Patent ID: 7946213

Claim:
A gimbaled weapon system (GWS) comprising, in combination: a sighting system, a control unit, a weapon cradle for receiving a weapon, wherein the weapon cradle is co-located with the sighting system as a unit in the GWS; a first elevation drive for elevating the weapon cradle; a first azimuth drive for rotation the weapon cradle in azimuth; a second elevation drive elevating the sighting system independently of the elevation of the weapon cradle by the first elevation drive; and wherein the sighting system includes a sighting device incorporating a laser range finder, a visible spectrum video camera and a thermal spectrum video camera; an operator interface for the GWS located remotely from the weapon cradle and the sighting system, and a control unit operatively coupled to the first azimuth drive and the operator interface, wherein the operator interface and control unit provide for operator control over the first azimuth drive and the first and second elevation drives from a location remote from the weapon cradle and the sighting system.