[C19fan]

I enjoy watching videos of the Finish/Swedish AMOS 120 MM mortar system firing from vehicles and boats.

[gaijin]

Later

[Elderberry]

Its about time. That will be a quantum leap in mortar effectiveness.

[onedoug]

Or a mortarman who understands arching.

[blueunicorn6]

No more aiming stakes and plotting boards.

Oh, this bodes ill for the Field Artillery.

Can you imagine Field Artillery Officer Basic?

“Just point her to the west and let her fly.”

[Chainmail]

I used to work on advanced heavy mortar systems and spent some time working on different guided mortar round projects. My focus was on improving precision while firing unguided projectiles - which is why I stuck with 120mm rifled systems.

Smoothbore weapons have the disadvantage of poor accuracy, so you almost have to guide the round to get hits at the longer ranges.

The problems with guided rounds are:

Big-time expensive per shot - around 10-15 times the cost of an unguided round

Tend not to age well in storage. The have a "shelf life".

For laser-guided projectiles, you, the FO, have to expose yourself for an eternity in the direct line of sight of your target while you wait for the round to arrive.

GPS-guided rounds can be jammed.

PS: the AMOS is an elegant system with a really cool breechloading system but it is a heavy, large pig. Not a good choice for rapid movement to the combat area, since it won't fit with many planes or be lifted by anybody's helicopters.

[doorgunner69]

So, new mortar rounds so expensive they cannot be used for practice or many available for combat?

[TomasUSMC]

Drones mark them
Mortars kill them.