The simplicity of the device and the use of the mortar, combined with good fighting qualities, quickly ensured widespread use of this type of weapon. More than a hundred years have passed since the appearance of mortars. During this time, they retained their popularity and continued to improve. Now the development of new mortar systems continues in several countries, including Russia, where the Nizhny Novgorod Central Research Institute "Burevestnik" is engaged in the development of this direction.
Work on improving old mortars and creating new ones mainly concerns two areas of the battalion level - weapons of 82 and 120 mm caliber. First of all, it is worth noting the modernization of the 2S12 "Sani" complex with the 2S12A index. The 2S12 system, which was put into service in 1981, consists of a 2B11 mortar, a wheeled course and a towing vehicle. The mortar itself has undergone major changes. The main element of the modernization of the 2B11 mortar is a new base plate and a system for its interface with the barrel. Previously, the barrel could only swing in one plane. Thanks to the use of a new base plate with a hinge, the updated mortar can also be guided horizontally. This allows fire to be transferred to another target without turning the heavy base plate. In addition, 2B11 received a number of new tools and capabilities. The updated firing mechanism can be quickly and easily removed without disassembling the mortar. On a special additional rack of the carriage there is a unit for mounting the sight, which makes it possible to aim the entire battery using only one sighting device. In addition, the set of the updated "Sledge" includes devices that allow you to quickly and easily align the sight, as well as fire at night.
120-mm mortar 2B11
Transport vehicle on chassis Ural 43206-0651
Wheel travel 2L81
In order to maintain maximum unification with the original 2S12 complex, the modernization did not affect the main part of its units. For this reason, the range and accuracy remained the same. As before, the Sani can fire conventional mines at a distance of up to 7100 meters. When using the guided KM-8 "Gran", the target destruction range is increased to nine kilometers. During the modernization, the 2S12A received a new towing vehicle. Now it is the Ural-43206 truck or MT-LB tractor. Transportation of a wheeled mortar can be carried out either by simple towing, or in the back of a truck or on the roof of a tracked vehicle. For loading, transport vehicles are equipped with a quick-detachable ramp of a trough structure and a winch. The updated composition of the complex equipment ensures a faster transfer of the complex from a traveling state to a combat state and vice versa, including by the forces of a reduced crew.
Another project for the modernization of the old mortar is called 2B24 and is a further development of the 2B14-1 "Podnos" project. The 82 mm gun, due to its dimensions and weight, can be transported disassembled by a crew of four. The 2B24 design mainly differs from its predecessor in the length of the barrel. This innovation made it possible to significantly increase the maximum firing range, now it is equal to six kilometers. The 2B24 mortar can fire all available 82 mm caliber mines. In addition, in the course of its development, a high-explosive fragmentation mine of increased power 3-O-26 was created. Like the mortar of the 2S12A complex, the 2B24 has a new hinge for connecting the barrel and the base plate, which makes it possible to fire at targets in any direction, only by unrolling the barrel and rearranging the carriage supports. The permissible rate of fire of the gun increased to more than twenty rounds per minute. To ensure an acceptable temperature regime of the barrel and to avoid its deformation, there is a fins-radiator on the breech.
Mortar 2B14 "Tray"
Being portable, the 2B24 mortar can be disassembled into three main units, which are packed into packs. At the same time, one soldier carries the barrel at the same time, the second carries the base plate, and the third carries a two-legged gun carriage and a sight. The fourth crew number carries a special backpack-pack for ammunition. Without any changes in the design, the 2B24 mortar can be converted from a portable to a self-propelled one. To do this, using a special mounting kit, the mortar is installed in the troop compartment of the MT-LB armored tractor. This complex was named 2K32 "Deva". It is noteworthy that the 2F510-2 mounting kit allows you to quickly remove the mortar from it and use it in a portable version. The ammunition load of the 2K32 combat vehicle is 84 mines.
Of particular interest is the 82-mm 2B25 mortar. First of all, attention is drawn to the dimensions of this weapon. With a significant caliber disassembled, it fits into just one container. The calculation consists of two people, one of whom carries the mortar itself, and the second - the ammunition for it. Despite its small size, 2B25 can fire at targets in the range from 100 to 1200 meters. However, the most interesting element of the complex is the new 3VO35 fragmentation mine. The main innovation in its design is the original shank with a propelling charge. Inside the shank is not only a charge, but also a cylindrical piston. Before firing, the mine is placed in the mortar barrel, after which the firing mechanism ignites the propellant charge. The propellant gases, expanding, push the piston out of the shank, which, in turn, rests against the tile of the firing mechanism and throws the mine out of the barrel. Having reached the extreme position, the piston gets stuck inside the shank and does not allow the powder gases to come out, due to which the sound of a 2B25 shot is only a few quiet pops and clicks.
Mortar 2B25
The silent mortar 2B25 was first presented last year at the MILEX-2011 exhibition in Minsk. Then it became known that the serial production of the mortar had already begun. There is information about the continuation of work to improve the mortar in order to increase the firing range. However, even without any changes, the 2B25 mortar is the world's first serial silent mortar with a powder charge for throwing ammunition.
Despite the fact that all the basic nuances of the mortar design have long been invented and "polished", the development of such systems still continues. The development of this direction primarily concerns measures to increase the range and accuracy of fire, as well as to lighten the structure. Also a promising way to improve mortar systems is the creation and use of corrected ammunition. As for special designs like the silent 2B25, it is rather a special tool for special units, but not a weapon of a mass army. At the same time, since the beginning of the use of the 2B25 mortar (if any) enough time has not passed yet and it is still impossible to draw conclusions about the prospects of the entire direction. Perhaps, in the future, mortars will be created that combine the fighting qualities of the updated 2B11 and the silent 2B25, and it is precisely such weapons that will enter the troops in large quantities. So far, these are only guesses, but what the mortar of the future will look like can only be said in a few years, when the specialists of the Central Research Institute "Burevestnik" will show their new developments.
