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Indian Army weighs major buy of 3,000 vehicle-mounted mortars for the Himalayan border.
The Indian Army is considering a large-scale purchase of up to 3,000 vehicle-mounted mortar systems, according to Asian Military Review. The move could strengthen rapid-response firepower along the China border and accelerate India’s self-reliance in defense technology.
Indian Army weighs large-scale buy of vehicle-mounted mortars according to Asian Military Review, which reported on September 23, 2025 that New Delhi is studying options for around 3,000 systems to expand rapid, mobile indirect fire. The information must be taken with precaution, as no official report confirms it. But it is an opportunity to have a look on this vehicle and explore its technical details. The Indian Army has already fielded a first batch of Vehicle Mounted Infantry Mortar Systems built on a Mahindra 4x4 and integrating the Spanish Alakran automated 81 mm mortar from NTGS. Those in-service vehicles stow the tube in the cargo bay for movement, then drop it to the ground on a baseplate via an electro-mechanical lift to fire from hard or rocky terrain. Mahindra has supplied a large fleet of Armado and ALSV light armored trucks to serve as carriers, which helps with training, spares and support.
The Indian Army’s vehicle-mounted mortar system, based on the Mahindra ALSV with the Alakran 81 mm mortar, combines high mobility with rapid automated deployment, firing from a ground baseplate for accuracy, offering ranges up to 7.5 km and the ability to shoot-and-scoot in rugged terrain (Picture source: MNTGS).
Firing system of the VMIMS is not common: instead of firing from the bed, the mount lowers the mortar to a prepared base that absorbs recoil, preserves accuracy and spares the chassis. The system’s automated laying, embedded inertial navigation and electric actuation allow crews to unfold, level, orient and compute ballistic solutions quickly, even on marginal ground. For the 81 mm variant now in service, typical maximum range sits in the 6 to 7.5 km bracket depending on bomb and charge, with a practical rate of fire of around a dozen rounds per minute for short bursts before settling to a sustained cadence. The vehicle contributes as much as the mortar itself. A 4x4 ALSV gives speed on tracks and rough roads, limited armor protection against small arms and fragments, and enough payload to carry bombs, the lift mechanism, communications and a crew of four or five without pushing the suspension to its limits.
The initial tranche was modest, roughly 50 vehicles delivered through 2023 and 2024 to units in the northeast and along the Himalayan front. Those systems appeared in public settings and exercises, which suggests the service is now comfortable with the concept and the handling drills. A program multiplied by an order of magnitude would likely retain the same core architecture for commonality, then branch into an optional 120 mm path for heavier effects on demand. Moving from 81 to 120 mm would bring extended reach, larger lethal areas and better effects on bunkers and strongpoints, at the cost of weight, fewer carried bombs, and a stronger need for robust fire control and recoil management. The fact that the current vehicle lowers the tube to the ground makes such a transition more plausible than if it fired from the bed.
The vehicle-mounted mortars give rifle battalions a way to keep pace with fast-moving patrols and still drop rounds within minutes of a call for fire. Crews can displace after short missions to avoid counter-battery, a shoot and scoot rhythm that suits narrow valleys and broken ridgelines where lingering invites retaliation. Automated laying trims setup time and reduces human error when the gun line is tired or working at altitude. The platform also fits digital call-for-fire chains. Once a fire mission lands on the tablet, the system can cue azimuth, elevation and charge settings, leaving the crew to confirm, load and fire. In practice, that means first rounds out faster, adjusting rounds fewer, and a smaller signature on the ground.
India has faced a tense, sometimes violent, disengagement with China along the Line of Actual Control since 2020, and that front punishes slow logistics. Light, indigenous carriers with a locally integrated mortar match Delhi’s push for self-reliance while addressing the need to service dispersed posts and temporary firing points in high country. A larger fleet of such vehicles would fill gaps below tube artillery, especially where towing a gun is impractical and helicopter lift is scarce. It also signals a shift toward more granular firepower at company level, a lesson many armies have drawn from recent conflicts where small units demand immediate fires and drones make lingering in one place a liability. If the study moves to funding, the Indian Army would go from a promising pilot to a mass capability that is hard to miss along its northern arc.