Fast moving 120mm mortars: the 120-mm mortar is the largest indirect fire support weapon integral to infantry battalions in many armies. A new generation of self-propelled weapons is now being fielded.

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As the US Army converts to its new modular brigade structure the service plans a 42% increase in the number of M120 towed and M121 self-propelled 120 mm smoothbore mortars in service, from 872 to 1242 weapons. Each mechanised infantry battalion equipped with the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle has a platoon of six tracked M1064 carriers armed with the Israeli Soltam M121 120-mm mortar. General Dynamics is the prime contractor for supplying the M121 to the army and work continues under a contract awarded in 2006. Fired through an open hatch the muzzle-loading smoothbore mortar can achieve a maximum range of 7240 metres. BAE Systems Land and Armaments is continuing to upgrade several variants of the M113 Family of Vehicles to the A3 configuration, including the M1064A2.

Cardom

Stryker Brigade Combat Teams operate the General Dynamics Stryker Mortar Carrier Vehicle version B (MCV-B); the first of 241 vehicles was delivered in mid-2005. It mounts the Soltam 120-mm Cardora recoiling mortar system that is fired through an open hatch. Along with the muzzle-loaded K-6 mortar barrel on a turntable platform which rotates through a full 360[degrees] the system comprises computerised integrated navigation, self-positioning and aiming systems. A trained crew can achieve a burst rate of 16 rounds in the first minute followed by a typical sustained rate of fire of four rounds/min. Soltam has funded the development of the Advanced Deployable Autonomous Mortar System which mounts the Cardora on the rear of an AM General Hummer. Two stabilisers are deployed at the rear of the vehicle and jacks are lowered on either side to provide a more stable platform for firing. In 2006 the Israeli Army began fielding the Cardom mounted in M113 series vehicles.

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In US service the Cardom is coupled with the M95/M96 Mortar Fire Control System, which the army is fielding across its medium and heavy forces. The MFCS uses the same computers, displays and software in the tracked M577 fire direction centre, the M1064 mortar carrier and the Stryker MCV-B. Honeywell is responsible for the hardware interface involving Militope Pentium-based ruggedised computers, Rockwell Collins Precision Lightweight GPS Receivers and Honeywell Talin inertial measurement units mounted on individual mortar barrels. Fielding of the M95/96 is planned to be completed in FY08.

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Under pressure to fund the 'legacy force' fighting the War on Terror and develop the Future Combat Systems to equip the 'future force', army leaders requested no funding for the XM395 120 mm Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGMM) in the fiscal year 2008 budget. Alliant Techsystems (ATK) received an $ 80 million contract in December 2004 to design, develop and begin low-rate initial production of the PGMM. In January 2007 ATK completed the first end-to-end firing tests of the PGMM at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. The round flies a ballistic trajectory to the target acquisition basket with the BAE Systems semi-active laser (Sal) seeker turned on after the PGMM reaches its apogee. The forward observer designates the target, enabling the Sal seeker to lock on, and impulse thrusters perform course correction in the final stages of flight. The programme objective is for the PGMM to impact within one metre of the target. The standard PGMM is designed to achieve a range of 7.2 km and the army planned to extend this to 15 km using rocket assist.

Nlos

In March 2007 the first FCS Non-Line-of-Sight (Nlos) Mortar Firing Platform was unveiled. The Nlos Mortar, one of eight manned ground vehicles within the FCS, is being developed by BAE Systems. The Nlos Mortar Firing Platform, which features an automated, single-tube, 120-mm, smoothbore turreted mortar mounted on a test stand, was delivered to Camp Ripley, Minnesota, for test firing to confirm the reliability of its advanced armament technologies. The firing platform will be upgraded with an early prototype of the entire mission module equipment suite for testing at Yuma Proving Ground in western Arizona.

The Nlos Mortar exploits work that BAE Systems has done on other turreted mortar systems in recent years. The Saudi Arabian National Guard operates 73 120-mm Armoured Mortar Systems which were part of a contract for 1117 General Dynamics Land Systems--Canada 8 x 8 LAV II vehicles ordered through the US Foreign Military Sales programme in 1990. The AMS turret was developed as a private venture in the 1990s by a consortium consisting of the then RO Defence, Diesel Division General Motors of Canada and Delco Systems. Further development led to the AMS II, which was unveiled in 2003 and is now marketed by BAE Systems Land Systems as the 120 mm Turreted Mortar System. Prototypes of the 2640 kg turret have been mounted on the 8 x 8 Piranha III, the tracked Warrior and tracked stretched M113 Warren chassis. The TMS is armed with a smooth-bore mortar that can fire standard and advanced 120 mm ammunition to a maximum range of 13 km depending upon the ammunition. For self-defence the weapon can also be used in the direct fire role from 250 to 1200 metres. The TMS is fitted with a computerised day/night fire control system and features an open architecture, enabling it to be linked to various battle management systems. The system can come into action within 15 seconds and fire a maximum of ten rounds within the first minute.

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2R2M

The US Marine Corps is looking to a French design to meet its requirements for a 120-mm mortar. The 120-mm 2R2M rifled mortar was developed as a private venture by TDA Armements, since 2005 a wholly owned subsidiary of Thales, to provide a self-propelled companion to the company's successful 120RT rifled towed mortar which is in service in at least 24 countries. The weapon has been demonstrated mounted in an 8 x 8 Mowag Piranha and an FNSS tracked Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The 120R2M is ballistically identical to TDA's towed mortar and can reach a maximum range of 14 km using rocket-assisted ammunition and up to 9 km using unassisted ammunition. With its semi-autoloader it can achieve a maximum rate of fire of up to 18 rounds/rain for three minutes. Since December 2003 the French Army has been evaluating a 120R2M mounted in a 6 x 6 VAB as a possible compliment or replacement for its 120 mm towed mortars. A smoothbore version, designated the 120 RS2M, is also available.

In 1997 the US Marine Corps Warfighting laboratory began the Dragon Fire Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFFS) experiment to develop a modular 120-mm mortar that could be used in towed, heliborne and vehicle applications. The service's 50 General Dynamics Land Systems--Canada 8 x 8 LAV mortar carriers are now armed with 81 mm mortars. TDA is teamed with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and in September 2005 delivered the first weapon for the follow on Dragon Fire II experiments. The Dragon Fire II weighs 1450 kg in comparison with 3175 kg for the Dragon Fire I weapon. The prototype can be used in towed role and quickly mounted in a US Marine Corps 8 x 8 LAV. During trials the Lightweight Countermortar Radar was mounted on an extendable mast on the LAV Dragon Fire II mortar vehicle to test the system's ability to provide rapid counter-battery fire. In October 2004 the General Dynamics team was selected to provide the towed element of the EFSS using TDA's MO 120 RT rifled mortar.

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Amos

Arguably the world's most sophisticated 120 mm mortar is the Amos (Advanced Mortar System) developed by Patria Hagglunds, a joint venture company formed by Finland's Patria and BAE Systems Hagglunds to meet the needs of the defence forces of the two countries. Denmark and Norway have observer status in the project under a memorandum of understanding between the four Nordic countries to jointly develop defence equipment. The Amos is a turret system armed with twin barrelled, breech-loaded, 120-mm, smoothbore mortars and features a semi-automatic loading system and a fully automatic laying system. This design enables the Amos to fire 26 rounds in one minute with the first 14 rounds achieving a multiple round simultaneous impact (MRSI). A single Amos can thus achieve the same effect as a platoon of four conventional mortars.

The 4400-kg Amos turret can be mounted on a wide range of wheeled and tracked vehicles; prototype turrets were mounted on the Patria Vehicles XA-203 6 x 6 chassis and the tracked chassis of the BAE Systems Hagglunds CV90 infantry fighting vehicle for extensive trials, including testing firepower and mobility, of the CV90/Amos combination in Saudi Arabia. The turret has a full 360[degrees] field-of-fire at elevations between -3[degrees] to +85[degrees] and the mortars can be used in the direct-fire role for self-defence and in urban operations. The standard crew comprises a commander, gunner, loader and driver. Depending on the chassis a typical common ammunition load could consist of 84 conventional rounds and six Saab Bofors Dynamics Strix terminally guided projectiles.

The Finnish Defence Forces ordered 24 Amos turrets integrated in the Patria Vehicles Armoured Modular Vehicle chassis in 2003 and the first two of four low-rate initial production examples were delivered in March 2006. The full order should be completed in 2009. In mid-2006 the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) awarded the consortium a 55 million [euro] contract to build two prototypes integrated on CV90 for delivery in the beginning of 2011. Forty CV90 chassis have been in storage since they were built for possible conversion to the mortar role. Sea trials were undertaken of the Amos turret mounted on a Swedish Navy Combat Boat 90 in 2003 and the 2006 FMV development contract includes further work on this application as well as options for naval systems and ten land-based systems.

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Nemo

Patria unveiled the Nemo 120-mm smoothbore turreted mortar mounted on an 8 x 8 AMV at Eurosatory 2006. To accommodate the needs, and budgets, of potential customers Patria adopted a modular design philosophy. With a weight of 1500 kg the turret can be mounted on a 6 x 6 chassis, a tracked chassis or a boat. The unmanned turret mounts the same smoothbore ordnance as the Amos and fires the same natures of ammunition. The use of semi-automatic loading systems enable a maximum rate of fire of ten rounds/min to be achieved and a sustained rate of seven. The first rounds can be fired within less than 30 seconds after the vehicle halts and the vehicle is ready to move again less than ten seconds after the last round is fired. A chassis such as the AMV is able to accommodate 50 to 60 rounds of ammunition. Patria was quick to score its first export success, as in mid-2006 Slovenia ordered 135 AMVs in four different versions, including the Nemo variant, to equip two motorised battalions.

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Mortar Wiesel

At Eurosatory 2006 Rheinmetall Defence presented its new networked reconnaissance/mortar system consisting of several variants of the air-transportable Wiesel 2 tracked armoured vehicle. At the heart of the system is the Wiesel 2 120-mm self-propelled mortar now in the final stages of development for the German Army's rapid reaction forces. The smoothbore mortar can be loaded and fired with the crew of three remaining under armour and NBC protection. Externally mounted on the rear of the vehicle the mortar is pivoted and lowered into the horizontal position so that it can be manually muzzle loaded from inside the vehicle. A computerised fire control system adjusts the mortar before each round is fired. A burst of three rounds can be fired in 20 seconds and the system can sustain a rate of six rounds/rain for three minutes.

The vehicle has a crew of three and carries 25 rounds of standard ammunition and two smart rounds. The Wiesel 2 weighs 4100 kg, which enables it to be carried either internally or slung beneath the army's CH-53G heavy lift helicopter. The army is expected to order a pre-series batch of vehicles in 2009, followed by a production of 74 vehicles by 2010, with all deliveries completed by 2011. Rheinmetall is also developing a new family of 120-mm mortar ammunition that includes HE, smoke/obscurant and IR illumination rounds. Trial rounds were delivered to the army for evaluation in 2006 and serial production is expected to begin sometime between 2009 and 2010 to coincide with the fielding of the Wiesel 2 mortar. At Eurosatory the mortar vehicle was digitally linked to a Wiesel 2 C4I vehicle and a Joint Fires Support Team (JFST) consisting of two Wiesel 2 vehicles configured for the fire control mission. Rheinmetall is reportedly also looking into a GPS-guided round being developed by Diehl.

Bighorn

Switzerland's Ruag completed development of the Bighorn 120-mm recoiling mortar system in 2005 and production awaits a launch order. Designed for installation on light armoured personnel carriers and trucks the Bighorn has been demonstrated on the 8 x 8 Piranha, the M113 and the FNSS Armoured Combat Vehicle--Stretched. When mounted in an armoured personnel carrier the mortar is under armour protection when travelling and fires through an open hatch (like the TDA 2R2M).

The smoothbore mortar can fire all types of 120-mm mortar ammunition including guided projectiles such as the Strix. Use of an automatic muzzle loading device and a computerised fire control system enables a burst of four rounds to be achieved in less than 20 seconds. A sustained rate of fire of four rounds/min, up to 150 rounds, can be achieved depending on the charge. An 81-mm barrel insert system can be used for cost effective training.

Agrab

At Idex 2007 in February the United Arab Emirates announced that it placed a DHS 390 million contract for 48 Agrab (Scorpion) 120-mm mobile mortar systems. This system was developed under the auspices of the International Golden Group partners with BAE Systems, Singapore Technologies Kinetics and Denel. The Agrab consists of an ST Kinetics 120-mm Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (Srams) mounted on the rear of a BAE Systems OMC RG-31 Mk 5 4 x 4 mine-protected vehicle fitted with a new three-seat cab. This if the first contract for the Srams, which has already been tested on a range of tracked and wheeled platforms.

The Srams is ideally suited for light forces, as it can be mounted in platforms as small as the AM General Hummer; in this application the mortar vehicle would carry twelve rounds of ammunition and a second Hummer would carry the bulk of the ammunition. In the Agrab system the Srams fires to the rear. Its Denel Arachnida computerised fire control system enables the crew, consisting of a commander, a driver and a loader, to bring the mortar into action within less than a minute after the vehicle stops. The Arachnida is already mounted in the UAE's Denel 155-mm G6 6 x 6 and upgraded RDM Technology 155-mm M109L47 tracked self-propelled howitzers. Two carousels each hold 23 rounds and a further twelve rounds are stored in two ready-racks for a total of 58 rounds. The contract covers the supply of 120-mm ammunition from Denel Munitions and the ST Kinetics Improved Conventional Munition bomb, which delivers 25 dual-purpose bomblets to a maximum range of 6600 metres.

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