Turning a mortar into a precision weapon
The DoD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, together with BAE Systems, is converting the Army’s 60-mm mortar into a weapon capable of launching guided munitions.
To power the electronics,
the design team chose TLM-1530HP lithium batteries
from Tadiran Batteries, Port Washington,
N.Y. The batteries meet BAE and Darpa requirements
for size, weight, and performance, something
3-V CR2 consumer batteries could not. (CR2s could
not operate in cold environments and have a shelf
life of only five years.) The TLM modules, though
the same size as CR2s, supply 4 V, and can maintain
pulses of 15 A in temperatures from 40 to 85°C, according
to Tadiran. Their shelf life is 20 years. Eventually,
the 60-mm mortar will fire laser-guided munitions
equipped with an optical seeker.