Rheinmetall introduces RSG60 dual-configuration mortar
Rheinmetall has developed a new 60mm mortar for infantry and special forces, the RSG60, which can be configured into either a standard infantry or commando mortar variant.
It features design and engineering characteristics that make the indirect fire system lightweight and easy to handle, and a few manual adjustments turn the 15.8kg standard infantry version into a commando mortar weighing 6.8kg, with no need for tools.
Development of the new mortar began in October 2017 at Rheinmetall Waffe Munition, and the objective was to augment the company’s family of 60mm ammunition and existing Rheinmetall Electronics fire control technology with a matching weapon system.
The work has focused on low weight, speed and ergonomics, and the RSG60 has undergone a number of test firings.
Depending on the ammunition and charges, the standard version can attain ranges of up to 3.2km, and equipped with a barrel that is 30cm longer, the range increases by some 500m.
The commando variant of the RSG60, meanwhile, has a range of around 2km, and has a barrel of some 70cm in length made of steel with a carbon fibre over-wrap.
This maintains stability while also reducing weight, resulting in a barrel that weighs some 30% less than a conventional steel mortar.
The base plate is made of carbon fibre composite material, and it can be set up and ready to operate in a number of seconds, the company says.
Additionally, by loosening the retaining bolts, the RSG60 can be separated from the base plate in around thirty seconds, converting it into a lighter-weight commando mortar.
More from Land Warfare
-
![Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression]()
Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression
Romania is retiring old systems, some Soviet, and replacing them with western equipment from countries such as Sweden and Turkey and boosting existing modern fleets.
-
![UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise]()
UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise
Exercise Dynamic Front 25 is part of a series of NATO exercises that will run until 26 November.
-
![Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV]()
Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV
Milrem has delivered or is building a total of 200 Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System UGVs and has chosen Texelis as partner in its effort to develop a UGV.
-
![Sweden takes delivery of first M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system]()
Sweden takes delivery of first M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system
The most recent nation to join NATO has joined other member nations in using the M3 system.
-
![CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent]()
CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent
Slovakia is undergoing a radical refresh of its equipment, like many central and eastern European countries, and the arrival of new vehicles will form a substantial part of this.
-
![Mortar mobility: Patria’s TREMOS takes aim at the modern battlespace]()
Mortar mobility: Patria’s TREMOS takes aim at the modern battlespace
In conversation... Patria’s Lauri Pauniaho talks to Shephard's Gerrard Cowan about how high mobility levels are essential for mortar systems in the face of modern counter-battery fire, and how a new platform-agnostic module can combine existing vehicles and mortar barrels into a cost-effective new weapon system.
