he Army Rangers want an automatic mortar system for better ‘shoot and scoot’
Here comes the boom!
BY HOPE SECK, SANDBOXX | PUBLISHED JAN 13, 2023 9:15 AM
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Editor’s note: this article by Hope Seck first appeared on Sandboxx.
The Army’s most elite light infantry element is looking to improve its ability to deliver precision indirect fires and clear out before becoming an enemy target.
According to a request for information solicitation published on the government’s contracting website in December, the 75th Ranger Regiment needs “Ranger Fire Support System-Auto,” a 120mm or 81mm mobile mortar system that eliminates the need for soldiers to dismount and manually unload, fire rounds, and reload the mortar.
“With a shift toward contested operational environments, the ability to provide accurate first round fires and rapidly redeploy faster than is achievable with the current manual capability is a critical gap,” the solicitation reads.
The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is now inviting companies with ideas, prototypes, or ready-built solutions to meet this need while integrating the Army’s existing Ranger Fire Support System (RFSS) program. RFSS, which has been a program of record for about a decade, consists of two vehicles: a mortar carrier and an ammunition carrier, both based on the Polaris Ranger 6X6 all-terrain vehicle. The mortar carrier is outfitted to carry the Army’s 120mm mortar tube plus six mortar rounds; the ammunition carrier can haul another 24 rounds. Both can be transported underneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter via a center-load cable.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-rangers-mortar-system-shoot-scoot/
