The Army officially has a new standardized mobile app for firing mortars. This spring, the Army gave the final clearance for a new system, called simply the Mortars App, that soldiers can use on smartphones and tablets to get accurate mortar fire on targets.
The new app got the final approval in March, although the Army announced the rollout at the start of June. The new app, which has been tested by units including the 82nd Airborne Division, is meant to be used through different kinds of devices and be intuitive to soldiers even though it is more advanced than the ones the military has relied on for two decades. Defence Blog first reported on the new app.
“We created the solution that had such an impact on the [Fire Control Systems & Technology] Directorate and Soldiers, and were able to provide something modern, user friendly and responsive,” Julia Gustafson, a computer engineer at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center at Picatinny Arsenal and the software lead for the new app. “Paving the way for providing these solutions has been exciting,”
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The new Mortars App replaces both the Mortar Fire Control Software and Lightweight Handheld Ballistic Computer, which the Army has used for two decades. It’s been in some level of development since 2020 and as of March got the final approval to be used for the M32A2 mortar fire control device. Those systems were aging and needed to be replaced, the Army said. That was in part due to many of the developers that worked on them retiring or leaving for other jobs, and the two systems the Army used relied on different code bases, requiring more work for any update. They also used larger hardware, ranging from laptops to bulkier tools. The Army said that the new app is meant to be modular and intuitive, able to run on tablets or smartphones that use Android operation systems and can be updated more easily.
According to the Army, soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division adopted the new app “with little training.” Although it was developed for devices using Android operating systems, the Army said it could be moved onto other devices that use different software with ease.
Using digital technology to help with the more analog nature of firing mortars isn’t new. During the early days of the Syrian Civil War, members of the Free Syrian Army were photographed using an iPad to help level out a mortar tube, apparently using an app for the task.
The app is the latest move by the military to try and update the use of mortars, which are a staple of infantry tactics. Recently troops have tested a GPS-guided mortar system that automates much of the process, for use by the Marine Corps and the Army.
