Stryker Units Get Armed With Precision Mortars
A Soldier prepares to drop the first Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative round fired from a Stryker Double-V Hull Mortar Carrier Vehicle in Afghanistan. (Photo: Breanna Merenda)
The first-ever Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative round fired from a Stryker vehicle in Afghanistan accomplished what few conventional 120mm high-explosive mortars can achieve – a direct hit on a target with the first round fired. But when firing the Army’s new precision-guided cartridges, this is the standard.
First fielded to dismounted troops in Afghanistan last April, Picatinny’s Program Executive Office for Ammunition is now fielding the 120mm precision rounds to Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. While Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative, or APMI, will not replace standard 120mm mortars, its accuracy will allow a commander the ability to defeat a target with precision if there is danger of collateral damage.
APMI will be fired from the Army’s new Stryker Double-V Hull Mortar Carrier Vehicle, or MCVV. The Stryker MCVV is used to provide high-angle mortar fire to support operations in complex terrain and urban environments. It now can fire APMI precision-guided mortars as well as conventional 120mm rounds. The dismounted 120mm mortar systems in Afghanistan are often kept at mortar positions in Forward Operation Bases and Combat Outposts throughout the country. Now that APMI has been integrated with a mobile platform, the battle space where the APMI round can be used has increased. With APMI’s pinpoint accuracy and the Stryker MCVV’s survivability against improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, maneuver commanders now have a very accurate weapon against insurgents.
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