Date posted: 05/27/2009*

A new type of 120mm precision-guided mortar round demonstrated pin-point accuracy by hitting eight out of nine targets in a recent test. The round, which is made by Raytheon Company and Israel Military Industries, hit targets at short and long ranges, showing a greater range than the current unguided 120mm high-explosive mortar round in the U.S. Army’s inventory.

The new mortar round, called 120GM DAGGER™, is guided by GPS and inertial navigation system and designed for the Army’s 120mm Battalion Mortar System. It enables soldiers to place a mortar round within 10 meters (approximately 11 yards) of a target.

“The warfighter needs a precision-guided mortar and DAGGER meets that requirement,” said Bill Patterson, Raytheon’s DAGGER program manager. “DAGGER has demonstrated a high level of maturity, and we are ready to put it in production and get it to the soldiers in the field immediately.”

During the demonstration, the U.S. Army fired DAGGER rounds at a variety of target areas located in mountainous terrain. The rounds were fired under field conditions, including minimum and maximum range and hot and cold round temperatures. Seven of eight rounds reaching the target area landed within 10 meters of their target, a level of precision impossible with an unguided mortar munition.

 

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