Posted on 10/21/2009 3:49:02 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
A few weeks back we wrote about a new Army program, the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI), a response to an urgent request from Afghanistan to get troops precision mortar fire. While we tend to focus on big ticket items, it’s often the smaller weapons that make huge differences to troops in the field, particularly those chasing fleeting Taliban around Afghanistan’s harsh mountainous terrain. By providing prompt, precise, indirect fire support to the individual rifle squad, the precision mortar is one such weapon.
I spoke to Maj. Jeffrey Hilt, the program lead for the Army from PEO Mortars, to get some more information on the status of the program, where it’s going.
Hilt said troops in Afghanistan are “screaming” for the 120mm round. Frequent skirmishes with Taliban fighters, along with restrictive rules of engagement, put a primacy on immediate, accurate fire support and Afghanistan’s notoriously bad weather means the Air Force often can’t get close air support exactly where it’s needed.
(Excerpt) Read more at dodbuzz.com ...
IF WE CAN'T FIGHT TO WIN THEN IT'S TIME TO COME HOME.
We have not yet begun to fight!
THEY WON’T LET US JUST LIKE NAM.
I know Maj Hilt very well....He is a fine officer and Solider...I would follow him into the gates of hell.
So do other countries have stuff that would work?
parsy, the curious
So do other countries have stuff that would work?
parsy, the curious
Lets see the 4.2” converted into mm is...........
105 MM
M1064A3 Gavin 120mm mortar carriers are light tracks far more mobile than any wheeled vehicle in Afghanistan and are available right now to shoot guided and unguided rounds.
Is "Doug" really "Sparky", back at it again? Inquiring minds want to know. For those of you who don't know about "Sparky", its an Inside Baseball reference from back in the days of the Great Stryker Debate.
They’re missing a bet. Their readers mentioned using a laser pointer guidance instead of GPS, and they dismissed it on the grounds that the enemy hide behind cover that would block the laser.
Of course it would. But as anyone familiar with artillery fires in the “good old days” knows knew that artillery rounds *usually* miss. This is why one of the primary skills of those calling in artillery was “adjusting fires”, to get the rounds on target.
So if you are firing laser guided mortar rounds, this should be a breeze. Just put a simple control on the mortar round, so that when you fire it, for example, it will hit 10 meters to the right and 10 meters to the rear of where the laser point is detected. This has the added bonus that you do not have to shine the laser directly at the enemy, making the laser user a target.
And if the enemy is on a rocky hillside, while you’re at it, add a proximity adjustment, so the mortar round can pop at a few meters above the target. This would be a total bummer for those hiding in the rocks, since not only do the rocks not give cover, but the fragments that ricochet of the rocks might get them as well.
Mortars are an area fire weapon.
Just crank out the rounds!
“I have a fire mission, can you copy?
Grid figures 453723, direction 2800, One gun WP - will adjust.
Four guns, five rounds HE, fire for effect!”
Israel and Russia have some good light mortar systems, as do the Swiss.
The trouble is that in rocky mountains, getting the round to hit close enough to be worth a darn is not easy. Effective cover is everywhere.
This is also why they are going for 120mm rounds with a 7km range, because 7km is a *lot* less when it is going uphill. High angle of trajectory also messes up your aim. This is why they were going for GPS.
A 120mm HE round on flat ground will give you a 30ft blast area, with frag round, a 50ft blast area. But anywhere on the other side, or even on top of a boulder, and you could get away Scot-free, maybe not even getting your ears rung.
Mentally, lay it flat on the ground, a field of big boulders, and you’re trying to play whack-a-mole. If they keep their heads down, the odds are on their side.
“Troops Clamor For Precision Mortars”
Isn’t that called an Air Strike? With smart bombs.
i cannot figure out why more air power is not used.
How about those self propelled Crusaders and Paladins? Supposed to be able to get a fire mission, emplace and have rounds out in thirty seconds?
155m kill radius is 50 meters, casualty radius 100 meters, secondary missile casualty radius 500 meters.
107MM
Repeat,,,Repeat,,,Repeat...;0)
Arty is quicker,,,
Arty never runs outta gas and has to go home,,,
Arty never runs outta ammo and has to go home...;0)
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