Mortar Anti-Personnel Anti-Material (MAPAM)
06 July 2004
On a modern battlefield, the most important requirement for a modern soldier is to have superior lethality and agility on his side. The lethality of the newly developed RUAG 60mm MAPAM is similar to a conventional 81mm round. With less weight MAPAM provides a better agility and performance than comparable products.
Extensive qualification tests in Switzerland and in the United States proved the superior lethality level of the 60mm MAPAM. This modular round has reached perfect maturity and is in production at RUAG Munition.
The key to the 60mm bomb's high lethality lies in the perfect control of its fragmentation, a leading RUAG technology. This is produced by 2’400 steel balls embedded in a sleeve made of composite materials which is itself pressed into a thin aluminium case to
provide structural integrity. All fragments being of equal weights (they travel at a speed of 1,100m/s) which means that the maximum lethal range of the weapon (20-meter radius) is determined and consistent, which is of paramount importance in urban warfare
since it can thus be safely fired at a minimum range of 70 meters.
This technology is transferred to 81mm calibre with approximately 4,000 steel balls with a slightly increased ball diameter and the development of the 81mm MAPAM is expected to be finished in 2005. Static tests with the 81mm MAPAM in September 2003
showed that a new 81mm mortar round with a tremendously increased lethality can be expected.
The 60mm and 81mm MAPAM increase the lethality and thus considerably enhances combat effectiveness. Depending on the mortar weapon system, 60mm MAPAM may be fired ranging from 70m to 3,500m and 81mm MAPAM ranging from 100m up to 7,000 m for infiltration, exfiltration, raids, ambushes, special and defensive operations.
MAPAM provides highly effective actions against lightly armoured enemy vehicles, parked aircraft and troops in the open.
RUAG offers both rounds with two different explosive types. One of them is proven fully insensitive.
Benefits in summary:
- Highly effective with increased lethality (anti material; anti personnel)
- MAPAM provides improved lethality ranges
- MAPAM has a soldier friendly low weight
- MAPAM needs less logistics
- Less rounds are needed to achieve superior results
- Well defined lethal-, danger- and safety-zone
