mortar used to be the heavy firepower of infantry. 60-force, 82-force (81-force in Europe and the United States) are the firepower (sometimes 60-force is placed in the platoon), and 120-force (there used to be 100 mm caliber, but now it is rare) are the firepower of the camp, forming an effective firepower system from the frontier to the depth of ten kilometers.
Traditionally, mortars are front-loaded. When the shells are loaded from the muzzle, they are fired and fired when they slide down inside the gun barrel and hit the bottom striker, they are fired, hence the name of a mortar.
Mortar is a traditional infantry support weapon, but its accuracy is limited. It is based on stacking shells to shoot in area. The shell stand behind is clearly visible
0, 82 (81)mm mortar may be separated and carried by infantry. The 120mm mortar must be towed with a vehicle.
20 is powerful, and the shells are also large and heavy
In English, the mortar is called mortar. It has no meaning of mortar, but it only refers to artillery with short and thick gun barrel and bent trajectory. This reveals another feature of the mortar: ballistic bending. In practice, mortars are sometimes fired at a very large elevation angle, so that the shell lands very close and supports melee combat; this is also a must for shooting on reverse slope targets, and the low trajectory is blocked by obstacles.
0 is very lightweight, and 82 needs several people to serve. 120 cannot be dragged by manpower alone, and usually requires vehicle traction. Another problem is the shells. The mortar is an smoothbore gun . The shell must slide smoothly along the barrel. There must be enough gap between the bullet diameter and the pipe wall. The shell is loose, so the shooting accuracy cannot be too high. This determines that the mortar can only hit the target and requires a certain number of shells to ensure that it hits the target.
In addition to fortification combat or relying on armored vehicle , infantry detachments need to carry their own ammunition and supplies. Carrying more shells becomes a burden, but this is also a necessity for mortars to play their role. This contradiction can be solved with precise guided shells, except for the high cost, there is nothing wrong with it. Laser-guided mortar shell can also hit low-speed moving targets, such as tank and armored vehicles in the fleet. The battlefield convoy cannot travel at the maximum speed of the vehicle, and most of them are slow.
But if even the mortar is cancelled, the cruise missile that can fly by yourself can also complete all the tasks of precisely guiding mortar shells , and save the weight of the mortar itself. This is exactly the problem that modern mortars encounter.
Large range, precise strike, low-cost cruise missiles are a great challenge to mortars
The US "Switchblade 300" is 0.5 meters long, weighs 2.5 kilograms, a range of 10 kilometers, and a cruise time of 15 minutes. After launch, images along the way and target areas can be returned, even if it is easy to confirm and aim at the target, it is also convenient for general battlefield situational awareness . The warhead is only the size of grenade , and its power is enough to eliminate infantry targets. The cruising speed of the "Switchblade 300" is only 101 km/h, which is fine. The goal is fixed or semi-maneuverable, and the distance is close, not less than these few minutes.
The larger "switchblade 600" has increased to 55 kilograms, and the warhead is enough to hit tanks, with a range of 40 kilometers, a cruise time of 40 minutes, a cruise speed increases to 113 kilometers/hour, and a sprint speed reaches 160 kilometers/hour, which is enough to hit tanks.
Both "switchblades" require a tube-type launch device, but this only requires ejecting the cruise missile and giving the initial speed, which is much lighter. The launch device of the "Switchblade 300" is only 0.2 kilograms, and the entire system with ammunition is only 2.7 kilograms, which can be carried by a single person. The "Switchblade 600" is heavier and requires two people.
In contrast, the mortar barrel needs to use the gas pressure of the launcher to push the shell out at a sufficient initial speed to obtain sufficient range and aiming accuracy requirements. Since probabilistic shooting is required, the mortar must be launched continuously at high intensity, and the heat resistance and cooling requirements of the barrel also add additional weight. The American M224 60, known as the lightweight version, weighs 21.1 kg, the typical American M252 81, weighs 41.3 kg, and the typical Israeli Soltan K6 120, weighs 144.7 kg.These are just the weight of the mortar itself, and in combat states, the weight of the shells must be added. This is a heavy burden on light infantry detachments.
But the mortar also has a branch of rear-mounted installation, which is mainly in the Soviet Union, and China is now following the development.
"Vasirik" made a big splash in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan . The Ukrainian army is still in use now, but the drop-off ammunition is too large and the ammunition consumption is too large. In Afghanistan, the Soviet "Vasirik" (also known as "cornflower") 82mm rapid-fire mortar gained a high reputation. This is no longer loaded from the muzzle, but from the tail of the gun, with a firing rate of up to 100-120 rounds per minute, just like a "little rocket launcher". Of course, a magazine only has 4 shells, and the explosion rate is completed in 2 seconds. Considering that changing the magazine, the continuous firing rate is not much different from that of traditional mortars, but the first few seconds in battle are often the most critical, and intensive suppression is related to the outcome of the battle. In an emergency, "Vasirik" can also be used as direct firepower.
In theory, "Vasirik" concentrates the benefits of lightweight and rapid fire. In fact, "Vasirik" is no longer lightweight, weighing 632 kilograms, which is 4 times heavier than a typical 120 force. The shocking consumption of shells is unacceptable to infantry detachments. This can only be fired when there is sufficient ammunition in the permanent fortifications. In order to reduce the weight of the gun, the gun body is too light, and the vibration during continuous firing causes the drop-off bullet to spread very much. After the introduction of
, these problems were discovered after China was introduced. However, through advanced anti-recoil systems and advanced material technology, W99 forced to inherit the advantages of "Vasirik"'s high firepower density and reduce the spread of the landing bullets, but the weight still cannot be greatly reduced. Fortunately, China has the "Dongfeng Hummer". After the improved PCP001 was loaded and used, the shells were also taken as they were used, solving the problem of the infantry team pulling their shoulders.
After China's improvement, it has played to its strengths and avoided its weaknesses, and has also solved the problem of shell carriage
Car-mounted 82 rapid fire force is a good thing, and it is especially effective when attacking opponents lacking heavy firepower on the plateau. Airborne troops also value the advantages of lower system weight than conventional car-mounted artillery. But for general use, its power is still a little lower and its protection is a little lacking. This is still a special weapon and should not be used as the main equipment of ordinary troops. After the military reform of
, the artillery of synthetic battalion mainly consists of 122mm howitzer and 120mm mortar howitzer , and there are tracks or wheels. In addition to being smaller and having a higher firing rate, the vehicle-mounted 82 force has no advantages in range, power, ammunition type and protection.
In the Soviet era, 2S9 "Nona" was created to target the shortcomings of "Vasirik". This is also a rear-mounted one, but no longer retains rapid-fire capability, and is still a single-shot launch like a conventional mortar. "Nona" is 120 mm. If the shells are amplified in proportion, their power will be more than 4 times greater than 82 mm. The Soviet Union claimed that it was comparable to the 155mm howitzer, which may be exaggerated. "Nona" can also be used as a direct shooting weapon at close range.
"Nona" is said to be close to 155mm howitzer, which is exaggerated, but it is lightweight and not fake
"Nona" is a member of the airborne in Russia. Airborne weapons need to be light and powerful, but the range does not need to be too far. After all, surprise attacks are the main ones in combat, not the main attacking force.
Chinese airborne troops are also between the Russian system and the American system. The US airborne troops are mainly airborne infantry, with light mechanization as the auxiliary. On the contrary, light mechanized airborne troops are the main assault forces, and airborne infantry is just the pilot assault team.
Russian mechanized airborne troops are not so much light mechanized infantry as airborne, but rather light mechanized infantry with airborne capabilities. Vehicle parachutes are only displayed in exercises and have never been used in actual combat. Even in the battle for Antonov Airport in the Ukrainian War, the airborne infantry fought alone and did not receive support from the airborne combat vehicles equivalent to light infantry warfare.
Compared with the Russian Airborne Forces, the Chinese Airborne Forces have both differences in concepts and actual limitations of insufficient air transport capabilities, and they consider the United States more in terms of mechanization of airborne forces.
"Nona" has also been introduced in China. Its improved models are called Type 05 and Type 10, and it shares the task of the synthetic battalion supporting artillery with the lightweight 122mm howitzer. But this is not so much a mortar as a lightweight, smooth-bore howitzer that uses a full-load of ammunition is already very different from the traditional infantry mortar.
After China's improvement, it became the synthetic battalion to support artillery
Another function of the mortar is the engineer's barrier-breaking gun. The launch pressure of the mortar is low and it is easy to achieve large caliber. Breakthrough cannons are useful when fighting in street battles or forging areas. Strong fortifications are generally very low and strong on the side facing the enemy, but the top cover cannot be equally strong. The top cover is also flat and wide, which is relatively easy to hit.
During the Ukrainian War, the Russian army pulled out the long-defunct 240mm 2S4 self-propelled mortar. This was originally used to fire tactical nuclear weapon , and it also had miraculous effects as a barrier-breaking gun. The Ukrainian army that beat Mariupol to Donbas was at a loss. No matter how hard the sky spirit cap is, it still cannot stop the mace in the end.
" Assault Tiger " in World War II is actually a barrier-breaking mortar
The Russian army dragged it out of the old goods pile and re-activated 2S4 is also used as a barrier-breaking mortar
74 rocket mine-breaking car uses simple slide rails to launch super-caliber rocket . Similar systems can be easily transferred to break obstacles. It is not difficult to think about the power of super-caliber bombs. After laser guidance, hitting accuracy can be guaranteed
. However, if you use rockets, there is no need to break obstacles. The engineer has a rocket mine laying device, which uses a smaller rocket to boost it, pushes the larger spreader over the target area and lays mines in the air. The same technology can launch heavy explosives onto the target of breaking the barrier, and laser guided can ensure high hit accuracy. This is much lighter than a large-caliber barrier-breaking gun. If it is fired with guide rails, it can easily be super-caliberated and further increase its power.
Traditionally, mortars were the main support and suppression of firepower for infantry companies, but the role of infantry (especially lightweight infantry) in modern warfare has changed. In field battles, it is no longer the main offensive and defensive forces, but special forces have become more powerful, mainly guiding heavy troops to attack, or filling in the gaps. Complex terrain (towns, jungles, mountains, etc.) is still mainly infantry, and the superiority of precise firepower such as patrol missiles is greater. The sustainability of firepower requires calling long-range artillery or air firepower. It is neither realistic nor necessary to rely on the self-produced mortars and a large number of shells. If you want to call for support, you have to call for support. The company commander who relies entirely on his own force and firepower is an incompetent company commander.
There are many legends in history where mortars hit the soul, but mortars are not essentially accurate shooting weapons:
, smooth bore, shells do not have spin stability and support
, short tube, low initial velocity, ballistic bending, affected by wind
, large
. There must be enough gap between the shell and the barrel, otherwise it will not slip even if it is airtight. This also determines that the movement of the shell in the barrel must have a "Brownian movement". When it is out of the barrel, there will be a considerable random error of
. The shell is short and thick, and may roll in the air
Traditional mortars can only be used for probability and cover. The typical use method is to activate the shooting, and pour one shot after another into the muzzle, without aiming at the back, and directly shoot the area. The ammunition consumption must be very large. It’s okay to rely on preset fortifications. Store a large number of shells early and open them when the time comes. It will be difficult in field battles, and shell supply is a big problem.
After the company's artillery squad carried a mortar, it was difficult to carry a base number (3 guns, 60 rounds? 82 shells per round average of about 0.5 kg).Ordinary soldiers in the company can only do it occasionally. They also have to carry their own guns and bullets, additional machine guns and bullets, bazooka and bullets, grenades and , individual communications and night vision equipment, additional batteries (for communications and night vision equipment), anti-tank missiles and , shoulder-fired air defense missiles, etc., which is not considered dry food, water, first aid equipment, sleeping bags, tents, etc. Throw them all and help carry shells? If you can throw it at all, why are you still giving it away?
Mechanized infantry is still important. The weight limit of mechanized infantry is small, but there are many firepower options, as well as firepower support from infantry combat, tanks and battalion artillery. The mortars carried by the off-car infantry have no advantage in terms of firepower intensity and sustainability.
looks. The cruise missile may have occupied the position of infantry mortars, and the 120 forced to "deteriorate" and the barrier-breaking guns were unemployed. Is there still a future for mortars?
