Exclusive Content

Defence IQ had the opportunity to discuss with Mr Ross Arnold, Senior Research Engineer, U.S. Army CCDC, on the vision of the future mortar system in the U.S. Army.

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Key benefits of downloading the piece:

• Gain exclusive insight into the U.S. Army’s future mortar system from Mr Arnold who will be attending this year’s Future Mortar Systems Conference
• Learn more about what the U.S. Army is currently focusing on to develop the future mortar system
• Understand how new technologies will be leveraged to enhance the U.S. Army’s mortar capabilities

With $5.2 billion of investment, Long-Range Precision Fires is the number one modernization priority for the U.S. Army’s Future Command, which aims at increasing ranges and lethality of its artillery capabilities. As the multi-domain theatre of operations becomes more complex and as potential adversaries develop disruptive technologies to hinder the U.S. Army and allied nations’ operations, the need to leverage new technologies to retain overmatch is crucial. 

In this piece, Mr Arnold answers the following questions:

• Artillery is one of the six modernisation priorities of the US Army’s Futures Command. Could you share your thoughts on the vision of the future mortar system in particular?
• How do you envision new technologies being implemented within existing and future weapons systems?
• What impact do you foresee disruptive technologies having on the deployment of mortar systems?
• What standards it the US Army looking to implement in future weapons systems to assist with interoperability between coalition nations from a governance and tactics point of view?

In this interview NTGS Milanion how the challenges and trends on the battlefield have informed the production of the ALAKRAN, a modular deployable mortar system. This piece gives insight on how real-world challenges are analysed and then acted upon; a must read for industry and end users alike.

Few weapons have maintained their relevancy throughout the decades than the mortar. Reliable, cheap, and lethal, the mortar maintains its position as must-have for many forces world-wide. One has to only look at the Ukrainian conflict to validate its relevancy. In this piece Pavlo Khoma, Ukrainian defence expert, delves into the use of the mortar by both sides sharing both insights and trends.

Key takeaways:

• While the mortar remains a simple straight forward system there is a lot of potential for its use
• The Ukrainians have leveraged their technology such as special apps to effectively use mortars
• While not all lessons from the conflict are universal, certain lessons, such as the importance of shoot-and-scoot are

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In this exclusive interview, Brigadier General Luis Torcál Ortega, Commander, Field Artillery Command, Spanish Army shares insight into the current and future artillery capabilities of the Spanish Army.  This interview addresses key themes that will be discussed further by Colonel Ángel Esparza López, Commanding Officer, Lusitania Regiment, Spanish Army, a key speaker of our conference.

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Key benefits of downloading the interview:

• Gain insight into the Spanish Army’s Programme 2035 
• Learn how the Spanish Army is preparing to operate in the future operating environment
• Learn more about how technology is impacting the Spanish Army’s artillery capabilities

Read now a preview of the interview:

DFIQ: Spain has quite an ambitious programme for recapitalisation of artillery assets in Spain and also to replace M109s with a wheeled self-propelled 155 mm system. Why a wheeled vehicle? 

LT: Well, for the command-and-control system, yes. But [for the M109 replacement] wheeled is a personal preference. Both options have their advantages. But full-tracked, self-propelled guns are very expensive to procure. They are also more expensive to maintain, and in fact, the main reason for me to support the wheeled option is that, as gunners, we don't really need full-track vehicles, because we don't fight like tanks. We don't have to follow the tracks of the tanks. Most of the time we operate on roads, and so need to have all-terrain capability, but we are not in the need of full-track capability. And that’s why I think that it’s much better and much more affordable to have a wheeled solution.

Despite over a century of use, mortars remain a significant element of any ground force. Mortars and other forms of artillery have become the principal source of casualties in the Ukrainian War, highlighting their continued relevancy on the battlefield. The platform itself has also developed with the introduction of guided munitions and new capabilities, such as being mounted on vehicles for greater “shoot-and-scoot”. These developments, however, come at odds with the mortar’s primary advantage of cost-effectiveness. This content sums up the most recent purchases, an essential piece for anyone wishing to further their analysis of the trends in the market.