The military industry is made up of all those instances that are responsible for developing more innovative devices every day for better performance of the armies and their soldiers. While it is true that the best known has to do with those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, aircraft, and vehicles, others are not as well known as, for example, training.
The training industry is the one that provides the implements and devices necessary for the development of the different skills of military personnel. Excellent training achieves outstanding military groups that make up the different components of the United States’ military. Thanks to the significant advances in the military training sector, the nation has better soldiers every day.
The training devices are very diverse; some allow the development of personal skills, as well as others that help improve performance with specialized weaponry. One of the most significant developments that the industry has had in that sense is the Killer Tomato targets.
What Are Killer Tomato Targets?
This is a device that serves as a target for aquatic maneuvers. It belongs to the category balloon/buoy and was developed by our company AFFP. This device represents the latest generation of our floating targets and works perfectly for training exercises, man overboard practices, and race signaling buoys.
One of the fundamental objectives at the time of the development of this device was the simplicity of manipulation. The Tomato Killer is designed to facilitate handling by personnel so that they can concentrate on training routines, which is the essential. Therefore, the ballon/buoy was developed to be easy to deploy, unpack, configure, inflate, launch and retrieve.
What Particular Features Do Killer Tomatoes Have?
One of the most significant problems of the objective buoys is stability. The Killer Tomato has a breakthrough that allows it to maintain considerable balance while in the water. This is achieved thanks to our unique drop hopper. Once the device is launched, this hopper unfolds and fills with water. This weight allows the target to remain upright and resist wind and weather.
Besides, it features our unique and advanced radar reflector in the “Catch Rain Position” as high as possible. Depending on the radar, effective detection can be made up to 10 miles away, far more than all previous designs. Finally, the Tomato Killer is available in 5 different sizes ranging from 5.5 “x5.5 “x5.5” to 17’x17’x15′. This versatility allows the development of a variety of exercises for the refining of the different skills of the personnel on board.
Which Maneuvers Can Be Developed?
Usually, the Killer Tomato targets are used in skill development maneuvers with artillery devices. One of the most common is the training with the different high caliber weapons present in the different ships of the US Navy.
However, recently, extraordinary air-sea training was carried out using a Killer Tomato. This exercise involved the new F-35B Lightning II Marine Infantry fighter. During the practice, the aircraft destroyed the target after successfully performing the first hot artillery reloading on board while in the Solomon Sea from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.
This demonstrates the great versatility of these targets for the development of various training activities at sea, which makes it an essential element in the training of extraordinary soldiers. If you would like more information about the device, please do not hesitate to contact us; the team at AFFP Inc. will be happy to assist you.