Iraqi MT-LB 120mm Mortar Carrier

     Country of Origin: Iraq

     Notes: This is a modification of the standard MT-LB APC. The vehicle carries a battery of 120mm M-43 mortars, one in the rear inside the armor and 4 mounted externally as the rear. All mortars fire towards the rear of the vehicle; they are in fact attached to the rear of the vehicle, except for one which is mounted within the vehicle. The MT-LBs load carrying ability is used primarily to carry the large amount of crew required to supply these mortars, and the vehicle is normally followed by other MT-LBs carrying the vast amount of ammunition required to feed the mortars. Doubtless the vehicles would have to be followed around by ammunition supply vehicles. There is no evidence that this vehicle was ever mass-produced; in fact, it may have been built simply to impress Saddam Hussein. It is an interesting "what-if."

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The 5 examples of this vehicle were quickly fielded during the Twilight War, and just as quickly abandoned as impractical. Three were known to have been converted back to conventional single mortar carriers, and 2 were destroyed before this could be done.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$168,355

D, A

300 kg

13.9 tons

12

16

Headlights

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

117/82

25/20

450

88

Stnd

T3

HF5 HS2 HR2

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

5xM-43 120mm Mortars, PK (C)

20x120mm, 5000x7.62mm

 

Hagglunds Pbv-401GRK

      Country of Origin: Sweden

      Notes: I believe that prototypes of this vehicle were built as experiments, but production vehicles were never actually built.

      This mortar-carrying vehicle is another Swedish modification of the MT-LB.   The basic MT-LB chassis is externally similar, though it does have a large turret at the rear of the vehicle. This turret is a variant of the CV-9040’s turret, but mounts a 120mm breech-loading mortar with a coaxial machinegun.  On either side of the turret is a line of four smoke grenade launchers.  Atop the turret are hatches for the commander and gunner, while the two loaders enter and exit the vehicle primarily through the gunner’s hatch.  Internally, it is quite cramped, with ammunition stored in front where the commander’s seat used to be and at the rear (making the still-present rear door virtually useless). The mortar is in the turret, and is just rear of the center of the vehicle.  The driver is at the front left of the vehicle.  Laying the mortar is generally done with an MBC, though legacy equipment is still carried.  Likewise, though the vehicle has an additional long-range data-capable radio, there is room for one more, and this was often occupied with a “crew entertainment system.” The mortar is not designed to be dismounted and the vehicle has no extra bipod, baseplate, or ground-mount sight.  Though minor changes in deflection can be made without moving the turret, deflections of more than 3 degrees must be made by turning the turret.  The mortar can elevate and depress from -4 to 85 degrees, however, making near shots as well as direct fire possible.  The Pbv-401GRK does, in fact, normally carry a small amount of antivehicle and antiarmor rounds.  There is little in the way of gun stabilization. (The mortar fires over the front of the vehicle, or more properly, in the direction the turret is facing. The driver has a night vision sight, and the gunner passive IR as well as advanced image intensification.  The commander is limited to standard image intensification, though he can tap into the gunner’s sights.  On each side of the vehicle, on either side of the gun position, is a firing port; this is a simple firing port that is a simple hole in the armor with a shutter.  These ports lever shut for a positive seal, as the Pbv-401GRK has an NBC overpressure system with common mask interfaces as a backup.  The engine upgrade to 290 horsepower was done, but the small turret with a machinegun was removed.  Any deck hatches other than the driver, commander, or loader’s hatches were removed.  The rear-mounted turret makes the Pbv-401GRK too unbalanced to allow the vehicle to swim.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the three prototypes were brought up to a common standard with the 10 other examples that managed to be modified from their existing MT-LB fleet.  They did not survive long enough to receive any wartime improvements or appliqué armor.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$216,812

D, A

492 kg

13.93 tons

5

22

Passive IR (D, G), Advanced Image Intensification (G), Image Intensification (C)

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

146/102

36/23

450

143

Stnd

T3

TF7  TS4  TR3  HF5 HS2 HR2

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+1

Basic

120mm TDA MO 120 RT, PKT, PKM (G)

50x120mm, 4000x7.62mm

 

KMZ BMP Automortar

     Country of Origin: Russia (Soviet Union)

     Notes: This vehicle does not exist in real life, though the Czechs do make a similar vehicle. This one is the product of the designers at GDW.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This is a turretless BMP-2 with an 82mm Vasilyek mounted in the chassis in place of the turret. The mortar fires over the rear of the vehicle, and is not capable of direct fire from the vehicle. Characteristics are the same except for reduced passenger capabilities. The mortar can be lowered so that the roof hatches may be closed. One firing port on each side and one in the rear are retained and may still be used.

     Merc 2000 Notes: This vehicle does not exist in the Merc 2000 timeline.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$180,796

D, G, AvG, A

1.5 tons

11.25 tons

4

14

Passive IR, Image Intensification

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

102/72

20/15/2

462

94

Stnd

T2

HF8 HS4 HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

82mm Vasilyek automortar, PKT (C)

40x82mm, 1000x7.62mm

 

M-18

     Country of Origin: United States

     Notes: This vehicle does not exist in real life; it is a product of the imaginations of the designers at GDW, though I have considerably added to the back story.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This is a limited-production version of the M-2 Bradley IFV. In this version, the turret is removed and the firing ports plated over. In the passenger space is mounted a turntable with a 120mm mortar. The vehicle carries a baseplate and bipod so that the mortar can be dismounted and fired away from the vehicle. The M-18 was produced only when production of the M-1064A3 mortar carrier version of the M-113A3 fell behind and more mortar carriers were need in a hurry. In addition, the modifications were available as a kit for use in Bradleys that had irreparably damaged turrets but still useable hulls, and some were modified in-theatre by third-echelon maintenance shops. Despite this, these vehicles were far rarer than the M-1064A3. The hull front driver’s hatch is retained, as is the rear ramp; opposite the driver’s hatch is a commander’s hatch with a weapon mount, and on the rear deck is a large double hatch for the mortar.  The M-18 was, basically, an in-theater modification, an extreme example of BDAR.

     Merc 2000 Notes: This vehicle does not exist in the Merc 2000 timeline.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$128,065

D, A

1 ton

20 tons

5

16

Passive IR

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

121/84

25/20/2

662

141

Stnd

T4

HF8 HS4Sp HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

120mm M-121 mortar, MAG (C)

88x120mm, 2200x7.62mm