Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Patria are joining forces to push turreted mortar programmes inside the United States, and are eyeing various avenues for outfitting US Army Stryker and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) fleets with Patria’s 120 mm Nemo (New Mortar) turret.
Scott Burk, Kongsberg Defence’s vice-president for business development and government relations for US land systems, spoke with Janes on 30 June about an array of ongoing efforts, including the announcement that his company was teaming up with Patria.
“Kongsberg Defence will act as the programme manager, business development and production lead in the US for a future turret mortar system,” Burk explained.
He noted that this new partnership was based on 2019 firepower demonstrations at Fort Benning, Georgia, during which army officials saw a Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle (AMV) outfitted with a Nemo 120 mm turret in action. Following the demo, the Finnish company announced that the service would evaluate its mortar system as part of a feasibility study to see if it was compatible with select army vehicles and fire control systems, and if currently fielded mortar ammunition rounds could be used in a breech-loaded mortar.
The Patria AMV fitted with a Nemo 120 mm turret-mounted mortar at Fort Benning during a 2019 demonstration. The company is now teaming up with Kongsberg Defence on the 120 mm turret for the US market. (US Army)
“This agreement is a continuation of US Army’s effort to provide Armored and Stryker Brigade Combat Teams [ABCTs and SBCTs] with rapid, precise indirect and direct fire capability where the operating crew is well protected, and their physical burden is significantly reduced,” Patria wrote in May.
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