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Army Tests Clip-On Kit That Turns Standard Mortar Rounds Into Drone-Dropped Munitions
A recent live-fire test showed 60mm mortar rounds dropped from a moving drone orienting correctly...
A recent live-fire test showed 60mm mortar rounds dropped from a moving drone orienting correctly and detonating inside the desired target area, the United States Army reported. The rounds were standard mortars fitted with the Munitions Air-dropped Lethal Effects Tool, or MALET, which DVIDS describes as a clip-on conversion kit for aerial deployment from unmanned systems. The kit was developed by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center.
According to the United States Army, MALET adds fuze function and the aerodynamic stability a round needs for a drone drop. The integration is non-destructive, meaning the kit can be removed and the mortar fired from a tube in the conventional way if the mission changes or the round is never used.
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The Armaments Center began work on the kit in 2024, when experts in its Fuze and Mortar Divisions identified the opportunity, the United States Army said. The stated goal was to let soldiers drop existing munitions they already carry, specifically 60mm and 81mm mortars, without field modifications or manually removing safety mechanisms, rather than relying on purpose-built drone munitions. MALET Project Lead Brad Armstrong said test drops at multiple U.S. Army facilities have demonstrated the system's effectiveness, maturing both its fuze function and its critical safety elements.
According to Ryan Gorman, Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Indirect Fire Munitions, the system's design is not limited to 60mm and 81mm mortars and could work with other munitions as well.
The MALET integrated product team intends to distribute the kit at major military exercises in the fall, where soldiers can interact with the system and provide feedback. The Armaments Center also intends to transition the system to industry partners and the acquisition community, a strategy the Army said is designed to allow rapid scaling and fielding.
This article was prepared with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources listed here.
Illustration created with AI for this article.
Sources: DVIDS: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/578564/foxhole-flight-armaments-centers-malet-turns-standard-rounds-into-drone-munitions; United States Army: https://www.army.mil/article/296533/from_the_foxhole_to_flight_armaments_centers_malet_turns_standard_rounds_into_drone_munitions
