets from distant standoff positions offers new possibilities for the joint fire support system, possibilities that require a new level of integration and synchronization for activities and actions that specialized armed structures, existing at the component level or attached from higher, need to execute in order to properly engage and exploit these fire support capabilities