We don’t usually cover artillery but the SPEAR Mortar System was definitely one of the niftiest new products that were on display at Eurosatory 2014. Manufactured by Elbit Systems, Israel, this 120mm mortar is an evolution of the Cardom system used by the US Army, IDF and a number of NATO armies.

The SPEAR is designed to be low recoil and is the first mortar system that allows full-power 120mm mortar rounds to be fired from light combat vehicles such as the HMMWV platform. The recoil force has been reduced by more than 2/3 from 30 tons to less than 10 tons.

SPEAR requires a crew of just two and can be configured for fully-autonomous operation. It has a sustained rate of 15 rounds per minute. As you would expect, it can be linked into Battle Management Systems and operate independently or as part of a networked battery. SPEAR has a CEP of 30m (50% of rounds will land within a circle with a radius of 30 meters).

Something for Alex to upgrade to when he gets bored of his .50 Browning.

Thanks to Lionel for the photos.