 Saab to introduce new 120mm mortar round Washington (UPI) Sep 13, 2017 - Saab has launched a new 120mm mortar round, which increases the effectiveness of round fragmentation, the company announced on Tuesday. The round is the Thor by Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland and is on display at the DSEI 2017 exhibition in London. "We are very excited to launch this new product to the market at this year's DSEI," Stephan Kocher, head of Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland, said in a press release. "Our MAPAM mortar round revolutionized the way infantry units approached mortar-based combat, and now, with our new THOR 120mm mortar round, we are pushing the boundaries even further." Traditional airburst mortar rounds are fitted with a proximity fuze. Shell fragments are dispersed in nearly every direction, with half of them scattered upwards. The THOR reduces that fragment loss by as much as 20 percent, Saab said. Thor also offers controlled safety zones to protect friendly troops and to help avoid civilian casualties. "THOR's fragmentation provides predictable safe zones which makes your effects more foreseeable and accurate. This new mortar round will give the user a much higher chance of defeating the targets, something that normally would have required heavier support," said Christopher Leitner, head of Marketing and Sales at Saab Bofors Dynamics Switzerland. The round was developed with a unique design that combines shapes, materials and fragmentation sizes to attain the desired effect on the target. Saab said Thor's lethality is about 250 percent greater than that of a standard 120mm round, has a range of nearly 9,300 yards, has a cylindrical central body design to enhance its lethality effect and adaptable fragment shapes and quantities. Thor disperses a maximum of 4,250 steel balls or fragments depending on configuration.
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Saab Defense and the Norwegian Defense Material Agency have signed a framework agreement for delivery of 84mm ammunition for the Carl-Gustaf system, Saab announced on Tuesday.
The deal, which was accompanied with an initial $8.5 million order, covers the period of 2017 to 2022 .
"For us this contract is a great sign of the trust that the Norwegian Armed Forces have for us and our products," Torbjörn Saxmo, head of the Ground Combat unit of Saab's Dynamics business area, said in a press release. "We pride ourselves on producing ammunition to the highest possible standards as we know that when our customers use our products, they trust in their reliability and effectiveness to do the job."
The Norwegian Army operates M2 and M3 versions of the shoulder-fired recoilless weapon, which is used against armor, fortifications and personnel. The weapon has been sold to more than 40 countries, including the United States.
Fifteen Marines injured in California training incident
Los Angeles, Etats-Unis (AFP) Sept 14, 2017 -
Fifteen US Marines were injured Wednesday, five critically, when their amphibious assault vehicle caught fire during a training exercise, a military spokesman said.
The incident occurred at Camp Pendleton, California while a Marine battalion was undergoing a combat readiness evaluation, Marine spokesman Paul Gainey confirmed.
"Officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident at this time," his statement said.
No other details were given about the fire or possible causes.
The injured Marines were evacuated to hospitals in the area, with eight taken to the Burn Center at University of California San Diego Health.
Three of those were in critical condition and five in serious condition. Two more were in critical condition at the University of California Irvine Medical Center, the Marines said.
Amphibious Assault Vehicles have been used by the Marines since the 1970s and are designed for landings from the sea.
Wednesday's incident followed two other fatalities at Camp Pendleton, the Marines' biggest base on the west coast of the United States.
On August 30, a 22-year-old Marine was found dead during a training exercise. The cause of death has not yet been established.
In 2015, a 19-year-old Marine was found shot dead in the head on a firing range at the base.
In mid-June, seven Marines were killed when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan.
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