Serbia develops new guidance kit for 120mm mortar rounds.

The Military Technical Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Serbia unveiled a new guidance kit at the Partner 2023 expo. This kit is designed to convert existing 120mm mortar rounds into autonomously guided weapons. The innovation aims to provide a more affordable solution for guided munitions while maintaining high accuracy and extended range.
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Serbian Guidance System Kit for 120mm Mortar Rounds (Picture source: Army Recognition )

In Ukraine, UAVs are often equipped with mortar rounds, and both Russian and Ukrainian sides are competing in ingenuity to design the most cost-effective yet destructive equipment. Striking the right balance in this ratio is not easy, but Serbia may have just found an interesting solution for equipping drones with a kit that improves the precision and range of the munitions they carry. Indeed, during the Partner 2023 expo, the Serbians unveiled a kit that can be mounted on a 120mm mortar round. Let's take a closer look at how this module works and its features.

This system avoids using a drone as a kamikaze and instead of detonating the UAV detonates this kit instead. As the kit is less expensive than the UAV, the cost/destruction ratio becomes more attractive.

Weighing 14.5 kg, the kit is designed to be light enough to be carried by various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Once released, wings deploy on the kit, thereby increasing its range. Tested from an altitude of 3,000 meters, the kit has demonstrated a range of 9 km. The wings have a span of one meter, contributing to flight stability and range extension.

One of the features of this kit is its fully autonomous guidance system, which relies on GPS/INS (Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System) technology. This system allows for precision attacks on both fixed and mobile targets. The kit can receive coordinates directly from the electro-optical (EO) payload on the UAV, thus offering increased operational flexibility. Its maximum operational speed is 150 m/s, or 540 km/h.

The guidance system kit for 120mm mortar rounds represents an advancement in the field of guided weapons. With its lightweight design, extended range, and autonomous guidance system, it offers a more affordable and flexible option for armed forces. However, its real capabilities on the battlefield remain to be seen, which would give us more insight into this new equipment, particularly whether its accuracy can truly match that of a piloted drone.