A new laser-guided mortar has completed testing and will bring greater firepower to smaller units, while reducing collateral damage to non-combatants due to its high levels of accuracy, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday.
The Iron Sting 120 mm mortar was developed by the ministry in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces and Elbit Systems and, after successful completion of testing in the south of the country, it must be handed over to the army.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement that the Israeli industry provides the IDF with technology “that changes the combat arena and gives us more lethal, accurate and effective means”.
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Apparently referring to Israel’s clashes with the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in the north, Gantz said the weapon meets the army’s need for “adequate means to combat enemies lurking among the civilian populations, while complying with the legal and value standards set by the State of Israel. ”
He said that Ferrão de Ferro will integrate well with the IDF’s multi-annual plan, the general framework under which the Israeli Defense Forces build their arsenals and train their troops to face the threats they hope to face in the coming years.
Colonel Arik Avivi, head of the IDF’s ground forces armament department, said the weapon offers “a skill that until today was for the brigade or division, and now we are bringing it to battalion level”.
He said he would offer “very large lethality for that level” of strength size.
According to the head of the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure at the Ministry of Defense, Yaniv Rotem, the mortar had been in development for ten years.
Describing him as an “innovator” at the international level, he said the mortar would offer infantry units the kind of precision that was previously only available in airborne missiles and weapons.
“Iron Sting is designed to provide accurate fire in open fields and crowded urban areas, reducing collateral damage from injuries to non-combatants,” the statement said.
According to the Elbit website, Iron Sting has a range of 1-12 kilometers (0.6-7.5 miles, depending on the mortar, and has an accuracy of up to 10 meters).
