120mm Riverine Mortars for All my Friends

Long-term members of the Front Porch know I have been banging this drum on my blog for almost 20 years; Riverine.

Why Riverine? Well, simple.

We are a maritime and aerospace power with global reach. Projecting power from the sea is our comparative advantage. As the planet’s geography is as diverse as its people and from time immortal rivers and nearshore archipelagic waters have been critical logistics and mercantile assets, we have to be ready on Day-1 to contest and control those waters. If we are going to ask our men and women to put their lives on the line for international adventures, then the only moral thing to to make sure we have a diverse enough toolset to give them what they need should the unexpected arrive. Given our inability to get most of the future threats right, expect the unexpected.

As I outlined in the 2005 post you can find in the link above, it was maddening - and cost untold Americans killed and maimed - that in a nation like Iraq dominated by major rivers of - literal - historic proportions, we surrendered these bodies to our enemy for years after the 2003 invasion.

After Vietnam, we brought home a superbly diverse mix of Riverine assets that The Smartest People in the Room™ decided to let die on the vine in the late 1990s. After the disgrace of having the Army “find” fishing boats to help defend dams and other critical locations on the water inland in Iraq, we rebuilt our Riverine - a bit - and now we are letting it die again because we have not ripped out root-and-branch the mindset of the Potomac Flotilla that has failed our Navy and its people for the last quarter century.

Even with the evidence from our friends from Colombia to Ukraine to the Baltic, we have to just watch as navies with single-digit percentages of budgets build, deploy, and develop institutional knowledge about how to fight in the waters that can make the critical difference ashore.

Case in point, something I have adored from afar for years.

As you ponder the below, consider the value such an asset would have had in Iraq in 2003, and Ukraine in the last two years. Look at all the major rivers in the world, look at the small coastal environments from the Philippines to West Africa - all places we may find ourselves having to send our military to enforce our nation’s will - where the only way to quickly and effectively engage hostile forces ashore is from the river or tidal estuary.

From Naval Recognition - remember the 10th Commandment;

Sweden has announced its intention to enhance its naval capabilities with the purchase of eight new mortar vessels equipped with the Patria NEMO mortar system. The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) is overseeing this procurement, having selected Swede Ship Marine AB for the construction of the vessels, with Patria acting as a subcontractor for the project.

…

The Patria NEMO mortar is designed to provide a flexible and powerful fire solution on the battlefield. This system is capable of engaging in network-centric warfare operations, with indirect, direct, and Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) firing capabilities thanks to a direct lay functionality. It can be mounted on various vehicles, as shown here on a ship.

Weighing 1900 kg, the mortar's turret features an automatic aiming system and can perform a full 360-degree rotation, allowing for significant action flexibility. The elevation range of the barrel goes from -3 to +85 degrees, with an aiming system that can be operated electrically, with a manual backup option. The mortar, with a caliber of 120 mm smoothbore and a barrel length of 3000 mm, is equipped with an electrical or semi-automatic loading system and a hydro-pneumatic recoiling system to reduce the stresses on the carrier.

The ammunition carrying capacity varies depending on the carrier vehicle but typically ranges between 50 and 60 rounds. The secondary armament system includes a machine gun and smoke launchers, increasing the mortar's versatility in various combat situations. The firing performance is impressive, with a time to open fire of less than 30 seconds and the ability to move immediately after firing, supporting a maximum rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute and a sustained rate of 6 rounds per minute. The first three rounds can be fired in 15 seconds, with a maximum range of over 10 kilometers and the ability to launch up to five rounds for simultaneous impacts.

Of note, Patria is a Finnish company. Isn’t NATO expansion grand?

Is it too much to ask that the US Navy, being the world’s second-largest Navy, at least have this capability? Not all naval requirements demand a CVN or SSN. Perhaps there is an opportunity for efficiencies of scale as our land forces are looking at the same NEMO mortar for one of its vehicles. Mobility ashore and in nearby waters? What’s not to like?

I have not even broached the professional development of our junior officers from such experience of commanding boats like this early on … but … well … there you go.

h/t Lee