When range is not a key requirement, and high angles of attack allow it to hit targets on the opposite slopes or targets hidden in urban canyons, mortars are becoming the weapon of choice. Heavy mortars often became additional weapons even within artillery units. And mortars installed on vehicles provide motorized infantry units with standard means of indirect fire.
Automatic 120-mm mortar complex TDA 2R2M was installed on various chassis, including VAB 6x6 (pictured) and Piranha 8x8
TDA (formerly Thomson Brandt Armements), the mortar division of Thales, developed the MO 120 RT 120mm rifled mortar many years ago, which is in service with many infantry and artillery units. A mortar weighing 622 kg can be towed by a light vehicle or simply carried on the suspension of medium multi-purpose helicopters; it has a maximum range of standard ammunition of 8, 1 km. The two-meter barrel provides good accuracy and, when firing active-jet mines, the range increases to 13 km. The mortar is deployed in three minutes, the rate of fire can reach 18 rounds per minute. MO 120 RT can be divided into three subsystems, barrel, base plate and carriage (the heaviest part weighing 285 kg), and accordingly dropped by parachute. The MO 120 RT mortar is in service with 24 countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United States, where it is deployed by the Marine Corps as part of the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS), which can be carried in the Osprey tiltrotor.
Expeditionary fire support system EFSS of the US Marine Corps
On the basis of this mortar, the TDA company developed the 2R2M mortar (Recoiling Rifled Mounted Mortar - with a recoil system, rifled mounted on the machine). The system weighing 1500 kg can be installed in the rear compartment of tracked or wheeled armored personnel carriers weighing 10 to 15 tons thanks to its recoil brake, which absorbs up to 75% of the forces. Its computerized fire control system, together with a navigation system, allows the first shot to be fired in less than a minute after the vehicle stops. Semi-automatic muzzle loading provides a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. The 2R2M can be connected to a common fire control system, which increases firepower at platoon level and provides automatic data transfer between mortars, control room and forward observer. The ballistic characteristics are identical to those of the MO 120 RT, with vertical guidance angles + 45 ° / + 85 ° and horizontal guidance ± 220 °. The number of finished shots depends on the platform, but, as a rule, it is about 35 pieces. The 120 2R2M mortar was adopted by the Italian army and installed there on the Freccia 8x8 chassis (the first of the 12 mortar complex transporters was delivered at the end of 2014). It was also adopted by the Malaysian army and installed on the ACV-19 car, the Omani army on the VAB 6x6 armored personnel carrier and in an undisclosed amount by Saudi Arabia. The 2R2M is likely to be fitted to the new Griffon 6x6, currently being developed for the light and medium units of the French army.
Fire from a 120 mm Cardom ElbitSystems mortar mounted on an M113 armored personnel carrier; the system can also accept 81-mm barrels and is in service with Israel and Spain
Close-up shot of the 120mm Elbit Cardom mortar, originally developed by Soltam. The system has now incorporated the extensive experience of Elbit in the field of electronics.
Another transportable automatic mortar, Cardom, was developed by Soltam, now part of Elbit Systems. It can be armed with a 120-mm or 81-mm smooth-bore barrel and is equipped with electric drives for automatic guidance, a modern built-in fire control system (FCS), an inertial navigation system and an on-board ballistic computer that can be integrated into the battle control system, which allows you to shoot the first mine after taking a position for 30 seconds.
The 120-mm version has a maximum range of 7000 meters and a rate of fire of 16 rounds per minute (the number of rounds depends on the type of vehicle). Cardom mortar can rotate 360 °; it can be removed from the vehicle and fired from the ground. In order to increase the combat effectiveness, the mortar can shoot in the MRSI mode (multiple-round simultaneous impact - simultaneous impact of several shells; the angle of inclination of the barrel changes and all shells fired within a certain time interval arrive at the target simultaneously). The mortar was adopted by the Israeli army with a 120 mm barrel (two contracts were signed in 2011 and 2013), as well as by the Spanish army, but with an 81 mm barrel. Cardom is also the base for the RMS6-L system installed by the Mistral Group on 324 Stryker vehicles (known as the M1129 / M1252 Stryker Mortar Carrier in the US Army).
The American company Mistral Croup has developed the RMS6-L mortar complex. It is based on the Cardom mortar from Elbit Systems, the complex was installed on the Stryker machine
As a result of further developments carried out by the Marvin Group, the XM-905 mortar appeared, which entered service with the American special forces in early 2014. The program was launched as an urgent operational need to “expand bottlenecks” in the defense of bases in Afghanistan. The system, also known as AMPS (Automated Mortar Protection System), is based on a circular base plate with three openers and three tines, on which the RMS6-L is actually mounted. The electric drive system is connected to the control system in order to minimize preparation for firing, the plate can rotate 360 ° in both directions. The LMS is capable of delivering accurate solutions even when the mortar is mounted on a slope. The Mistral Group was awarded a contract in March 2013 for a new fire control system for the XM-905 mortar, designated EMTAS (Enhanced Mortar Target Acquisition System). At one time (spring 2011), nine such systems were deployed and tested in Afghanistan. The US Army also intends to expand the community of users of the mortar complex by supplying it to its special forces ("green berets").
Mortar system AMPS
Elbit's laser-guided mortar ammunition is obtained by adding a seeker and a JDAM kit (a set of rudders and guidance system for conventional bombs) to the standard 120-mm mortar ammunition. On the left is the set mounted on the projectile, on the right are individual elements of the set
Providing the infantry with a highly mobile, large-caliber system for firing indirect fire was the goal of the designers at Elbit Systems when they began work on the Spear system. As a result, they developed a new recoil device that reduces recoil forces to a threshold of 10 tons, which allows the Spear system to be installed on Humvee class vehicles without stabilizers. The system weighs less than a ton without ammunition, the ammunition load is 36 rounds with charges. The range and rate of fire are the same as that of the Cardom mortar, loading is only manual and therefore a two-man crew is required. The system is equipped with a computerized navigation and sighting system with an orientation module and clinometers (inclinometers). When receiving data from these systems, the OMS (which can be integrated with most combat control systems) through electric drives accurately sets the mortar barrel in azimuth and elevation. A vehicle equipped with a Spear mortar can open fire 60 seconds after stopping and shoot with an accuracy of 30 meters. With the Spear system, infantry units with light vehicles receive a large-caliber mobile mortar, which allows them to have only one standard type of vehicles for transporting personnel, direct and indirect guidance systems. The Israeli army has shown interest and Elbit claims that several potential foreign customers have lined up for the system.
About 15 years ago, the Swiss company Ruag developed a transportable 120mm smoothbore mortar and gave it the name Bighorn (bighorn sheep). The hydraulic system provides guidance and semi-automatic loading, while the inertial navigation and positioning system ensures accurate guidance of the mortar, whether GPS is present or not. The accuracy is 0.5% of the horizontal range and 0.25% of the height. Azimuth guidance is carried out in the ± 190 ° sector (optionally, when adding a slip ring, 360 ° circular rotation is possible), the vertical guidance angles are + 45 ° / + 85 °. The semi-automatic loading system allows you to fire four shots in less than 20 seconds, the intensive fire mode is 8-12 rounds per minute and a continuous rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute up to 150 rounds. The maximum range exceeds 9000 meters, depending on the type of ammunition. This program was stopped at one time, but in February 2015 the Swiss company showed the Cobra system - a completely modernized version of the Bighorn. In addition to the modern "design" in the Cobra system, all hydraulics were replaced by electric drives and a modern control system was installed. The rollback force is 30 tons and lasts only 30 milliseconds, which allows the mortar to be installed on a two-axle vehicle. The completely new ballistic computer and fire control system can be easily integrated into any artillery operational control system. The Cobra semi-automatic loading system allows you to shoot 4 mines in less than 20 seconds (the safety system prevents double loading). According to Ruag, a car with a Cobra installed can take a position, fire from 6 to 10 shots (the first leaves the barrel after 60 seconds) and remove from it in less than two minutes. The two-meter barrel (in the case of a limited volume, a barrel with a length of 1.6 meters can be installed) accepts any current ammunition for smooth-walled barrels, even elongated guided projectiles. The Cobra complex also includes built-in training aids, as well as a plug-in 81-mm barrel, which allows for combat training close to combat conditions, at a lower cost and with a reduced range. When developing the Cobra mortar, some weight savings were achieved, it weighs 1200 kg without a loading system and 1350 kg with it. Ruag has already begun the firing tests necessary to validate the new architecture (artillery components taken from Bighorn have already fired over 2,000 rounds). The Cobra system has already been installed on the Piranha (offered mainly for 8x8 platforms). Negotiations are underway with several countries to acquire this system.
Ruag's Cobra mortar system is the latest addition to the family of 120mm vehicle-mounted mortar systems. The complex, equipped with only electric drives, is based mainly on the previous version of the Bighorn.
Singapore-based STK Engineering exported its Srams mortar to the United Arab Emirates, where it was mounted on an RG-31 vehicle. The whole system received the designation Agrab 1
A double 120-mm mortar Amos with breech loading produced by the Finnish company Patria on the Patria AMV chassis is in service with the Finnish army
The 120-mm smoothbore mortar Srams (Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System) developed by the Singapore company ST Engineering is in service with Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, where it is installed, respectively, on an articulated all-terrain vehicle Bronco and a mine-protected vehicle RG31. The mortar has a barrel length of 1.8 meters, the complex's semi-automatic loader allows you to achieve a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. With an active-rocket projectile, the maximum range reaches 9 km, the vertical guidance angles are + 40 ° / + 80 °, while the platform rotates in the ± 28 ° sector. The total weight of the system is less than 1200 kg, the rollback forces are less than 26 tons (it was installed on Spider cars by ST Engineering, as well as on Humvees). In the configuration for the Singapore Army, it is installed in the rear module of the Bronco, and in the case of the RG31, in its rear cargo platform. The first batch of Srams mortars was delivered to the UAE and installed on the RG31 Mk5 armored car by the International Golden Group; this self-propelled mortar was named Agrab 1. The second batch of 72 mortars is installed on the RG31 Mk6E armored car. This system was designated Agrab 2; its deliveries continue. The latter version is equipped with the Selex ES FIN3110 navigation system and, like the first Agrab 1 version, the Arachnida fire control system from Denel Land System.
Tower mortars are another type of vehicle mounted mortars. Such systems provide the crew (crew) with complete protection. In general, these systems are more complex structurally, have a large mass, although the first shot, as a rule, fires back faster, since there is no need to bring the mortar into a firing position after the vehicle stops, only to aim in azimuth and elevation.
In the late 1990s, Patria Hagglunds Oy, a joint venture between Patria and BAE Systems Hagglunds, developed the Amos turret as an indirect fire system for wheeled or tracked armored personnel carriers and fast combat boats. With a mass of 3600 kg, the Amos tower is armed with two three-meter 120-mm breech-loading smoothbore mortars with a hydropneumatic recoil mechanism. The turret rotates 360 °, while the vertical angles are –3 ° / + 85 ° (electric guidance). The fire control system automatically brings the barrels to the firing position, after which the first shot is fired in less than 30 seconds. Loading is semi-automatic, the first four shots are fired in five seconds. The maximum rate of fire is 16 rounds per minute, and the maximum continuous rate is 10 rounds per minute. The long barrel provides a range of over 10 km, and the MSA in MRSI mode allows up to 10 rounds to be fired. After a development contract signed in 2003, the Finnish army ordered 18 Patria AMVs with an Amos turret in 2010; the first deliveries took place in 2013.
In 2006, Patria modified the turret for the installation of the lighter Nemo single-barreled mortar. It retained the same barrel and most of the characteristics in terms of vertical angles, guidance and loading systems, but of course the initial rate of fire dropped to three rounds in 15 seconds. The maximum rate of fire is 10 rounds per minute and the sustained rate of fire is six rounds per minute. The Nemo mortar weighs 1,700 kg (more than half the size of the Amos), making it compatible with 6x6 platforms and lighter vessels. The first buyer of the system was an unnamed country from the Middle East, but everyone understands that this is the Saudi Arabian National Guard, which, under a 2010 contract, ordered 36 LAV armored personnel carriers with a Nemo mortar from GDLS-Canada. Orders were also received for the installation of the system on offshore platforms. Interesting opportunities for Nemo are emerging in Europe, the Middle East and North America, according to Patria. In 2012, Patria introduced the Nemo Plus concept, installing a Kongsberg Protector Super Lite remote-controlled weapon station and a situational awareness system on the mortar tower. In addition, in 2014, Patria introduced the shooter-commander training simulator, which can be used for combat training of various levels. A typical platoon configuration includes three workplaces, a gunner-commander and an instructor-operator seat. In early 2015, Patria and Kongsberg announced a joint agreement to conduct a combat vehicle and weapon system program in one of the countries of the Middle East.
2S1 "Carnation" - Soviet 122-mm regimental self-propelled howitzer
Using the experience of modernizing the self-propelled howitzer 2S1 "Gvozdika" of Soviet origin, the Polish company Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) developed a turret mortar and gave it the designation RAK 120. The armament is a single 120-mm mortar with a smooth barrel 3000 mm long, which gives a maximum range of 10 km. The Polish configuration is equipped with an integrated Topaz fire control and communication system and therefore guidance is either fully automatic or is carried out by means of a joystick (there is a manual backup branch). The position of the vehicle is ensured by the Talin 5000 inertial navigation system, coupled with GPS and odometer, which guarantees positioning even in the absence of a GPS signal. The aiming drives are electric, the vertical angles are –3 ° / + 80 °, and the horizontal angles are 360 °. The automatic loader allows you to load projectiles at all vertical angles, ammunition and 20 ready shots are located in the aft niche of the tower, another 40 shots are stacked in the rear compartment of the vehicle. The rate of fire ranges from six to eight rounds per minute, and the system can fire at least three rounds in MRSI mode. The tower can also be used for direct fire at ranges up to 500 meters. The time of transfer to the firing position is estimated at less than 30 seconds; the crew of the vehicle is two or three people and the tower has a standard protection corresponding to the first level of protection of the STANAG standard.
After the twin-barrel turret, Patria developed the lightweight single-barrel Nemo turret.
The RAK 120-mm tower mortar, developed by the Polish company Huta Stalowa Wola, can be installed on tracked or wheeled armored vehicles
The RAK 120 turret mortar is mounted on the Rosomak 8x8 armored personnel carrier. The system was ordered by the Polish army
Poland chose the RAK 120, but there were no orders for this system at first; eight towers of the first batch were installed on a Rosomak 8x8 wheeled vehicle. However, in 2013, the Polish Ministry of Defense ordered another batch of Rosomak vehicles, 80 of which should be equipped with a turret with a mortar, and the other 43 should be equipped with a command post configuration and a forward observer vehicle. HSW also showed the tower on the Marder BMP, which was shown at MSPO 2013 and 2014 in order to attract export orders.
In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union began developing a turret with a 120-mm breech-loaded mortar 2A60 for light wheeled and tracked chassis, such as the BTR-80 and BTR-D. In azimuth, the turret rotation is limited to a 70 ° sector, while the vertical guidance angles are –4 ° / + 80 °. The tracked version under the designation 2S9 Nona, apparently, is no longer offered on the market, unlike the 2S3 Nona-SVK wheeled mortar and the Nona-K towed mortar, which are actively offered to other countries. The maximum rate of fire reaches 10 rounds per minute, the rate of continuous fire does not exceed four rounds per minute. The maximum range for conventional ammunition is 8, 8 km and active-rocket projectiles 12, 8 km. The mortar is in service with many former Soviet republics; the last foreign order was, most likely, an order from Venezuela for 18 systems. A further development of the system was the 2S31 Vienna self-propelled mortar based on the BMP-3 with a 2A80 mortar with a longer barrel. The range when firing standard ammunition has increased to 13 km.
China has been able to quickly develop such systems, usually through so-called reverse engineering. The first system was the PLL-05 based on the WMZ 551 6x6 chassis with a tower mortar mounted in the rear. The mortar tower rotates 360 °. The vehicle is equipped with a semi-automatic loading system, the mortar can fire five types of ammunition, including a cumulative anti-tank for direct fire at a range of up to 600 meters. For export orders, the mortar was installed on the Type 07P 8x8 armored personnel carrier. The system received the designation Type 07PA, the first buyer, most likely, was Tanzania - a regular customer of Chinese weapons.
At IDEX 2015, the Sudanese Military Industrial Complex unveiled a 120mm self-propelled mortar based on the Khatim-2 chassis, a highly spartan solution for the African market.
WIESEL mortar from RHEINMETALL
The decision of the German army to postpone the purchase of the lePzMr system (leichter Panzermorser, light armored mortar), also known as the Mortar Fighting System and based on the Wiesel 2 light tracked vehicle, de facto stopped the process of arming the German light infantry. The German army received only one system, consisting of eight Wiesel self-propelled mortars, two Wiesel command vehicles, four Mungo ammunition transporters and about 6,000 new generation ammunition. The system is equipped with the Adler DVA information management system. According to the latest information, the full operation of the entire system began in 2015, while the infantry units are switching to standard 81-mm mortars.
The Wiesel 2 mortar is based on the Tampella (now Patria) 120mm smoothbore mortar already in service with the German army. The barrel has been reinforced to withstand the higher pressures generated by the new ammunition. The trunk, cradle, recoil device and yoke are fixed on the pivot axis; out of the total 310 kg, 180 kg falls on the swinging mass of the implement. LMS allows you to open fire in less than 60 seconds after stopping. The forward-facing mortar can be rotated in the ± 30 ° sector, the vertical guidance angles are + 35 ° / + 85 °. The barrel is 1700 mm long and new ammunition makes it possible to achieve a firing range of 8 km. The rate of fire is three shots in 20 seconds and 18 shots in 180 seconds; ammunition on board consists of 25 rounds and two guided ammunition. Manual loading, for this the barrel is brought to a horizontal position; therefore, it is relatively short. The crew of three works under the protection of armor, before firing in the rear of the machine, two stabilizing supports are extended using a hydraulic drive. Mortar complexes based on the Wiesel 2 were intended to arm the airmobile brigades of the German army and thus had to be transported inside CH-53 helicopters. The Mortar Fighting System remains in the Rheinmetall portfolio and is also offered for export. The company is evaluating options for installing the mortar on different platforms and is ready to cooperate with manufacturers of other machines.
The decision of the German government to stop the purchase of Wiesel 2 may reflect the country's desire not to get too deeply involved in the current conflicts.
Ammunition
Drawing on its experience in developing a GPS-based PGK (Precision Guided Kit), Alliant Techsystems, with an eye on the US Army's Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (AMPI), has developed a similar kit designed to improve the accuracy of 120mm mortar mines. shot from smooth-walled barrels. The set for increasing the accuracy of the MPK (Mortar Precision Kit) mortar retained a fixed nose with guide rudders, but a tail subsystem with a folding tail unit was added, which increases the stability of the projectile in flight. Both parts are mounted on a 120-mm high-explosive fragmentation projectile M934. APMI requirements provide for a circular probable deviation (CEP) of less than 10 meters compared to a CEP of 136 meters for 120-mm smoothbore mortars at their maximum range, which is reduced to 50 meters when using modern high-precision positioning and targeting systems. AMPI ammunition is programmed like artillery shells with a PGK kit using the Enhanced Portable Inductive Artillery Fuze Setter. The MPK kit was deployed in March 2011 in Afghanistan, where a month later the first round was fired with the MPK kit installed. However, since then, the American army has not issued more contracts for the kit, and ATK is now looking for foreign partners in order to expand the market for its systems.
The Mortar Precision Kit was tested in Afghanistan, but the lack of large orders forces ATK to seek foreign partners in order to expand its sales market.
ATK is also involved with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in the Precision Extended Range Munition (Perm) program. The goal of the program is to provide the Marine Corps with new ammunition that will increase the range of its Expeditionary Fire Support System on the one hand and significantly increase accuracy on the other (the target requirement of the CEP is less than 20 meters at a distance of 18 km). The second participant in the program is a team of Raytheon and Israel Military Industries. An Israeli company has developed the Guided Mortar Munition (GMM120) guided mortar projectile for 120mm smoothbore mortars. It is equipped with a GPS system and has a range of 9 km. The projectile has four steering surfaces that unfold in the tail section after leaving the barrel. According to guidance signals from the Pure Heart control unit (inertial / GPS), the surfaces are rotated so that the projectile arrives as close as possible to the target (according to IMI KVO 10 meters). For this projectile, a variant with a nasal semi-active homing head with a KVO less than one and a half meters can also be developed. In February 2014, Israel Military Industries announced that the GPS version of its GMM120 mortar mine had passed qualification tests with the Israeli army.
Another Israeli company, Elbit Systems, has developed a 120mm laser guidance kit for mortar ammunition, which is a variant of the JDAM kit (a set of rudders and guidance system for conventional bombs). The kit includes a power supply, electronics, guided nasal surfaces and a seeker. With a mass of less than 3 kg, the kit provides a wide field of view, is compatible with NATO standard designators and provides an accuracy of one meter. However, the Elbit Systems company is considering the possibility of further improving it. One of the weak points of laser-guided mortar mines is that they need a pointer to illuminate the target, while very often mortars are used to neutralize targets out of line of sight. Targeting from an aerial platform is the best option; however, the infantry does not have such aircraft. Thus, the idea is to use a manual launch UAV that could illuminate targets. And here the mass comes into play, the carrying capacity of such devices is quite small. Consequently, it is necessary to develop seeker heads with much better sensitivity, which would make it possible to direct the projectile in the final section of the trajectory with a very weak signal reflection from the target. The Israeli company is actively working on this, but the integration of the GPS guidance system is also under way. It should be recalled that Elbit is also developing drones and its Skylark 2 drone could be the optimal target designator.
Israeli company MTC Industries & Research Carmiel manufactures nose rudder control system for 120-mm mortar mines and 122-mm missiles
The fact that Israeli companies are extremely active in the field of 120mm mortar ammunition should not surprise anyone, as the Israeli army has decided to replace all its 81mm mortars with a larger caliber, deploying one platoon with four barrels per battalion. At AUSA 2014, another Israeli company, MTC Industries & Research Carmiel, showed its nose rudder control system CAS-0313, in which each surface is controlled by a separate DC motor. The angular position of each rudder is measured with a potentiometer, and the engine speed is determined by an electronic controller (not included). The system has a length of 212 mm, a diameter of 119 mm, and a wingspan of 370 mm. The wings spread out after launch. This system is also offered for 122mm rockets.
The Russian enterprise KBP has developed a 120-mm Gran guided ammunition. It is fired from smooth-bore mortars, the maximum range is 9 km. Projectile mass 27 kg, length 1200 mm, high-explosive fragmentation warhead with an explosive mass of 5, 3 kg. It is designed to engage single and group, stationary and moving, armored and unarmored targets. Lethal radius on unprotected targets is 120 meters. Targets are illuminated by the Malachite portable artillery fire control system. After capturing the target, a Gran projectile is fired. After leaving the barrel, the tail rudders are deployed, after which the main engine is turned on. Then the gyroscope is activated and after the projectile begins to orient itself in the direction of the target with the help of the nose rudders, the bow is separated.
120-mm mortar mine Gran with laser guidance works in conjunction with a laser designator Malachite
155-mm artillery guided projectile Krasnopol
