Land WARFARE
The AMOS is a turret-mounted 120mm mortar with twin tubes that are automatically loaded and trained. As a result a single AMOS can deliver the equivalent rounds on target as a full battery of conventional mortars © Patria
tion of auto-loading and automated firing allows one NEMO to deliver fires equivalent to a full battery of traditional guns.” The Polish Armament Group unveiling in late 2014 of its RAK-120 turreted mortar on the Rosomak (the Polish-built eight-wheel drive Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle) suggests that other armies have recognized the benefits and broader tactical applications of the turreted approach. One of these is their direct fire capability which permits their use in an assault support role. Turreted mortars can engage bunkers, buildings and fortifications to 1500m (4921ft) range with high accuracy. The Russian semi-automatic loading rifled 2S9 Nona-S 120mm howitzer/ mortar system (on the Volgograd Tractor Plant BMD amphibious airborne infantry fighting vehicle) and 2S23 120mm self-propelled howitzer/mortar (on an eight-wheel drive Arzamas BTR-80 chassis) fill a similar role. The Russian Motovilikha Plants Corporation latest fielding in the Nona family is the 2S31 Vena, an automated self-propelled mortar with a longer barrel mounted on the Kurganmashzavod BMP-3 amphibious infantry fighting vehicle. In addition to conventional rounds it also fires the Gran laser-guided bomb against point targets at a range of 13km (eight miles). Mortar carrier variants of the BTR-3 eight-wheel drive armoured personnel carrier are available from Ukraine’s Ukrspecexport state armaments export company which has supplied the BTR-3M2 mortar carrier to the Royal Thai Army as of 2013.
Turkey’s FNSS has developed a 120mm mortar mounted on the company’s ACV-19 tracked armoured combat vehicle. Known as the SPM-120, this platform incorporates a 120mm mortar mounted on a turntable positioned in the rear of the vehicle which fires through a hatch in the roof. The ACV-19 chassis itself is a variant of the firm’s ACV-15 design which is already in service with the armies of Malaysia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. The ACV-19, however, has a longer hull, and a suspension which allows it to carry greater payloads than the ACV-15, while retaining a spare parts commonality level of 80 percent. The SPM-120 is known to be in service with two nations, although these have not been named. Precision Projectiles One benefit of the 120mm mortar round is its greater explosive power. The 81mm projectile carries around four kilograms (nine pounds) of explosive while the 120mm carries 13kgs (29 lbs). Another benefit is that it is more easily adapted to advanced ammunition types including ‘cargo’ submunition and precision guided projectiles. This is not to suggest that 81mm guided projectiles are not possible; in fact BAE Systems and GDOTS have both demonstrated the 81mm RCGM (Roll Controlled Guided Mortar). It modifies the existing British mortar bomb with GPS guidance, canard
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FNSS’ ACV-19 is a self-propelled tracked mortar with the 120mm weapon being fired through a hatch in the vehicles’ roof. © FNSS
controls, and an M734A1 multi-option fuse. So adapted, the round can impact within five metres (16ft) of its designated target. It can be fired from the existing L16 or M253 mortars. It provides target coverage with two rounds that with conventional engagement techniques would require ten. It is this increased fire efficiency that drives the interest in PGMs (Precision Guided Munitions). Considering that, for example, the M1129 Stryker Mortar carrier carries 60 rounds (which also include smoke and illumination), using PGMs allows ten-fold increase in engagements from on board stowage. The US Marine Corps Precision Extended Range Mortar programme or PERM is being led by Raytheon in collaboration with Israel Military Industries. It uses a GPS-guided 120mm projectile which in 2014 test firings achieved ten-metre (32.8ft) accuracy. An added benefit is that the canards used to steer the projectile allow an extended range of up to 16km (8.6 miles). Orbital ATK has developed a similar GPS-guided projectile kit known as the XM395. It is based on its 155mm artillery guided projectile. Both the PERM and XM395 can be used by rifled or smoothbore mortars. Saab’s Bofors Dynamics division has taken another PGM path seeking a direct hit with its STRIX 120mm terminallyguided mortar projectile. The head has an infrared imaging sensor that detects and locks on to the heat signature of a target and then guides itself onto it. It is considered an anti-armoured vehicle round in that by attacking the thinner roof of the targeted vehicle it is likely to penetrate and disable or destroy it. The system offers a unique organic capability to engage