Cubic tailors mortar simulator for the US Army
The company’s mortar trainer received improvements based on soldier’s feedback.
Orbital ATK has received contracts worth $53 million from the US Army to manufacture and deliver large calibre training ammunition, the company announced on 15 May.
The orders include both 120mm and 105mm ammunition types.
Used by the Abrams main battle tank, the 120mm training ammunition includes the M865 kinetic energy and the M1002 multi-purpose tank training rounds. The 105mm M724A2 is used for crew training on the Stryker Mobile Gun System vehicles. The training rounds closely replicate tactical ammunition in appearance and ballistic performance.
The contracts include production of new M1002 and M724A2 rounds to fill inventories and the recapitalisation of existing M865 and M1002 rounds to extend their service life.
Dan Olson, VP and general manager for the Armament Systems Division of Orbital ATK’s Defence Systems Group, said: ‘High-quality training ammunition is essential to the warfighter, who must be prepared to react decisively on today's battlefield.
‘By leveraging our expertise in tactical ammunition, we have produced training rounds that are visually and ballistically similar to their counterpart tactical rounds while meeting the reliability and safety performance requirements for use on US and European ranges.’
The company’s mortar trainer received improvements based on soldier’s feedback.
The company will operate in two new locations in the coming years to better support US services.
This type of tool provides more realistic training easing the incorporation of new scenarios that accurately represent the threats of the battlefield.
The Engineering Corps has been conducting individual instruction using FLAIM Systems’ Sweeper and should start collective deployments in 2025.
The next-generation platform is motion-compatible and can be used in OTW and NVG applications.
The system can be used to prepare soldiers for both drone offensive operations and CUAS missions.