Military History
|
How To Make War
|
Wars Around the World
Rules of Use
How to Behave on an Internet Forum
Australia
Discussion Board
Return to Topic Page
Subject:
Interesting article on mortars.
Aussiegunneragain
8/9/2008 11:35:30 PM
Quote
Reply
Show Only Poster Name and Title
Newest to Oldest
doggtag
overall not a bad article, but could use some updating...
8/10/2008 1:09:44 PM
...otherwise, not bad indeed.
The thing that still always gets me is,
here we have the country of South Africa,
who ages ago found themselves under numerour western embargoes and sanctions,
only to establish for themselves an artillery industry second to none.
While the US gloats on and on about its new lightweight M777 (no offense, ArtyEngineer) and the lightweight
38-cal tube that will fit the highly-automated NLOS-C,
we have a South African designed gun with a 52-cal length tube, firing a South African designed family of ammunition,
to phenomenal ranges (when compared to US tubes), exceeding 50, even 60km.
To top that off,
we now see a 60mm mortar built by the South Africans that just outranges the favored 81mm in US inventory,
and a South African 81mm mortar than comfortably outranges any other 81mm mortar design in service (any other in-service designs that I can dig up, anyway).
(Of course, the accuracy of these longer ranged mortars, when compared to other western systems, is still surely debatable.)
Seems that we (western nations who imposed embargoes and sanctions) stabbed ourselves in the foot on this one.
Coupled to these latest fire control systems that implement everything but the kitchen sink,
these would be the peak of perfection in mortar system development.
Another interesting tidbit is,
even at 5935m, the UK/US 81mm mortar doesn't achieve the ~6500m of the Soltam 81mm mortar.
Strange that the US doesn't hesitate to adopt the Soltam 120mm mortar, yet is slow to consider the achievements of their 81mm series.
Anyone have any information on the range capabilities of the new Inconel 718 alloy barrels?
(meaning: are we going to see the lighter material allow us longer barrels to gain range increases, but at similar weights to older designs with shorter tubes,
or are we just going to lighten the weight and be content with the current ranges we achieve, whilst foreign forces may express more interest in these longer-ranged designs?)
...I figure it's only a matter of time before we see more interest in developing PGK-type artillery shell fuzes built for mortar rounds.
We don't necessarily need accuracies measured in inches, but impacts/airburts of several meters closer can make a lot of difference for a number of targets.
...Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't a 10-figure grid coordinate give you a location down to the meter? (see the paragraph concerning the British Army's LH40C Target Locating Equipment.)
I realize that every nation's infantry/close fire support doctrine differs,
but if you can obtain close fire support capabilities,
with systems that can provide it more quickly,
and without the need to crawl up the chain of command to get authorization,
or to actually have to call for support from farther away units,
and all without the expense of larger caliber towed and SP systems,
doesn't it seem both the logical and economical coice to pursue these latest mortar systems with their considerably improved capabilities over a lot of earlier, and still in service, systems?
I'm not suggesting we can replace all artillery with just mortars altogether,
but for a lot more situations, it's seeming like we don't always need the bigger, more expensive tubed systems to do the job.
Quote
Reply
ArtyEngineer
Doggtag
8/10/2008 1:30:53 PM
No offense taken mate ;) I think me and you are tracking on our concerns with where the US Arty field is heading.
Regarding a 10 digit grid, yep you are correct. in the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) 10 digits defines a 1m x 1m square.
Quote
Reply
Latest
News
Most
Read
Most
Commented
Hot
Topics
MALI: The Bloody Endurance Contest
AIR DEFENSE: Cooperative Engagement Capabilities
INTELLIGENCE: Detecting Deceptive Defectors
WARPLANES: Morocco, Apaches And Desert Justice
COUNTER-TERRORISM: Losing While Winning
MURPHY'S LAW: Death Before Disconnection
IRAN: Has-Been Trying To Make A Comeback
INFORMATION WARFARE: Turning Gogland Into A Terrorist
MYANMAR: Battling History And Losing
SPACE: Cosmodrome Corruption Crises Confirmed
ALGERIA: Countdown To Chaos
AIR DEFENSE: The Little Things That Matter
NIGERIA: Very Resistant To Reform
ARTILLERY: Pakistan Versus Israel
LEADERSHIP: Predawn Madness
AIR TRANSPORTATION: AirBus Needs An Exorcist
MURPHY'S LAW: Weaponizing Incompetence
SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Portable Ground Control
IRAQ: Behaving Badly
ARMOR: Boxer Reborn
YEMEN: Negotiating The Price Of Peace
SUBMARINES: Too Much To Handle
AFGHANISTAN: Most Frequently Fled From
AIR TRANSPORTATION: Where the Sand-Proof Choppers Thrive
SOMALIA: Fundamental Problems
SUPPORT: Turning Hummer Into A Tank
INTELLIGENCE: Low Risk, Dirty Money Available
WEAPONS: Super Small Super Ships
NAVAL AIR: Mini-CV Works
SUPPORT: Instant DNA ID
Subscribe to Our RSS Feed
Air Defense: Cooperative Engagement Capabilities
On PointTrump's Canny Diplomatic and Psychological Feints on the International Stage
Intelligence: Detecting Deceptive Defectors
WARS Mali: The Bloody Endurance Contest
Warplanes: Morocco, Apaches And Desert Justice
Counter-Terrorism: Losing While Winning
Murphy's Law: Death Before Disconnection
WARS Nigeria: Pirates Preparing To Escalate
WARS Iran: Has-Been Trying To Make A Comeback
Information Warfare: Turning Gogland Into A Terrorist
Space: Cosmodrome Corruption Crises Confirmed
WARS Myanmar: Battling History And Losing
Air Defense: The Little Things That Matter
Artillery: Pakistan Versus Israel
Marines
WARS Nigeria: Very Resistant To Reform
ALGERIA: Countdown To Chaos
AIR DEFENSE: The Little Things That Matter
SPACE: Cosmodrome Corruption Crises Confirmed
MYANMAR: Battling History And Losing
INFORMATION WARFARE: Turning Gogland Into A Terrorist
IRAN: Has-Been Trying To Make A Comeback
MURPHY'S LAW: Death Before Disconnection
COUNTER-TERRORISM: Losing While Winning
WARPLANES: Morocco, Apaches And Desert Justice
INTELLIGENCE: Detecting Deceptive Defectors
AIR DEFENSE: Cooperative Engagement Capabilities
MALI: The Bloody Endurance Contest
WEAPONS: The Underwater Shot
INDIA-PAKISTAN: The Bride Price
Dirty Little Links: News Links.
News
How To Make War
Wars Around The World
Austin Bay's On Point
StrategyTalk
Dirty Little Secrets
Features
Al Nofi's CIC
Videos
Photos
Jokes
Community
Military Discussion Boards
Military Jokes
Military Photos
Military Book Reviews
StrategyPage
Account Manager
Login
Feedback
About Us
Search
Advertise With Us
Search