Deployment of More Powerful 120mm Self-Propelled Mortars

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The latest 120mm self-propelled mortar will be deployed to the Army mechanized units. The new self-propelled mortar was developed to replace the outdated mortar that has been in use for over 40 years, and deployment is expected to be completed by 2025.

According to the military on the 4th, the mortar-mounted vehicles and fire control vehicles were produced by Hanwha Defense Co., Ltd., and the mortars were manufactured by SNT Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Approximately 770 billion KRW and 100 billion KRW were invested in development, respectively.

The 120mm self-propelled mortar is a weapon system that mounts an automated mortar on a tracked armored vehicle, developed at the end of 2019 to replace the existing 4.2-inch mortar, which has been in operation for over 40 years and is severely outdated.

The 120mm self-propelled mortar has a maximum range increased by up to 2.3 times and firepower increased by 1.9 times. The mortar can rotate to fire in all directions while the vehicle is stationary, enabling effective fire support for the fast maneuvering speed of mechanized units. Additionally, firing parameters that were manually calculated by operators are now automatically handled by the fire control vehicle. This dramatically improves accuracy while reducing the required time and personnel.

A military official stated, "The 120mm self-propelled mortar is a key asset that can elevate the operational capability of mechanized units performing offensive maneuver combat missions for the Republic of Korea Army to the next level," adding, "It is expected to contribute to defense exports by expanding the localization rate in the subsequent mass production."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.