Elbit Systems UK updated Army Technology on a range of different capabilities the company has to offer the British military and its allies in an exclusive media event.
This engagement constitutes a series of updates that will be published throughout this week.
The company has demonstrated the 120mm Sling mortar system to countries, and mentioned that it can fire the Iron Sting – the only guided mortar munition in the world, the company claims.
Sling attaches to the back of any vehicle that can hold the weight of the weapon system (equivalent to a small carrier vehicle) via a ‘capture’ module.
British Army mortar requirement
In an update delivered in March 2024, the British Army said it is reorganising its indirect weapons requirements, opting for a 120mm mortar system – in line with the Nato standard – over its enduring use of the 81mm L16A2 system, which can be mounted on armoured personnel carriers.
Until now, the UK has been the only major Western army that does not use a 120mm mortar.
At its Horizon facility in Bristol, Elbit displayed Sling on the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser. This model is driven by militaries worldwide; Babcock has based its new platform on the Land Cruiser, known as the General Logistics Vehicle, it is designed to replace legacy Land Rovers, of which there are more than 6,500 in service with the British Army according to GlobalData intelligence.
The configuration displayed at Horizon could carry 38 bombs of a variety of types. “On a UK version, for instance, if they wished it, we could carry 96 bombs on a bigger vehicle,” such as the Army’s forthcoming 8×8 Boxer mechanised infanty vehicle. “So there’s lots of things we could do to give the customer, whoever it is, a flexible capability.”
Currently, the Sling mortar is in operation with the US Special Operations Group and the Israeli Defence Forces, among other unnamed Nato countries.
Other 120mm, mounted mortar systems on the table for the Army include the Ground Deployed Advanced Mortar System, or GDAMS, which has a nine-kilometre (km) range, developed by Babcock and ST Engineering. In this case, Babcock would leverage its manufacturing facility, located in the South Devon freeport zone, as the UK government priortises an exportable product in line with the Integrated Procurement Model.
Shoot-and-scoot
Elbit’s Sling mortar can unfold within 30 seconds, an Elbit technician stated. “You have a system that could deliver a lot of munitions onto a target area, and then it could move before it is targeted,” they added.
The mortar can fire at an azimuth of 220°, launching up to 16 bombs in one minute, or three to four bombs per minute at a sustained rate.
This allows for the ability to ‘shoot-and-scoot’ within two minutes in total; “there you have survivability and mobility in the same capability,” asserted the technician.
“We really gauge about three minutes from firing to moving before anyone’s actually firing back in your location; unless they’re actually watching you and sat in an ambush position. It’s going to be very difficult within that… two minute length [of time for them] to actually engage you.”
Iron Sting: guided mortar munition
Elbit asserted that its guided mortar munition, known as Iron Sting, is the only one of its kind in the world.
With standard M933 ammunition or equivalent, the Sling’s range can reach approximately 7.2km, but with the guided munitions it can reach up to 10km.
This “exceeds the current UK mortar capability by a good distance,” the technican discerned, “their maximum range is about 5km, in that area.”
“Mortars are inherently for area suppression, but if you get the opportunity to hit a target which is of great military value, you might want to switch to a guided munition,” the Elbit technician stated.
“This guided munition is going to mean you’re going to hit the target first time and you’re going to require fewer munitions… It is laser and GPS guided, [with the option to] switch between either, or you let the computer system tell you, depending on the target, what is the best option of your effect at that end.”
