The instant after the Iron Sting mortar shell impacts the target.
TEL AVIV: On March 14th, the Israeli army and contractor Elbit unveiled a new precision-guided 120 mm mortar shell which will enter IDF service in months – and which, confidential sources say, will be demonstrated for the US Army by the end of the year.
The US could easily adopt the Israeli shell because it uses the same caliber of mortar, 120 mm, on special fire-support variants of its 8×8 Stryker (which may also get an Israeli anti-missile system) and the tracked Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV). What’s more, the US Army has been looking to upgrade its mortars for some time, including a field-test of a computerized 81 mm mortar called ADIM (Automated Direct/Indirect-fire Mortar) in Germany in 2018. It’s already developed some advanced aiming systems for existing mortars — but Iron Sting goes further.
The Iron Sting mortar round just before impact.
Historically, mortars are the infantryman’s favorite heavy weapon, a convenient form of short-range artillery that can fire “indirect” over hills and buildings at unseen targets. Historically, they’re also not particularly accurate. Iron Sting aims to change that, turning mortar shells into precision-guided weapons that hit the target directly on the first round with minimal collateral damage.
Col. Assaf Shatzkin, head of land systems for the Israeli Directorate for Defense Research & Development (DDR&D), told Breaking Defense that Iron Sting turns mortar accuracy from a matter of probabilities to one of near-certainties. “The new shell will be capable of hitting targets that so far were not assigned to mortars,” he said.
Iron Sting gets the location of the target from multiple sources, using a data-sharing network. GPS – which can be jammed – is the primary guidance system, but when needed the mortar can home in on a laser designation beam illuminating the target.
Once Iron Sting completes its final trials, Elbit will begin mass-production for the Israeli Defense Forces, with foreign customers very much in mind as well. Tests in southern Israel used a pair of battle-proven Elbit Cardom mortars, a standard Cardom mounted on a tracked M113 APC and a reduced-recoil variant calld Cardom Spear on a 4×4 Humvee.
Cardom already includes an advanced Fire Control System with intertial navigation, electric drives for precision aiming, and an onboard ballistic computer. Elbit says it was easy to take this FCS and integrate it with an existing Battle Management System that provided direct digital links to target acquisition systems such as drones and radars.
Loading the Iron Sting shell into the Cardom mortar.
“Ten years of research and development have led us to this moment,” said Brig. Gen. Yaniv Rotem, Head of Research and Development in the DDR&D. “This laser and GPS- guided mortar munition provides troops with a precise firing capability that has only been implemented in missiles and air munitions thus far.”
“The Ground Forces command is leading the process of integrating the ‘Iron Sting’ into the IDF,” said Col. Arik Avivi, head of the Weapons Department in the IDF’s Ground Forces. “This precise guided mortar munition is groundbreaking for IDF battalions, equipping them with accurate and organic firepower. This capability has so far been reserved to large and complex missiles. Thanks to this impressive technological development, it will now be implemented in mortar munitions on a wide scale.”
M113 mortar carrier with Cardom mortar, loaded with the Iron Sting precision-guided shell.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz himself praised the system. “The integration of “Iron Sting” in the IDF corresponds to the vision presented in the military’s Tnufa multi-year [modernization] plan. It also fulfills the IDF’s needs, adapting combat capabilities to contend with enemies hidden within civilian, urban environments, while meeting the legal and moral standards set by the State of Israel.”
Will the Iron Sting also meet US needs as the Americans upgrade their artillery systems from infantry mortars to hypersonics missiles? There’s no official word on US-Israeli discussions, and Elbit declined to comment on potential customers outside Israel. But, one source told Breaking Defense, “the Iron Sting answers all the operational requirements of the US Army.”
Sydney Freedberg also contributed to this story.
