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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">cndcgs</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation</journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn pub-type="epub">2538-8959</issn>
      <issn pub-type="ppub">2669-2023</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>LKA</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">27_2026_KROMPOLC</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.47459/cndcgs.2026.27</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Technical Capability of Self-Propelled Howitzers and Multiple Rocket Launchers for Remote Operation from Cover</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>KROMPOLC</surname>
            <given-names>František</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:href="mailto:frantisek.krompolc@unob.cz">frantisek.krompolc@unob.cz</email>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_000"/>
          <xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">∗</xref>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_000">Department, Faculty, University of Defence, Czech Republic</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>BLAHA</surname>
            <given-names>Martin</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_001"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_001">Department, Faculty, University of Defence, Czech Republic</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>TUČEK</surname>
            <given-names>Pavel</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_002"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_002">EXCALIBUR ARMY spol. s r.o., Czech Republic</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>VARECHA</surname>
            <given-names>Jaroslav</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_003"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_003">Department of Military Tactics and Operational Art, Armed Forces Academy of General M. R. Štefánik, Slovakia</aff>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>DRÁBEK</surname>
            <given-names>Jan</given-names>
          </name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="j_cndcgs_aff_004"/>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="j_cndcgs_aff_004">Department, Faculty, University of Defence, Czech Republic</aff>
      </contrib-group>
      <author-notes>
        <corresp id="cor1"><label>∗</label>Corresponding author.</corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <volume>2026</volume>
      <issue>1</issue>
      <fpage>226</fpage>
      <lpage>234</lpage>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>01</day>
        <month>07</month>
        <year>2026</year>
      </pub-date>
      <permissions>
        <license license-type="open-access">
          <license-p>Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY)</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <p>Contemporary operational environments, particularly those characterized by the widespread use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), expose artillery units to persistent surveillance and rapid targeting, significantly increasing the risk to crews operating at or near the weapon [1,2]. Despite growing automation, a systematic approach to assessing the capability to conduct fire without physical crew presence is lacking. This paper proposes a reproducible evaluation framework for the technical capability of artillery systems to conduct remote-controlled fire from a protected position. The approach combines necessary conditions - unmanned firing cycle, automatic gun aiming, and absence of crew at the weapon - with a multi-criteria assessment and explicit consideration of data uncertainty. The method is applied to selected self-propelled howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems. The evaluation indicates that modern howitzers generally meet the required conditions, while rocket systems exhibit emerging capability, often supported by expert assessment rather than documented evidence.</p>
        <p>The results suggest that system architecture may represent a more decisive factor than the level of automation alone and highlight significant gaps in publicly available data.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <label>Keywords</label>
        <kwd>artillery systems</kwd>
        <kwd>remote-controlled fire</kwd>
        <kwd>unmanned firing cycle</kwd>
        <kwd>crew survivability</kwd>
        <kwd>system architecture</kwd>
        <kwd>technical capability</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
