Many European nations' return to a near-peer focus caused by the invasion of Ukraine has caused many military planners to implement several step changes. From a European defence perspective, perhaps the most significant change was the joining of Nordic nations to NATO. This presentation was delivered in 2023 by Colonel Niklas Edelsvärd from the FMV - Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, which covers:

• The context in the FMV and Sweden finds itself
• Presentation of some of the soldier projects the FMV is working on from a joint procurement perspective
• An outlook on the FMV’s research and development of soldier systems
  

A follow up to previous year’s survey on the Dismounted Soldier Challenges and Trends. In this survey we asked respondents from several backgrounds questions which build upon last year’s results. The questions touched a broad range of topics ranging from what the current priorities are to how we minimise casualties from indirect fires. This piece of content serves to act as a starting point for market research on the topic.

The Dismounted Soldier faces various challenges from armour to artillery. The War in Ukraine has emphasised the importance of both anti-tank and mortar systems, while also informing us on how these very systems need to adapt to peer-on-peer conflict. This market report covers the latest programme developments of various nations from across the globe. A must read for anyone interested in staying abreast of the latest developments.

In this interview, Lieutenant Colonel Ron Dresen, Staff Officer and Subject Matter Expert on Urban Ops at the RNLA, shares his wealth of experience and knowledge of Urban Warfare. In this piece, he explains how the War in Ukraine has put a new perspective on urban combat operations and what this means for the Royal Netherlands Army and modern European forces in terms of what needs to be improved.

In this exclusive interview, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Dawe, Commanding Officer of the Infantry Trials Development Unit discusses the future of the British Armed Forces as it modernises and digitises. Dawe also provides insight into the impact of technologies such as AI and ML on the battlefield. Read the 8 minute interview now to learn more about the projects transforming the way British Land Forces conduct operations in the tactical environment.

The War in Ukraine shows the clear importance of the dismounted soldier in contemporary warfare. In many respects, it demonstrates the value of personal training, communication, and firepower on the modern battlefield. Ukrainian defence expert, Pavlo Khoma, shares the lessons learned from the beginning of the invasion, delivering a unique insight into how things have changed in modern warfare but also how things remain the same.

Industry, in many ways, has surpassed government in terms of technology for the dismounted soldier platform allowing for a number of possibilities and challenges. In this survey, we asked people with a military, academic, government agency, and industry backgrounds to share their thoughts on the domain. This survey highlights the views on the challenges and solutions facing the dismounted soldier platform and the dissonance between the respondent types.

At last year's Future Mortar Systems conference, Mr. Michael Markowitch of the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development & Engineering Center presented on '81mm Non-Lethal Indirect Fire Munition (IDFM)'. 

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• The need for NL munitions in congested environments with ambiguous combatants/civilians
• The development of non-lethal indirect munitions
• Future requirements and technological developments

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The dismounted soldier has remained the main combat unit for all forces. Events in Eastern Europe have shown that when properly armed, trained, and informatised, the soldierly remains the most capable and adaptable tool in the arsenal. Despite various limitations ranging from size and weight of the equipment to its cognitive complexity; every year more capability and lethality are afforded to the soldier due to advancements in technology and organizational concepts. This market report highlights the various programs nations are undertaking to ensure the main stay of their forces remain relevant and lethal.

Having deployed in several conflict zones, Lieutenant General (Ret.) James Bashall shares his views on the current status of the dismounted soldier domain. While technology may evolve and even disrupt, the soldier and therefore the human element remains at the core of any fighting force. Lt. Gen. Bashall highlights the challenges and trends which must be addressed not only at the soldier level, but at the governmental level as well. An essential piece of reading for both newcomers and experts alike.

Defence IQ had the opportunity to discuss with Mr Ross Arnold, Senior Research Engineer, U.S. Army CCDC, a key speaker of the conference, 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?

A new dawn for mortar systems has arrived. While lessons and upgrades have been harnessed from Afghanistan, tomorrow's conflicts may present an entirely different environment with a number of emerging obstacles. These considerations are just some of the operational problems that delegates will be taking with them to Future Mortar Systems conference...

The mortar systems industry is expected to reach $ 8.7 billion by 2023, as innovations are put forward by industry and updates are being added to the existing capabilities of the Armies and Marine Corps. 

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Key benefits of downloading the map:

• Know top acquisition and upgrade priorities from countries that will be present at Future Mortar Systems
• Develop business strategies by meeting the right people from countries having active programmes and key requirements at Future Mortar Systems  
• Gain insights into investment trends from your peers

Download the map to learn more about the following programmes from countries that will discuss them at Future Mortar Systems, such as:

• Spain – requirement for a new 120mm mounted mortar system in 2020
• United States – procurement of a Future Indirect Fire Turret that is planned to be in use by 2021
• United Kingdom – replacement of the Army’s 60mm mortar from its platoons
• Denmark – introduction of two new systems, the French Nexter Systems CAESAR 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled (SP) and the General Dynamics European Land Systems MOWAG Piranha 5
• Czech Republic – acquisition of the vehicle-mounted Mjölner. 40 mortar system

These programmes will be discussed at this year’s Future Mortar Systems by a panel of sixteen senior speakers from around the globe, which will be chaired by Chris Foss. Key themes will include the mobility and flexibility of troops when transporting and operating equipment, technological innovations to ensure overmatch in peer adversary war-fighting contexts, the integration of UAVs, effectively combating time-sensitive targets, operational feedback, and command and control systems. 

Lt Col Bandieri speaks to Defence IQ and gives us a special forces operational insight on mortar developments. He discusses optimising interoperability and joint firepower capabilities for the special forces and infantry.

The doctrine and TTPs of NATO’s land forces are continually reassessed as they look to win the assymetric fight of today and prepare for the near-peer conflict of tomorrow. The employment of indirect firepower therefore must continue to evolve and adapt to more hybrid and complex tactical battlespaces. We asked experts from the military and the industry their views on the current mortars market, in the light of the 7th edition of the Future Mortar Systems conference.

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. Conducted ahead of this year’s Future Mortar Systems Conference, this interview addresses key themes that will be discussed further by Colonel Ángel Esparza López, Commanding Officer, Lusitania Regiment, Spanish Army

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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. 

While the focus for mortar systems was on firepower a few years ago, it is now on mobility and flexibility for the troops, and the elimination of the 120mm systems from the U.S. Marine Corps’ arsenal is only one example demonstrating this shift. 

Ahead of this year’s Future Mortar Systems conference, Defence IQ had the opportunity to discuss with Colonel Steve Fisher (Ret.), Liaison Officer at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. In this exclusive interview transcript, he outlines:

• The impact of the ‘multi-domain’ concepts on future capability development and acquisition
• The U.S. Marine Corps’ current experimentations with technology to replace the 120mm mortar systems 
• How the changing environment will impact the use of mortar systems

On tomorrow’s battlefield, technologically proficient adversaries will deny allied troops their freedom of manoeuvre, while small and highly dispersed tactical forces will become a valuable mean of projecting combat power. This will strongly impact their TTPs and consequent future mortar systems development, acquisition and employment.

Defence IQ has researched where there has been significant investment by nations to sustain, modernise or innovate their mortar systems. Learn more about the UK, US, Belgium and many others, all of whom will be participating at this year’s Future Mortar Systems symposium.