Cost: $80,000 NSD per unit. $1.5 Billion NSD for DPR rights to system and ammunition.
Caliber: 155 mm.
Crew: 4 gunners, 2 vehicle crew.
Weight: 591 kg.
Barrel Length: 301 millimeters (30.1 cm).
Elevation: 30–85°.
Traverse: ±14° from centreline.
Rate of fire: 6-10 rpm.
Effective Firing Range: 12.5 km - 16.25 km with rocket assisted projectile.
Feed System: Muzzle loaded. Automatic firing or switch-line activated
Background
The HMS-15 Armbrust (Heavy Mortar System Crossbow) is a new generation heavy mortar intended to accommodate the need of close fire support for front line forces; it is designed and produced by Wolf Armaments. Intended to replace all other heavy mortars and serve as front line artillery support - Armbrust is unique in the field of mortars for its caliber, which is the base of all its many design innovations. For starters - the Armbrust uses a one-hundred and fifty-five millimeter barreled mortar tube and comes on a wheeled mobile unit for faster mobility. The key intention of the Armbrust is to replace many supporting artillery pieces, such as howitzers and other mortars, who do not offer the best possible supporting fire. These howitzers and other large cannons are slower to deploy, require large teams, and have to be made of many sensitive parts which could fail or delay operation; many mortars lack the mobility or firepower needed for the best possible fire support. Front line units often require an indirect artillery support asset which is often supplemented by both howitzers and mortars. The issue lies in that howitzers are too large and complicated while mortars are often too low powered, which limits their damage potential and range - these among mobility and effectiveness are limitations in many mortars and howitzers. Armbrust sees to correct these issues with its innovative caliber and design.
Desperately needed, the Armbrust was a fresh breeze of air to ground commanders in the TECT Armed Forces looking for a mobile heavy support asset for ground troops. A longer ranged and highly mobile mortar is just what the artillery units in the TECT Armed Forces needed - the additional firepower and many capable munition designs revolutionized quick fire support for front line troops. After a preview to commanders, testing was conducted in order to improve the system further; innovations to the design included twenty-first century enhancements and modifications made after input from artillery troops who got to operate the system left their feedback for designers to make adjustments or additions to the design. Armbrust was later approved for production and orders were placed in early 2010 by the TECT Government, which requested a large amount of the new mortars to replace its inventory of heavy mortars.
Design
The Armbrust is a heavy mortar system designed around three individual fields: the mortar tube, the wheeled mobile carrier, and the elevation tools/targeting. To start with - the mortar tube is an innovative idea to the field of caliber design. As many countries around the world utilize howitzers, the favored caliber for western countries is either one-hundred and five or one-hundred and fifty-five millimeters; the one-five-five caliber is especially more common now as more countries use this caliber for its howitzers and self-propelled howitzers. The innovation of making the Armbrust a one-five-five is not just for improvement of range and firepower, but also, the second intention of the caliber was to give a more universal storage system based on one-five-five artillery shells, which are now commonplace in many country's artillery forces. Armbrust can fire its produced mortar shells of both rifled and non-rifled mortar bombs - this rifling increases accuracy for projectiles by spinning the rounds as they exit and is very similar to how guns use rifling to spin a projectile for increased accuracy. The key design to rifled mortar tubes is to make the rifling tight enough for spinning the round as it leaves but wide enough to allow rounds to drop into the barrel; thereby allowing smoothbore ammunition to be fired with increased accuracy as well. A full list of mortar bombs produced for the Armbrust will be listed at the bottom of this section. The mortar tube is built with a mix of metal alloys to create a strengthened barrel; the exterior is built with a twisting metal groove design that makes the tube easier to handle, improves the cooling through better access to air, and assist in keeping the exterior cleaner as mud/water run off easier on the design. The rifling inside is also improved with a lining of chrome, making the lifespan and durability of the tube nearly infinite. The firing operation can be done in two ways: The operators can either set the tube to an automatic fire, which activates the firing pin action after the shell reaches the bottom similar to many mortars, or, operators can use a firing cord that loops around a firing switch that activates the firing pin once pulled, allowing crews to fire the the mortar safer and in a more controlled manner. Although rifled, the Armbrust can fire non-rifled ammunition and rifled ammunition at a rate of twelve rounds per-minute with a trained crew.
The wheeled mobility carrier is a mobility innovation for mortars that allows mortars to easily be transported and set up for firing. The design gives mortars increased stability when firing and allow the system to be packed up and moved quickly before counter fire can come in. Built mostly of a strong aluminum alloy - the carrier uses a system of elevation tools that connect to the chassis body to act as support. The base plate, which features an indented point design that increase stability as well as limits a mortar's 'sinking' affect - which happens when firing on soft surfaces like sand, mud, and snow, it will sink the system lower into the ground, throwing it off balance in accuracy and stability - can be folded and deployed quickly so that crews have quicker deployment speeds. There is also a position for mounting a small supply crate, which is often used to store the targeting equipment or other basic items - crew also use it as a standing step to drop munitions easier down the barrel or to sit on. Towing is accomplished by a towing hitch that is screwed onto the muzzle of the weapon; the Armbrust can be towed by most vehicles at moderately high speeds and is easily air lifted by lift helicopters. The other key feature of the carrier design is that it is not too wide, allowing it to fit into most armored personnel carriers or other vehicles so that they can act as mobile self-propelled mortar carriers. To carry, an armored vehicle must have a wide open roof hatch, decent width room (carriers can be shortened using wheel joint locks that adjust the carrier's width for vehicle use), can handle almost six-hundred kilograms of weight and the force produced by firing the mortar, and have locking mechanisms to keep the carrier in place; once locked in, the carrier cannot turn to change direction, meaning vehicles will have to move if they want to fire onto a different direction. Customers may also find that Armbrust can fit into more static positioning systems like with dedicated mortar vehicles, if they so desire.
Targeting and elevation are a key component to the Armbrust system. They go hand-in-hand as targeting accuracy depends on the correct elevation and trajectory. The basic operation of these components is done by using three turn-wheels that adjust the aim and angle of the barrel; the third wheel, located bellow the right side's directional wheel near the base of the carrier, lowers and raises the barrel for new trajectories. A sighting tool is mounted on a stand located on the barrel's meeting point with the carrier's cover (sort of like a sleeve that never touches the barrel), which can be removed at will by the commander and slid back on at any time; using the tool, a commander can accurately aim the barrel to fire onto the position he wants. A twenty-first century innovation has given Armbrust a faster operation time through the use of battlespace networking and servo motors; allowing the mortar to automatically align to a submitted fire support request from front line troops. Armbrust aiming mechanisms can be linked to state-of-the-art command, control and communication systems, to achieve quick response automatic operation. The Armbrust's automatic system takes target acquisition data that provides range, bearing, position and other data from an observation point and transmits it directly to the commander and the artillery piece itself; once a support request is made, the mortar barrel is then automatically adjusts to the exact traverse and elevation angles and is ready for firing by the crew.
HMS-155-HE: The High Explosive mortar round is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, high explosive mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its filler. A very common and universal mortar bomb design - the 155-HE is designed to eliminate infantry, light vehicles, and structures using both explosive force and shrapnel. The fuze can be set to air burst where it explodes up to several meters in the air, or explode upon impact - such settings allow shells to explode before landing or above targets for specific types of attacks. There is approximately six thousand fragments produced in the explosion and a blast radius of forty meters; the fragmentation, however, can possibly travel further.
HMS-155-SB: The Shrapnel Bomb mortar round is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, high explosive fragmentation mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its filler. Designed simply for the mass dispersion of fragmenting shrapnel, 155-SB mortar rounds are lined with additional sheets of steel and contain a large lining of steel balls which maximize fragmentation and projectiles. The minimal increase in weight is due to this increase in steel. The timed fuze is often set to go off high above enemy infantry where the maximum amount of fragmentation spread is possible as it rains down like meteors onto infantry units and lite vehicles; though the warhead can be set to blast upon impact where damage is more lethal. Instead of a highly flashy explosive blast like conventional high explosive rounds - a concentrated high explosive blast is used, which is very brief in a quick but intense flash with very little smoke. There is approximately eleven-thousand fragments produced and five thousand steel balls that are spread out in the explosion and have a blast radius of forty meters and a fragmentation range of ninety meters.
HMS-155-WP: The White Phosphorous mortar bomb is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, high explosive incendiary mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its filler; white phosphorus makes up the remaining bomb mixture. Designed for incendiary purposes - 155-WP mortar bombs are intended to kill or maim infantry as well as to burn though many metals, which would destroy structures, equipment, and vehicles. The timed fuze is often set to go off high above enemy infantry where the maximum amount of WP dispersal is possible, or, on impact where it can destroy enemy positions and equipment; instead of a highly explosive blast, a concentrated high explosive blast is very brief but leaves an intense flash. The dispersal area is around forty meters at typical air burst settings.
HMS-155-SM: The Sub-Munitions mortar bomb is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, multiple sub-munitions dispenser mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its bomblet fillers. Designed with the intention of spreading an even amount of munitions randomly - 155-SM mortar bombs carry thirty sub-munitions that are dual-purpose anti-tank/anti-personnel weapons. The sub-munition in question is a high explosive weapon capable of armor penetration and fragmentation damage to infantry units. To counter the issue of duds, 155-SM's are designed to detonate fifteen seconds after hitting the ground - usually the munition explodes upon impact if the trigger is not set differently. In case the munition duds anyways, the electric trigger dies after thirty seconds on the ground, making the bomb inert. The sub-munitions deploy in a seventy meter area, exploding into one-thousand fragments in a kill radius of ten meters and effective range of twenty-five meters. Additionally. Mine munitions can be used with this bomb, deploying bombs which can detonate upon their sensing movement nearby.
HMS-155-AT: The Anti-Tank mortar bomb is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, sub-munition mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its sub-munition filler. Designed to find and destroy armored vehicles and tanks, 155-AT mortar bombs deploy 4 large large single sub-munition that has a EEP warhead. These sub-munitions use infrared and millimeter-radar to spot their intended target - an armored vehicle or main battle tank - as it corkscrews down to the ground. The bomb ignites a separation explosion high above an intended target area, it will then float down looking for its target; once the target is spotted, the munition floats until it is close enough above the vehicle and detonates - launching its made warhead onto the target's rooftop. This top-down attack targets top armor of vehicles, which is weaker, and finds its target individually rather then with manned assistance. Sub-munitions will deploy high above a battlefield and scan for targets in a fifty meter area.
HMS-155-IL: The Illumination mortar shell is custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, illumination mortar shell. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and a pyrotechnic mixture to illuminate the ground bellow it. Designed to lite up the night sky, 155-IL mortar shells are deployed at about six hundred meters where the shell ignites its mixture. Once ignited, a flame-proof parachute deploys and the shell slowly falls to the ground. The ground is highly illuminated for about one minute and twenty seconds underneath the illuminating shell.
HMS-155-SMK-Mk. 1 & 2: The Smoke mortar shell is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, smoke dispensing mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and a white phosphorus mixture for smoke creation. Mk.1 and Mk. 2 shells are intended to produce large sums of smoke at varied rates; Mk. 1 rounds are hot burning gray smoke rounds that produce a smokescreen that blinds enemies while Mk. 2's are slow cold burning signal smokes used for many purposes and they can come in a variety of colors. A Mk. 1 can cover a thirty meter area in smoke (with no wind conditions) and a Mk. 2 can continue to burn for twelve minutes.
HMS-155-GMU: The Guided Munition Unit is an upgrade package to mortar shells that increases their guidance. Essentially, 155-GMU is a guidance package upgrade that utilizes two components that upgrade existing mortar shells with enhanced accuracy and range for mortar shells; these components are a custom fuze warhead and an added tail fin system. The fuze contains a GPS unit that guides the mortar onto its destination using the fins mounted on the posterior. This mounted unit upgrade essentially increases the accuracy of most mortar shells, making the chances of missing a stationary target almost absolutely zero; this also outperforms laser guided munitions as enemy units may duck under obstacles that block the laser's path. Accuracy is improved by ten meters and range increased to around ten kilometers. Other basic shell operations like set detonation times are not interfered with.
HMS-155-LGB: The Laser Guided Bomb is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, laser guided anti-tank/vehicle mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and IMX-101 explosive mixture for its filler with a shaped charge warhead. The 155-LGB, essentially, is a laser guided mortar launched anti-tank weapon designed for high-angled top-down attacks. Once launched, the guidance system on-board detects the laser and uses its deployed fins to guide the munition onto a lit-up target. The shaped charge is designed to destroy most armored vehicles and modern main battle tanks by landing on the weakest portions of the vehicle - its turret roof or the top of its engine compartment (which is also sometimes near ammunition storage). The 155-LGB is capable of gliding or using a ballistic trajectory in order to increase range of operation and avoid cloud levels that would block its laser detection. Weight and length of the overall shell is increased due to the added equipment and warhead.
HMS-155-CHM: The Chemical bomb is a custom fuzed, spin-stabilized, chemical mortar bomb. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and has a various amount of possible chemical fillers; such example include lethal mixtures like mustard gas and non-lethal tear gas. 155-CHM is essentially a chemical weapon mortar bomb, intended to deliver a mix of chemicals for their intended purposes - killing infantry or controlling areas with tear gas, for example. Rounds can cover a thirty meter area in the chemical agent at minimum (with no wind conditions) in a hot-burning process.
HMS-155-Spatz: The Spatz variant is a variant of a previous submunition dispenser special carrying bus for Sptaz submunitions. Stacked together tightly inside the bomb dispenser, four Spatz submunitions are fired and deploy at optimal altitude high above intended targets where they independently engage enemy targets.
HMS-155-PTD: The Practice Training Dummy is a simple fuzed, spin-stabilized, practice mortar round. It uses a LOVA (RDX) mixture for propulsion and an weaker IMX-101 explosive mixture for its filler. 155-PTD rounds are constructed with a plastic shell, which upon detonation will produce zero fragmentation - thereby being less lethal than traditional high explosives. These rounds are used in training for crews learning to use the system, and during practice to keep accustomed to mortar operations while lessening the financial costs. The projectile will launch and operate like normal high-explosive projectiles and will even work with fuzes (for airburst detonation, for example).
Variants
Armbrust-HRRS: The High Recoil Reduction System is a mobile, vehicle mounted variant of the Armbrust mortar system. Centered around a central servo motor for full three hundred and sixty degree coverage, the HRRS consists of the mortar tube, a recoil reduction platform, and an upgraded networking system. HRRS dampens the intense recoil a mortar produces when fired using a modified barrel assembly and a double piston system designed to catch recoil force. The upgraded networking system gives the commander better targeting and communication abilities, allowing them to independently adjust aim and receive fire support requests; this is achieved by a plugged in tablet that's attached to the vehicle HRRS is mounted to and can be carried by the commander for mobile use. HRRS is still traditionally loaded and fired by a gunner/loader, but requires less crew to man the system, requiring only a gunner, loader, and commander to properly operate. Heavy or lite, HRRS can be mounted to most vehicles such as APCs and lighter mobility vehicles like humvees.
Export
The Armbrust (all variants) can be purchased from the Wolf Armaments main storefront page for $80,000 NSD per unit and $1.5 Billion NSD for DPR rights to Armbrust and its one-five-five ammunition. Ammunition prices are listed as the following:
HMS-155-HE: $830 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-SB: $850 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-WP: $845 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-SM: $1,020 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-AT: $1,045 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-IL: $454 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-SMK-Mk. 1 & 2: $560 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-GMU: $1,100 NSD per upgrade unit (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-LGB: $1,080 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-CHM: $800 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-Spatz: $900 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
HMS-155-PTD: $440 NSD per case (single round case, 3 propellant charges).
DPR for all shells: $1 billion NSD.