"Steel sting" turns the mortar into an accurate weapon - and sterilizes complaints about "war crimes" • To the attacking echelon it gives unprecedented flexibility and ability • Interpretation
Experiment with an iron "sting" shell // Photo: Ministry of Defense
The unveiling of the new mortar bomb "Steel Sting", ostensibly, is not supposed to be a big story, but the truth is the opposite.
Although it is a tactical weapon to the level of the maneuvering battalion, this capability maximizes the effectiveness of the auxiliary fire, and reduces the dependence of the main force in the battle, the battalion combat team, on the superior levels.
For many years, there has been a shortage of effective auxiliary weapons in units at the battalion level in the IDF. Mortars, which are an old weapon, have been scrapped and their use has become rare. This is accurate.
This gap created difficulty for the maneuvering units, as it meant complete dependence on the divisional artillery - both of the heavy artillery battalions and the precision-guided weapons.
This situation hampered the effectiveness of fire effort out of the need to regularly allocate heavy artillery to tactical units, which sometimes due to divisional level priorities received little assistance, both in fire units and ammunition.
In recent years, however, mainly due to technological changes, the situation has changed.
The need for close assistance to units at the battalion level, which stood out in its absence in the many conflicts of the last decade, alongside the need for precise capability led to the development of "smart" mortars.
The "Steel Sting" weapon system provides the ultimate solution to the attacking echelon - so now the battalion commander once again has a "pocket artillery" in the form of a particularly lethal mortar bomb, which combined with GPS and laser achieves optimal target hit accuracy.
Thus, the dependence of the maneuvering unit on the divisional fire factors has been reduced, and the attacking echelon has close fire assistance that is regularly under its control.
It is no longer a statistical weapon - it is a completely accurate weapon, capable of reaching a precision level of ten meters, and destroying today's enemy targets - the sniper, the anti - tank and the rocket launcher. In this way, the systemic fire was "released" in favor of quality targets. Assault found at the more senior levels.
Mortar fire is very effective, as any battalion commander who has had this ability in the past will attest.
The IDF once used to increase and build battalions of mortars. Another example of an outdated weapon that did not fly away. This power is sorely lacking, for example, in the Second Lebanon War, in which we were required to operate in a built-up area without artillery aid. Was delayed, mainly due to the dependence of the battalions on the higher ranks.
Now, the moves get the aforementioned tour from the battalion, organic interior forces.
It is much more convenient, simpler and certainly more correct.
This is also true these days when the International Court of Justice in The Hague is rummaging through the IDF's operational operations - precise fire sterilizing complaints about war crimes will no longer be relevant.
This news is very important, both to the battalions and to the divisional level.
Each level will be able to more accurately and accurately exhaust its fire effort, at different intensities and ranges.
And yet it must be taken into account that the new and accurate bombs are sophisticated, and priced accordingly.
The old, simple and "stupid" mortar bomb has become a sophisticated and not very cheap bomb.
Thus, the land battlefield becomes focused, precise, but no less - expensive.
Despite this weakness, there is no doubt that the refreshing innovation here is a significant change in the ability to maneuver faster, and to decide.
The writer is a former commander of an armored brigade, currently a military-social relations researcher.
