2R2M mortar
fully automated 120 mm mortar by TDA Armaments
The 2R2M (Rifled Recoiled Mounted Mortar) is a vehicle-mounted, rifled 120 mm heavy mortar produced by Thales of France. It is derived from the MO-120-RT towed mortar. The 2R2M is in service with 5 nations.
The US Marine Corps field-tested a mortar system derived from the 2R2M in the early 2000's under the project names Dragon Fire and Dragon Fire II. More than just an adaptation of the 2R2M system to the USMC's LAV-25 chassis, this project aimed for the added option to lift the entire weapon assembly, including the semi-automated loading mechanism and the computerised fire control system, out of the carrier vehicle and put it on a carriage to be towed by a tractor vehicle such as a HMMWV. The USMC eventually dropped the Dragon Fire II project and instead opted for the baseline MO-120-RT mortar, which it called the M327 mortar, towed by a M1161 Growler, for their EFSS (Expeditionary Fire Support System).
In December 2019, the MEPAC (Mortier Embarqué Pour l'Appui au Contact), an evolution of the 2R2M was selected by France and will equip a dedicated self-propelled mortar variant of the VBMR Griffon.
History (Dragon Fire II)
The US Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) started a Concept Demonstrator project in 1997. They wanted 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 120 mm 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.
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