text: Environmental and Terrain Considerations for Fire Support
  the threat while at the same time minimizing undesired adverse effects on the built-up area and its inhabitants,
  these fires must often be as precise as technology and planning will allow.
  TARGET ACQUISITION
  D-13. Target acquisition in an urban environment faces several challenges. Sensors and reconnaissance have
  difficulty penetrating the urban environment's increased cover and concealment limiting both TA and battle
  damage assessment. Moving personnel or vehicular targets are normally the easiest to acquire. However, the
  cover and concealment provided by urban terrain gives moving targets short exposure times, requiring firing
  systems to act rapidly on targeting data. In specific circumstances, weapon locating radar TA may be more
  effective in locating hostile firing weapons because of the increased use of high-angle indirect fires.
  D-14. Targeting challenges are met by innovatively integrating reconnaissance capabilities. Air Force
  reconnaissance and surveillance systems contribute significantly to assessing the urban area. These
  information collection systems include manned and UAS. These information systems are vulnerable to
  weather and staff weather officers should be leveraged to provide weather effects assessments for both the
  platforms and sensors based on current and forecast weather conditions. Air Force reconnaissance and
  surveillance systems can provide vital data to help assess threat intentions, threat dispositions, and an
  understanding of the civilian population. These systems also can downlink raw information in real-time to
  Army intelligence processing and display systems, such as the common ground station or division tactical
  exploitation system.
  OBSERVATION
  D-15. Ground observation may be limited. Consider placing observers on overlooking terrain outside the city
  and using external routes for observer movement.
  D-16. Allow additional time for observer relocations when rubble, downed electrical wires, snipers, and other
  obstacles and impediments to movement may exist. Observers may need to take routes around obstacles.
  Elevators typically should not be used to avoid becoming trapped in the event of power failure. This can
  require time-consuming stairway climbs to gain an adequate vantage point. Fatigue may become a problem.
  D-17. FOs should be positioned where they can get the maximum observation so that TA and adjustments in
  fire can best be accomplished. This is not necessarily on the tops of buildings. FOs may be placed on upper
  floors of buildings to improve visibility. The observers on rooftops are vulnerable to both enemy aircraft
  direct fire and artillery or mortar airbursts.
  D-18. Ground observation is limited in urban areas. Adjusting fires is difficult since buildings may block the
  view of adjusting rounds; therefore, the lateral method of adjustment may be most useful in urban operations.
  The impact of initial rounds may be adjusted laterally, until a round impacts on the street perpendicular to
  the forward edge of the battle area. When rounds impact on the perpendicular street, they are adjusted for
  range. When the range is correct, a lateral shift is made onto the target, and the guns FFE. Adjustments may
  be made by sound although this can be deceptive due to echoes off of buildings. Using airburst rounds is
  another technique for adjustment.
  D-19. Consider the use of aerial observers. Aerial observers are effective for seeing behind buildings
  immediately to the front of friendly forces. These observers are extremely helpful when using adjusted fire
  because the observer may see the adjusting rounds impact behind buildings. Aerial observers can also relay
  calls for fire when communications are degraded due to power lines or masking by buildings. Illumination
  rounds fired to burn on the target can mark targets (both visual and infrared) in the daylight amid the smoke
  and dust of urban combat.
  D-20. FOs must be able to determine where and how large are the dead spaces. Dead space is the area in
  which indirect fires cannot reach the street level because of buildings. This area is an enemy haven that is
  protected from indirect fires. For mortars and high-angle artillery fires, the dead space is about one-half the
  height of the building. For low-angle artillery fires, the dead space is about five times the height of the
  building behind which the target sits.