The XM395 Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGMM) is a 120 mm guided mortar round developed by

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

Design

Based on Orbital ATK's Precision Guidance Kit for 155 mm artillery projectiles, XM395 combines

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

guidance and directional control surfaces into a package that replaces standard fuzes, transforming existing 120 mm mortar bodies into precision-guided munitions. The XM395 munition consists of a GPS-guided kit fitted to standard 120 mm smoothbore mortar rounds that includes the fitting of a nose and tail subsystem containing the maneuvering parts.Picatinny fields first precision-guided mortars to troops in Afghanistan
- Army.mil, 29 March 2011

History

The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

began seeking a guided mortar in response to fighting conditions experienced during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

fighters often engaged troops in small unit actions from prepared fighting positions on ridgelines and high ground. These types of ambushes offered limited exposure targets to direct fire weapons, and

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

was limited from rules of engagement and bad weather. Troops also spotted Taliban movements along distant ridgelines or valleys but didn't have the range with direct fire weapons to engage them. Because of this, the Army started the Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI) from an urgent operational needs statement in February 2009 to create a GPS-guided 120 mm mortar with accuracy of CEP at ; because APMI was an urgent request, it was accelerated by an

Other Transaction Authority Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

rather the traditional acquisition process. GPS was chosen over

laser designation A laser designator is a laser light source which is used to designate a target. Laser designators provide targeting for laser-guided bombs, missiles, or precision artillery munitions, such as the Paveway series of bombs, AGM-114 Hellfire, o ...

as the guidance system because the enemy frequently ducked down behind ridges and rock outcroppings, so laser designation would have limited ability to target them, while a GPS round could give accurate targeting even when taking cover behind obstacles.GPS-guided precision mortar rounds on way to Afghanistan
- Gizmag.com, 1 March 2011 In April 2010, the Army announced that ATK had won a competitive shoot-off during the winter against competitors

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

and

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

, and been selected to provide a new precision-guided mortar under the APMI needs statement. Soldiers of an

Infantry Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic Military deployment, deployable Military unit, unit of maneuver in the United States Army, U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver Brigade (United States Army), br ...

received the first APMI cartridges in March 2011, with plans to field them in all seven deployed IBCTs within six months. The first shell was fired on 26 March by Company C, 1-506th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

, which landed four meters from the target. Heavy mortars are traditionally employed at

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

-level for immediate fire suppression and support, but they were the primary indirect fire weapon available to remote forward operating bases, so guided mortars gave a battalion commander accurate artillery fire without needing to request an

M982 Excalibur The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155 mm extended-range guided artillery shell developed in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineerin ...

from a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

-level howitzer. The ATK XM395 PGMM cartridge uses a standard M934 high-explosive 120 mm projectile body with a GPS receiver in the nose and computer controlled aerodynamic directional fins for stability and to keep it on the programmed trajectory. It has a multi-mode

airburst An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over ...

, point detonation, and delay fuse. Unguided 120 mm mortars have accuracy of at maximum range, which can be reduced to with precision position and pointing systems. The PGMM can hit within 10 meters of a target, and often hits within four, making it seven times more accurate. Although not designed to replace unguided mortars, the PGMM allows mortar teams to eliminate point targets that would require 8-10 rounds using one or two. This lengthens the amount of time a typical team with 25 rounds can operate and increases the number of targets it can engage without needing resupply. It also expands potential target zones that previously required soldiers to clear because inaccurate artillery would cause collateral damage, since insurgents deliberately attacked from populated areas hoping troops wouldn't risk civilian casualties. The XM395 kit costs $10,000 each, much less than the guided Excalibur 155 mm shell. There is also no current requirement for guidance for 60 mm or 81 mm mortars. In July 2012, the Army announced fielding of the APMI precision mortar to

Stryker Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a ...

s in Afghanistan. Previously, the rounds were fielded by dismounted troops stationed on combat outposts. When paired with the M1129 Stryker Double-V Hull Mortar Carrier Vehicle (MCVV) mobile platform, it increases the battlespace where the guided rounds can be used. The Army bought 5,480 mortar guidance kits in response to an operational needs statement in Afghanistan, sometimes hitting as close as 2.2 meters from the target. With the success of the XM395, the Army is seeking a guided 120 mm mortar

Program of Record The processes of government procurement in the United States enable federal, state and local government bodies in the country to acquire goods, services (including construction), and interests in real property. In fiscal year 2019, the US Federal ...

with comparable accuracy through the High Explosive Guided Mortar (HEGM) proposal. Deliveries would not take place until around 2020, so ATK is pushing to continue orders of the XM395 to avoid an inventory gap if a contingency arises. HEGM seeks to improve upon APMI through increased range, reliability, and lethality. The Army developed its own HEGM prototype called the Guided Enhanced Fragmentation Mortar (GEFM), which will be made available to industry when a request for proposals is released to industry to offer their own smart mortar solutions. The HEGM program objective is to create a round accurate to within one meter CEP, with dual GPS/ SAL guidance to hit targets that have relocated and to function in a GPS-degraded environment. The Army closed its initial solicitation period for designs in January 2017, and plans to award multiple contracts by the end of the year, leading to an open competition in 2018 and production beginning in 2021 with 14,000 HEGM rounds to be produced.

Program status

* December 2004: Alliant Techsystems regains an $80 million contract from the U.S. Army to begin production on the XM395 precision-guided mortar munition after a protest by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

a year previously. * January 2006: Successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) stage. * February 2006: Successful ballistic flight test at

Yuma Proving Grounds Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation C ...

. * February 2007: Funding for program withdrawn in proposed FY2008 budget. * March 2007: Successful guided flight test. * April 2010: ATK's XM395 wins the U.S. Army's competition for the preferred mortar guidance kit. * March 2011: XM395 munition kit makes its combat debut in Afghanistan.

Export

In March 2017, the U.S. approved the sale of 2,000 XM395 APMI rounds to Singapore.Singapore to buy 2000 US made XM395 Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI) rounds
- Armyrecognition.com, 16 March 2017

References

External links