Dragon Fire (mortar)

The US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) started a Concept Demonstrator project in 1997. They wanted a weapon that would be a "mortar in a box," that is a weapon that could be remotely emplaced and fired unattended on a future battlefield. In late 1997, MCWL accepted a proposal by the army's Program Manager, Mortars (PM Mortars) and Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Command (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey to design and build a firing system to fulfill the design objectives. An early requirement was that the system had to be a 120mm system to give sufficient lethality and range. Ultimately, the design team picked parts of the French Thomson-Daimler Armements (TDA) experimental 2R2M mortar because it had a usable power driven traverse and elevation in addition to a loading system. Its 120mm rifled ammunition promised greater accuracy and range.

The project completed the experimental weapon, now called the Dragon Fire, in 17 months. It was used in a series of firing experiments beginning in September 1998. During 1999-2002, the Dragon Fire was used during the Limited Object Experiment (LOE) Urban Warrior and several follow-on experiments, and the French-made 2R2M mortar mounted in a MOWAG Piranha vehicle served as a surrogate for a mobile, Light Armored Vehicle-mounted firing system. These experiments showed that the concept of automating the fire control, aiming and loading of a medium-range firing system substantially reduced fire mission response times and resulted in accurate, efficient fire.

Following successful testing, the Marine Corps initiated a Requirement Document for an Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) to fill the gap in the availability of supporting fire for the initial air-delivered elements of an expeditionary operation. The Marine Corps Warfighting Lab initiated a follow-on project called Dragon Fire II, which was to be a government-designed, government-produced weapons system and it would incorporate the "lessons learned" with the first Dragon Fire. PM Mortars/ARDEC was again designated to do the design work and to modify the M95 Mortar Fire Control System (MFCS) to provide the advanced fire control and weapon control for the new system.

The project was initiated in 2002, but, not long afterwards, TDA dropped out of the project because of issues concerning sharing of design information and their price, and when Marine Corps Systems Command made it known that it would be looking for an "off the shelf, commercial system" for the EFSS requirement, the system specifications for the Dragon Fire II were de-scoped to Concept Demonstrator and the budget was reduced. ARDEC contracted with General Dynamics to design the new electric actuators for elevation, traverse, loading and firing and despite some difficulties in that contract, the finished Dragon Fire II, now known as the XM-326 120mm Automated Mortar, was rolled out at Rock Island Arsenal in September 2005.

The new Dragon Fire II was half the weight of the first Dragon Fire, 1,565 kg (3,450 lb) versus over 3,175 kg (7,000 lb). It was capable of receiving a fire mission over its on-board radio, processing the fire mission, aiming the weapon, loading and firing in any direction within 18 seconds. The Dragon Fire II was incorporated into testing with the Counter Rockets, Artillery, and Mortars (C-RAM) project while it was still undergoing engineering and safety tests at Yuma Proving Ground. It fired in support of C-RAM's demonstrations and was responsive and accurate, with most rounds landing within a circular error probable (CEP) of 15 m (49 ft) at a range of 5,600 m (18,400 ft).

During 2007, a Light Armored Vehicle was modified to accept the Dragon Fire internally as a modular artillery weapon. Over the next months opposition to the Dragon Fire II and to MCWL's involvement in long-term experimentation increased. Funding was first reduced and then cut completely. As a last attempt to use this system, it was converted to become a full-time LAV mortar system for the Marine Corps. This funding was removed in 2009 and the weapon is currently in storage at Picatinny Arsenal.

The Dragon Fire II was featured in the Discovery Channel's Future Weapons program.[1]

The final version of the EFSS weapon system consists of two Prime Movers, the RT 120/ M327 rifled towed mortar, an ammunition trailer, and the fire control equipment. One vehicle tows the RT 120 mortar, and the second vehicle tows the ammunition trailer. The ammunition trailer holds up 36 mortar rounds in factory-recyclable steel containers.[2]

In June 2011, for the first time, the Marine Corps field tested loading the RT 120/M327 mortar and its prime mover into Amphibious Assault Vehicles, demonstrating the versatility of the EFSS to meet various mission requirements.

The Dragon Fire mortar system can be deployed mounted in an LAV-25, towed by a HMMWV, or air deployed by CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter or V-22 Osprey. Fixing the weapon in an LAV does not require a separate mount; its towing carriage can be converted to an LAV mount in five minutes. After deployment, the crew can control the weapon system from a remote station. In operation, it is designed to be fully automatic: loading, computing firing solutions, aiming and firing automatically. From an unloaded condition, the weapon is capable of loading, completing a firing solution, aiming, and firing the first round within 14 seconds of receiving an order. The weapon is also capable of being operated manually in the event of failure of an automatic system.

The advanced fire control system is fully compatible with the US Army system, to reduce the risk of friendly fire (fratricide) incidents.

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  M327 120mm Rifled Towed Mortar
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  USMC M327 transported internally by an Amphibious Assault Vehicle
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  USMC EFSS Prime Mover transported internally by an Amphibious Assault Vehicle
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  USMC High explosive round showing rifling.

• AMOS
• M1129 Mortar Carrier, equipped with M121 120 mm mortar.
• M1064 mortar carrier, equipped with M121 120 mm mortar.
• M120 120 mm mortar
• Mortar (weapon)
• Artillery
• Military technology and equipment
• List of artillery
• List of crew served weapons of the US Armed Forces
• Light-weight Combat Vehicle (LCV) System

• "Dragon Fire mortar system test successful", press release
• DRAGON FIRE I - II Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS)
• Dragon Fire II fact sheet (PDF)
• Dragon Fire II Experimental system NDIA briefing (PDF)
• The Dragon Fire Experiments, Marine Corps Gazette 2009