As the demand for heavy mortar systems grows in the world, let's take a quick look at the development of the industry, including the conclusion of large contracts, as well as the emergence of new products and the signing of new agreements
In many armies of the world, mortars are generally considered the most operational weapons for firing from closed positions, since they are standard at the level of the battle group and therefore available when other indirect weapons are not available. As a result, there is a growing market interest in self-propelled 120mm mortar systems.
In May of this year, about 50 Polish artillery instructors took a course on familiarization with the new self-propelled 120-mm mortar complex Rak, which was led by specialists from the manufacturing company Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW). And just 13 months earlier, in April 2016, the Polish government signed a contract with the company for 64 Rak turrets mounted on a Rosomak 8x8 chassis and 32 command vehicles. Deliveries are scheduled from mid-2017 to late 2019.
HSW first showed the Rak turret at the MSPO 2008 exhibition. The 120-mm breech-loading mortar with an automatic loading system is aimed at the target using a computerized fire control system (FCS) developed by the Polish WB Electronics. The Rak mortar can fire the first round 30 seconds after stopping and take off from position in less than 15 seconds. The turret rotates 360 °, and the vertical guidance angles of the barrel are from -3 ° to 80 °. The mortar can also fire with direct fire. The tower is all-welded, made of armored steel, and provides protection against small arms fire and fragments of 155-mm shells.
The Rak turret mortar is designed so that it can be installed on any suitable tracked or wheeled chassis. At MSPO 2012, HSW presented the Rak, mounted on a proprietary tracked chassis, with the entire complex being designated M120G. When installed on a Rosomak chassis, the complex has the designation M120K.
Hammer time
In December 2016, BAE Systems Hagglunds received a $ 68 million contract from the Swedish Defense Procurement Administration for the supply of 40 Mjolner double-barreled tower mortars (Thor's hammer in Norse mythology) for installation on CV90 tracked vehicles. The Swedish Army Ground Combat Center conducted a study in 2011 of the operational requirements for a new 120mm mortar system to support mechanized battalions equipped with CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, and concluded that a self-propelled mortar would provide the best combination of mobility and protection, as well as a faster taking in and out of position versus a towed system.
The Swedish army originally intended to purchase a 120-mm mortar complex AMOS (Advanced Mortar System) from Patria Hagglunds and ordered 40 CV90 chassis for this project. A joint venture between Finnish Patria Land Systems and Swedish BAE Systems Hagglunds was created in 1996 with the aim of developing and promoting the AMOS system, the first company is responsible for the tower, and the second for the entire complex. AMOS is a double-barreled 120-mm breech-loading mortar weighing about 3.5 tons, designed for installation on wheeled and tracked vehicles of the middle category.
The turret rotates 360 °, and the barrel has aiming angles from -3 ° to + 85 °, which makes it possible to use the gun for direct fire for self-defense and firing at targets at short distances. Depending on customer requirements, various OMSs can be integrated into the tower. Typically, the mortar crew consists of a commander, gunner, operator and gunner. The high level of automation of the AMOS mortar allows you to start firing 30 seconds after stopping and withdraw from the position 10 seconds after the completion of the firing mission. The mortar can fire five shells in five seconds, fire eight shots in MRSI mode (multiple rounds simultaneous impact - "Flurry of fire" - a firing mode when several shells fired from one gun at different angles simultaneously reach the target) and withstand the rate of fire for a long firing 12 rounds per minute. The AMOS mortar is installed on several types of platforms, including the AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) 8x8 and CV90, as well as patrol boats. The body of the AMV armored vehicle accommodates 48 rounds of ammunition.
In 2006, the Finnish Armed Forces received four AMOS towers on an AMV chassis for testing, and ordered 18 production systems in 2010, and would like to have more such systems as soon as funds become available. In January 2016, Estonia bought 35 CV90 chassis from Norway for conversion into various variants of combat and logistics support in order to complement the CV90 BMP already in service; local observers suggest some of them will be equipped with AMOS towers.
Budgetary problems forced the Swedish army in 2008 to cancel its plans to purchase AMOS mortars and CV90 hulls were sent for storage, but still they did not abandon their desire to replace the outdated GrK m / 41 towed 120-mm mortar. BAE Systems Hagglunds proposed the development of the Mjolner so that the army could have a less expensive alternative to the AMOS mortar. A company spokesman said the mortar would be "a simple but reliable solution."
Although few details have been released, it is known that the Mjolner will have a manual loading system for two twin muzzle-loading mortars. Its maximum rate of fire will be 16 rounds per minute, and it will be able to fire all standard 120mm mortar rounds, including the Strix guided AP shell from Saab Bofors Dynamics, which has been in service with the Swedish army since 1994. The mortar will be serviced by a crew of four people, including the driver.
It is expected that each of the five mechanized battalions will receive eight systems to equip two platoons. Deploying a double-barreled system will effectively double the firepower of the battalions. For foreign customers, the tower can be installed on wheeled and tracked chassis.
NEMO movement
The Finnish company Patria also recognizes the attractiveness of a less expensive alternative to AMOS and has therefore developed the NEMO (New Mortar) single-barreled 120mm mortar tower. The modular design allows Patria to adapt its solution to the needs of a particular customer and his budget.
The one and a half ton tower can be installed on a variety of tracked and wheeled 6x6 chassis. At the Eurosatory 2006 exhibition, a NEMO mortar was shown for the first time, installed on an AMV armored vehicle, in which, as a standard, an ammunition load of 50 to 60 rounds can be placed. The semi-automatic loading system can achieve a maximum rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute and maintain a continuous rate of fire of 7 rounds per minute. 30 seconds after the vehicle stops, the first shot is fired and the vehicle is again ready to move 10 seconds after the last shot has been fired.
The Saudi National Guard became the starting buyer of the Patria vehicle when it placed an order in 2009 for 724 LAV II 8x8 vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada, including 36 vehicles equipped with a NEMO mortar. The UAE has purchased eight NEMO Navy towers to mount on six of its Ghannatha class missile boats.
In February 2017, at the IDEX exhibition in the UAE, Patria officially presented a container version of its 120-mm NEMO mortar tower. “We started working on this system over 10 years ago and even received a patent for it. This concept is currently meeting the needs of customers,”said Vice President of the Armaments Department at Patria.
The NEMO Container system is a standard 20x8x8 feet container that houses a 120mm NEMO mortar, about 100 rounds, an air conditioning system, a power supply installation, a crew of three people and two loaders.
The container can be transported by truck or ship to any location, and if necessary, fire can be opened from these platforms. This is a very useful means of providing protection for forward bases or coastal defenses.
The 120-mm smooth-bore mortar can fire a variety of ammunition, including high-explosive fragmentation, smoke and lighting at a maximum range of 10 km. The 120mm NEMO mortar also has very useful direct fire capabilities.
If necessary, the NEMO container can be equipped with a system of protection against weapons of mass destruction and bullet protection. In the second case, it can be ceramic tiles or steel plates with a thickness of 8-10 mm, but then the mass of the system increases by about three tons.
For its new role, the standard ISO container can be reinforced with an additional support frame between the outer and inner skin to absorb rollback forces.
When transporting a 120 mm NEMO mortar, it is not visible behind a special transport cover. When deployed for firing, the tower rotates 180 ° so that the muzzle is located outside the edge of the container in order to avoid unnecessary stress on it when firing.
The container itself is manufactured by Nokian Metallirakenne, and Patria installs a NEMO mortar, calculation workstations with computers, controls, cables and seats in it.
Most recently, Patria tested the Nemo Container in Finland, both on the Sisu ETP E13 8x8 off-road truck and autonomously from the ground. These tests focused mainly on testing the integration of the Nemo mortar system into the sea container - in other words, testing the interface between the tower mortar system and the 20-foot sea container. In addition, another important part was checking the interface of the Patria Nemo Container and the Sisu ETP E13 8x8 chassis.
The American army in search of a new guided mortar ammunition
The American army wants to be armed with a 120-mm high-explosive fragmentation guided mortar shot HEGM (High Explosive Guided Mortar), capable of hitting targets with a circular probable deviation (CEP) of one meter. It will replace the Orbital ATK's XM395 MGK (Mortar Guidance Kit) guidance kit developed for the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative) program to meet urgent operational requirements for precision strikes in Afghanistan. The ARMI project from ATK was selected in April 2010, and a year later the first batch of XM395 shells was deployed in Afghanistan.
The GPS-guided MGK kit replaces the standard 120mm mortar shell fuse. An improved induction fuse adjuster and fixed steering surfaces are screwed into the nose, while cylindrical charges are installed in the tail of the projectile to increase the range and deployable stabilizers to ensure the stability of the projectile in flight.
“The APMI decision was truly a revelation for our soldiers in Afghanistan,” said Anthony Gibbs, project manager for mortar systems and mortar weapons at Picatinny Arsenal. “It made it possible to meet the urgent need for a high-precision projectile at combat posts scattered throughout the country, and today it is available to our entire army. We're going to improve on existing technology and include next-generation upgrades to the HEGM, such as increased firepower and improved jamming resistance.”
APMI requirements provided for a CEP of 10 meters, which means that 50% of the shells will fall within a radius of 10 meters from the target. Insisting on semi-active laser guidance, the army is looking for a HEGM projectile that will reach the KVO less than a meter and will be able to adjust its trajectory in flight in order to hit moving targets.
This fall, the US Army plans to issue several contracts, each worth about $ 5 million, to develop and supply potential HEGM test solutions that will last 18 months. The manufacturer of the selected solution will have about 15 months to finalize the design, which will then go through a one-year qualification stage. If everything goes according to plans, then the army plans to begin production of the first 14,000 HEGM shells in 2021.
Open hatch solutions
The Danish army chose the open hatch system in order to meet its needs for a 120mm self-propelled mortar. In March 2017, the army became the most recent customer for the CARDOM (Computerized Autonomous Recoil Rapid Deployed Outrange Mortar) Israeli company Elbit Systems Soltam, when the Danish defense procurement organization announced that the Austrian ESL Advanced Information Technology (a division of Elbit) will supply 15 mortar complexes with an option for six more units for installation on new Piranha 5 8x8 armored vehicles manufactured by General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS). With the installed CARDOM mortar, the Piranha 5 will carry 40 mortar rounds of ammunition.
The $ 15 million contract includes the supply and integration of weapons, spare parts, documentation and a training package. The Danish army expects to begin deploying mortar transporters based on the Piranha 5 in 2019.
The CARDOM system is a combination of a Soltam K6 120mm smoothbore mortar, a rotating platform, a computerized control system and a recoil mechanism that reduces firing loads. In the first minute, a burst of 16 shells can be fired, after which a steady rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute is maintained.
The largest exporter of CARDOM is the US Army, which has installed it on its M1129 Stryker armored vehicles and M1252 Stryker double V-hull mortar carriers. Since 2003, more than 400 mortar systems have entered service. Each of the nine Stryker army mechanized brigades organizationally includes three Stryker motorized infantry battalions, each of which has a mortar platoon with four M1129 / M1252 armored vehicles, while each of the battalion's three motorized infantry companies is equipped with two mortar transporters.
In 1990, in order to equip its light and heavy forces, the American army chose the Soltam K6 mortar as its battalion mortar complex. Light infantry brigades are equipped with the M120 Towed Mortar System, while the M121 mortar, mounted on the M1064AZ tracked vehicle for firing through an open hatch, is in service with heavy armored brigades. Each combined arms battalion of these brigades has a platoon with four M1064AZ mortar transporters.
Both M1064AZ and Stryker mortar carriers are equipped with the M95 / M96 Mortar control system supplied by Elbit Systems of America, which combines a fire control computer and an inertial guidance and positioning system, which allows the crew to open fire in less than a minute and significantly increases the efficiency and accuracy of the mortar, as well as the survivability of the crew.
The Israeli army has also operated the Soltam CARDOM mortar of the year since 2007. Under the designation Hatchet, it is installed on the modernized M113AZ armored vehicle; deliveries of this system are ongoing.
Another contender for the Danish requirement was the 120-mm Cobra mortar, which RUAG Defense first showed at IDEX 2015. The smooth-bore mortar on a turntable can be installed on various tracked and wheeled armored vehicles for firing through open hatches. It is equipped with a computerized OMS connected to an inertial navigation system to provide automatic guidance. The mortar is equipped with electric guidance drives and a manual reserve branch. In addition, there is an auxiliary loading device that reduces the load on the calculation and increases the rate of fire, which can be removed if necessary. The Cobra mortar can start firing a minute after the vehicle stops. It also features a built-in training system, for which an 81-mm insert is inserted into the barrel.
The Swiss army is the initial buyer of the RUAG product, having ordered 32 systems installed on the Piranha 3+ armored vehicle of 8x8 configuration from the GDELS company to equip four divisions. Deliveries are scheduled for 2018-2022.
At the IDEF 2017 exhibition in Istanbul, the Turkish company Aselsan presented its new 120-mm mortar system AHS-120 on a rotating platform, which can be installed on various wheeled and tracked armored vehicles. The specimen at the exhibition was equipped with a rifled barrel manufactured by the state-owned company MKEK, although a smooth-bore barrel can be installed upon request. The AHS-120 mortar has an automatic loading system and is equipped with a computerized control system from Aselsan, connected to an inertial system and an initial speed measurement radar.
Rheinmetall Landsysteme has developed and is marketing its 120-mm Mortar Fighting System mortar complex, based on an elongated version of the Wiesel 2 tracked armored vehicle. The 120-mm smooth-bore mortar, externally mounted on a pivot support in the rear of the vehicle, serves a crew of three. The mortar is lowered to a horizontal position, the loader feeds shells into the barrel, while the rest of the crew remain under the protection of armor. The system can open fire after stopping in less than a minute and shoot three rounds in 20 seconds. The Wiesel 2 transporter weighing 4.1 tons carries 30 rounds of ammunition; it can be carried in the cockpit of the CH-53G multipurpose transport helicopter.
After successful tests of two prototypes in 2004, the German army ordered a complete platoon set in 2009, consisting of eight pre-production mortars and two command posts (also based on the elongated Wiesel 2), as well as four Mungo 4x4 ammunition transport vehicles. Due to a reduction in funding, the army was unable to order additional systems and the only platoon was transferred from infantry to artillery, where these systems were stored as an alternative to the heavy tracked self-propelled 155-mm / 52 cal howitzer PzH2000 in case of possible deployment abroad.
Variety of systems
There are several 120mm mortar systems that are designed for installation on light vehicles. At the Indian exhibition Defexpo in March 2016, Elbit Systems presented the Soltam Spear Mk2 120-mm mortar complex with low recoil forces, the second generation of the Soltam Spear mortar, first shown at Eurosatory 2014. The Spear muzzle-loading mortar, based on the CARDOM mortar, is distinguished by recoil a device that reduces the rollback forces of CARDOM from 30 tons to 10-15 tons, which allows it to be installed on such light 4x4 armored vehicles as, for example, the HMMWV from AM General and the Spanish UROVESA VAMTAC. The Spear Mk2 mortar is mounted on the Plasan 4x4 Sandcat light armored vehicle.
Like CARDOM, the Spear Mk2 complex is equipped with an FCS, a combat control system and an inertial system for navigation and weapon guidance, which increases the autonomy, fire power and accuracy of the system. Target information is transmitted over the control system network to the OMS, which calculates target location data; thus, the wellbore can be aimed correctly in azimuth and elevation at the push of a button. According to the manufacturer, the Spear Mk2 mortar is compatible with all types of 120mm mortar ammunition. A crew of two or three people can deploy a mortar in less than a minute and fire a burst of 16 shells in the first minute. Sources at Elbit said the Spear Mk2 system has been sold to three customers in Europe and Asia.
The Singapore-based company ST Kinetics began production of a 120-mm rapid-fire smoothbore mortar SRAMS (Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System) for the UAE in accordance with a contract issued in February 2007 by the International Golden Group (consisting of BAE Systems, ST Kinetics and Denel) for 48 mobile mortars complexes Agrab (Scorpio) Mk 2.
The Agrab complex is a SRAMS mortar mounted on a Denel RG-31 Mk6E 4x4 mine-protected vehicle. The SRAMS mortar fires in a rear arc with a maximum rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. It has a relatively low recoil force of 26 tons, power drives provide horizontal guidance angles of ± 40 degrees and vertical guidance angles from +40 to +80 degrees. The use of a computerized LMS from Thales South Africa Systems makes it possible to reduce the crew to three people, commander, driver and loader, as well as start firing a minute after the vehicle stops. Twelve rounds are stacked in two racks, two more carousel-type magazines can hold 23 rounds each. The Agrab contract provides for the supply of ammunition from Rheinmetall Denel Munitions and improved conventional ammunition from ST Kinetics, which delivers 25 dual-use submunitions to a maximum range of 6.6 km. STK demonstrated the ability to install a SRAMS mortar on the rear module of the articulated off-road Vgopso transporter, the Spider 4x4 light vehicle and the Teggeh 8x8 armored personnel carrier, as well as the HMMWV armored vehicle.
In December 2016, the Spanish company New Technologies Global Systems received an initial order for its 120mm light mobile mortar Alakran Light Mortar Carrier (LMC), which was developed specifically for those customers who need a highly mobile mortar for rapid response units. The modular system is designed for installation on light universal vehicles with a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons. During development, the mortar was installed on Agrale Marrua, Jeep J8 and Land Rover Defender cars. An unnamed foreign customer, who has chosen a Toyota Land Cruiser 70 as a chassis to install an Alakran LMC mortar on it, will receive 100 mortar systems - starting from the end of this year, 15 systems per month.
During transportation, the mortar is laid horizontally on the cargo platform of the vehicle, and before firing, it is lowered until the square base plate stands on the ground. The mortar can rotate in a sector of 120 ° and in elevation at 45-90 °, is aimed at the target using an electromechanical system, and in the event of a power failure using a backup manual drive. The modern digital LMS allows you to open fire 30 seconds after the vehicle stops.
Alakran can achieve a maximum rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute and withstand a long-term rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute. Upon completion of the firing mission, the vehicle is ready to move in 15 seconds. As an alternative to a smooth-bore mortar, the LMC complex can be equipped with a 120-mm rifled mortar, as well as 81-mm or 82-mm smooth-bore barrels.
By the end of this year, the Brazilian army expects to issue a request for information on a vehicle-mounted 120-mm mortar system for installation on its new VBTP-MR Guarani 6x6 armored vehicles. In November 2016, the army ordered 1,580 Guarani vehicles, of which 107 will be configured as VBC Mrt-MR mortar carriers (Viatura Blindada de Combate Morteiro-Media de Rodas). Elbit's Brazilian arm, ARES Aeroespacial e Defesa, is likely to offer CARDOM and Spear Mk2 systems, while competing systems are likely to be NTGS's Alakran, Hyundai WIA's XKM120, STK's SRAMS and TDA Armements' 2R2M.
