The Finnish Defence Forces have announced that they will procure “over one hundred” of the new modular and mobile 120 KRH M3 mortars from Patria. The system was developed in close cooperation between the Army and Patria with the support of the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command.
The M3 stands for Modular, Mobile Mortar, and its pre-series examples have been used in the Army already since the beginning of this year. Those pre-series examples were ordered in late 2024 for delivery in 2025, for €4.7 million (VAT excluded). The early TREMOS was seen installed on trucks, while all more recent images and footage released about the new contract show the system mounted on SISU’s GTP 4x4 armoured vehicle.
The latest contract has a VAT-exempt value of €49.9 million and includes options for “hundreds” more. If the follow-on orders will be formalized, the new mortar system will be distributed in all areas “from Hanko to the northernmost part of Lapland” as declared by Infantry Inspector Colonel Ari Mure from Army Headquarters.
Conscripts are already being trained on the pre-series systems and the first weapons from the new order will be completed already within the autumn. The 120 KRH M3 is a self-contained platform that can be secured to a wide variety of vehicles through standard container locks. The module is 10 feet long, half the side of a standard TEU. There are no pneumatic or hydraulic connections to the base vehicle. A simple forklift suffices to move the entire module. This allows the whole installation to be readily transferred from vehicle to vehicle provided the vehicles have standard container locks. The module can also be operated from the ground, including within prepared, protected positions.
24 ready to fire projectiles are stored within a “drawer”, with 4 projectiles within each shelf. The loader position provides intermediate storage for up to 8 more rounds to accelerate the firing sequence. Roll-over protection can be provided to the module.
The system declares a traverse capability of ±185º, giving all around reach (depending on the base vehicle). Active elevation range is +40º to +80º. The module weight is 2,800 kg. It adapts already existing and in service KRH 120 mm barrels (rifled), integrated with an ammunition magazine, a local fire control and command system, an inertial positioning device and the necessary damping machine for the module. Other mortars, including smoothbores, can however be used and their existing ballistic tables employed in the system. It is also possible to replace the 120 mm mortar with a lighter 81 mm barrel to reduce cost during training.
The first round can be fired within 30 seconds of the halt at the intended firing position. The mortar is manually loaded. Gunner and loader ride on seats in the module, either side of the weapon on its recoil-damping mount, with 2 more crew members riding within the GTP vehicle and dismounting for the fire missions. The mortar platform can be manually traversed.
The system is rapidly able to respond calls for fire and a mortar company is able to accurately shoot “144 grenades per minute” from distributed fire stations; quickly moving out of the way afterward to avoid counterbattery.
The Inertial Navigation and Positioning systems will come through a separate award, thanks to a framework that was established in the October of 2024 with French company Safran Electronics & Defence. That framework covers deliveries of Inertial Positioning systems up to 2031, with a total value, including options, of €48 million announced at the time.
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