Garudastra mortar system fires precision guided round in Army demonstration at Mhow

The Garudastra mortar system, Nibe Limited's Long Range 120mm Vehicle Mounted Mortar, was put through a live fire demonstration for the Indian Army at the Infantry School, Mhow, the Army's premier infantry establishment, on 17 June. The company ran the showcase on a no cost no commitment basis, the route through which private industry pitches a product to the services without either side taking on a purchase obligation.

What the Army watched was a single platform asked to do four different jobs in quick succession.

Shoot, scoot, and straight back into action

The demonstration opened with a tactical shoot and scoot mission.

Garudastra rolled into a temporary firing position, came into action in under 30 seconds, and put two rounds on the target in less than 15 seconds. Then it left. The system displaced within 15 seconds to clear simulated counter battery fire, relocated to its main firing position, and engaged the same target a second time with no loss of accuracy. Getting in, firing, and moving inside half a minute is the answer to counter battery radar, which can fix a firing point from rounds in flight and bring down return fire within minutes.

Twelve rounds in sixty seconds

Rate of fire came next.

A two man crew fired 12 rounds in 60 seconds while holding accuracy across the burst.

MRSI and a direct hit at long range

A Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact mission followed. Three rounds went up on different trajectories, each with its own time of flight, and all three struck the target at the same moment. MRSI is how a single mortar puts the weight of several rounds onto a point at once, catching troops in the open before they can take cover.

The precision guided round

The closing event was the one Nibe had built the demonstration around. A precision guided munition, fired at long range, used GPS and laser guidance to score a direct hit on a target measuring three metres by three metres. Nibe puts the guided round's reach at up to 10 km.

The company did not give a figure for the system's range with conventional bombs, and the demonstration was framed around the guided round rather than maximum unguided reach.

Where the Garudastra mortar system fits

Nibe Limited is not new to putting indigenous firepower in front of the Army. The same firm has been pushing its Suryastra rocket launcher, and recently went on the record to rebut claims that the system was little more than imported parts assembled in India.

Mounted artillery and mortar systems are a busy field right now. Indian and foreign makers alike have been showing truck and vehicle mounted guns, among them the KSSL MArG family unveiled at Eurosatory with three calibre options, as the Army looks for mobile, quick firing support that can keep pace with mechanised columns.

Nibe described the Garudastra mortar system as a first of its kind next generation firepower solution offered to the armed forces under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, combining mobility, volume of fire, MRSI and precision guided engagement in one platform. Indigenous work of this kind feeds a defence manufacturing base that has just crossed a record Rs 1.78 lakh crore in annual production, a figure the Department of Defence Production wants to push higher through private sector tie ups.

For now Garudastra has been shown, not bought. The no cost no commitment route carries no order and no obligation on either side.