RIGHT on TARGET


Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative promises revolutionary munitions for maneuver commanders


by Pete Burke and Ted Hom I


nfantry battalion commanders have long relied on their organic mortar systems to provide rapid and accurate fires. Up to now, in-


cremental improvements in precision have come from changes to the weap- on and fire control systems. With the introduction of the Accelerated Preci- sion Mortar Initiative (APMI), a much greater improvement in precision has been realized. The APMI is now fielded by the Product Manager Guided Pre- cision Munitions and Mortar Systems (PdM GPM2S), under the guidance of the Project Manager Combat Ammu- nition Systems in Program Executive


FIRING FIRST


SPC Nicholas Ketchen and SPC Colt Corbin, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, fire the first XM395 cartridge in theater, which hit within four meters of its target. (U.S. Army photo by SPC Zachary Burke, 55th Combat Camera.)


Office Ammunition (PEO Ammo) at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ.


Developed in response to an Opera- tional Needs Statement (ONS) from forces deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the next advancement for the 120mm mortar is the XM395 cartridge, known as the APMI because of its unusually rapid development and fielding schedule. The Combined Joint Task Force 101 ONS called for a highly transportable, all-weather, rapidly respon- sive, and precise indirect-fire 120mm mortar capability to support widely dis- persed combat outposts and operations at


the lowest tactical echelons. The system requirement calls for a GPS-guided mor- tar solution capable of 10-meter accuracy, at least a 6,500-meter range, and compat- ibility with the currently fielded 120mm mortar system.


The XM395 is a GPS-guided 120mm mortar cartridge intended to maximize the infantry battalion’s capability to defeat targets in situations where rules of engage- ment would otherwise not allow target engagement because of collateral damage concerns or the risk of exposing warfight- ers to enemy weapons. Studies show that it reduces the risk of collateral damage by


AS C.ARMY.MI L


29


ACQUISITION


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