DVD 2024 – Rheinmetall and Patria present NEMO-Boxer for UK’s armoured mortar requirement

Rheinmetall in partnership with Patria has presented a Boxer with a NEMO 120 mm mortar turret on the 18th September at the Defence Vehicles Dynamics (DVD) 2024 event in the UK. The concept demonstrator has been built in response to the Armoured Mortar requirement from the British Army, which is aiming to double its lethality by 2027

The NEMO mission module for the Boxer has been designed and built by Rheinmetall in the UK. “The armoured mortar variant is mounted onto one of the British Army’s existing drive units, which highlights the flexible approach of the Boxer design,” James Butler, Rheinmetall’s Head of Business Capture told EDR On-Line on the 19th September. “There are some differences to the standard mission module that you will see; notably, the roofline is higher, which is designed to allow the crew egress from beneath the turret basket,” he added. “Another change is that the turret has been moved to the left of the hull so that the driver can leave the vehicle to the rear,” he went on to explain.

“The vehicle dictates the turret layout,” Lauri Pauniaho, Patria’s Director of Weapon Systems added. “The turret sits in the middle of the roof when it is fitted to the Patria Armoured Modular Vehicle for example, this is because the driver has independent access,” he said.

Conversations about the UK’s requirements have taken place between OCCAR and the British government. “We provided support to the customer in their selection from three potential mortar systems,” Butler said. The team is currently awaiting the next stage of discussions with the customer. The procurement timeline – as is the case for many of the British Army’s nascent programmes – are unclear. The number of systems required is also unclear.

The NEMO turret system itself would be delivered in the same configuration as Patria’s other customers, albeit with some potential adjustments to the fire control system that are being developed by Patria internally, Pauniaho explained.

NEMO is an automated 120 mm mortar in an armoured turret that can provide both direct and indirect fire support. NEMO can come into action in 25 seconds, fire its first 3 rounds within 15 seconds, and maintain a rate of fire of 6 rds/min thereafter, according to Patria. It can land five rounds on a target simultaneously and generate a maximum rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. The number of rounds carried by the vehicle of course depends on the platform in question, however, 60 rounds is not unusual. This loadout would provide the British Army with the ability to conduct several fire missions before replenishing the vehicle.

The British Army is signalling a clear shift to the 120 mm calibre mortar, which may even replace the 105 mm light gun. If it enters British service, the NEMO would provide close fire support to assist the UK’s Armoured Brigade Combat Teams. A 120 mm mortar round is quite suitable for this role, according to some analysis. A typical round creates a lethal radius of around 30 metres, and there are several routes to precision mortar capabilities that are able to strike within 10 metres of their target. The range of 120 mm mortars is around 7 km or up to 10 km depending on the ammunition selected, which is potentially limiting when compared with conventional howitzers.

The British Army is procuring a total of 623 Boxers: 146 configured as infantry carrier vehicles, 200 specialist carriers for the transport of specialised anti-armour, sniper, or engineering teams, 212 command variants, and 65 in an ambulance configuration. The armoured mortar variant may form an additional procurement on top of these vehicles. The Boxers are expected to equip the Mechanised Infantry battalions within the UK’s two Armoured Brigade Combat teams (ABCT). Each ABCT consists of a regiment of armoured cavalry, currently equipped with Warrior, a tank regiment – which will eventually be equipped with Challenger 3 – and two or three regiments of mechanised infantry. They are accompanied by supporting regiments such as engineers, medical regiments, and logistics capabilities.

Photo by S. Cranny-Evans