Guided Mortar Bombs.

Traditionally the most simple weapon on the battlefield, the mortar has also succumbed to the charms of electronics and guidance. Some rounds, as we shall see, are not far from falling into the category of smart munitions.

Unsurprisingly, the Soviets were quick to enter the arena of laser spot-homing mortar bombs. Since the 1980s, Russia has had at least two types of laser spot-homing indirect-fire weapons: the 120 mm Gran and the 240 mm 9K113 Smelchak. The KBP-designed Gran, which is used in conjunction with the 1D20 laser designator/rangefinder, made its Western debut at Eurosatory 2000.

The 240 mm Smelchak, which is fired from an M240 towed howitzer, was used operationally in Afghanistan, and was first shown at an exhibition in Nizhni Novgorod in 1993. It is claimed that the Smelchak requires only three seconds of laser target-illumination, compared to 15 seconds for Copperhead, making the former much less prone to jamming.

Alfo, Strix

The drawback with spot-homing rounds is that the target has to be illuminated, and at long ranges this implies calling either on an observer that is within view of the target or an aircraft, which in both cases might not be possible.

However, the new Aerospatiale Matra Missiles 120 mm Alfo lightweight fibre-optic weapon project offers an accuracy of one metre at a range of 20 000 metres.

The Strix, for its part, employs infrared homing. It has a shaped charge warhead and control is effected by sideways-firing thrusters. Its normal range is 5000 metres, but this can be boosted to more than 7000 metres by adding a sustainer motor. The production con tract for Swedish Army missiles was signed in 1991.

PGMM 

The Lockheed Martin/Diehl PGMM (Precision Guided Mortar Munition) is a proposed further development of the 120 mm Diehl Bussard technology demonstrator, with an imaging infrared seeker and long-span wings, giving a range of up to 15 kilometres. The missile can be fired against either a laser-designated target or in a fire-and-forget mode, in which it searches for a suitable infrared target. It is planned to give the PGMM a dual-role capability by equipping it with the Bunkerfaust warhead, in which the shaped charge produces a hole for a follow-through grenade to destroy bunkers. There is currently no government funding for PGMM, but Diehl is hoping for a technology demonstration contract. The PGMM is compatible with the new lightweight composite-barrel 120 mm mortar being developed by Lockheed Martin.