Autor fotografie: Patria, Public domain|Popisek: Patria at DSEI 2023
The Finnish company Patria will be among the exhibitors at this year's Eurosatory 2024 trade fair in Paris, which will take place from 17–21 June. Its stand can be found in Hall 6 - G 144 and G 136. Patria experts will be showcasing Patria’s wide product range from Through life capability, Protected mobility and defence systems, and Battlefield and critical systems.
The Finnish company will present Patria AMV XP 8x8, Patria 6x6 armoured vehicles, MUSCL passive radar and a number of other systems in Paris. From the Czech perspective, the NEMO mortar system is an important product.
Patria NEMO mortar
The Patria NEMO mortar was developed between 2005 and 2007. It is mounted in an unmanned turret with traverse of 360° and elevation -3 to 85°, with a backup manual control. It is 120mm calibre weapon with a 3 meter smooth bore barrel and a rate of fire of 7–10 rounds per minute. Patria NEMO can also fire Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) fire missions where up to 6 grenades hit the target simultaneously. The light and compact turret is easily installable on light, tracked chassis or wheeled armoured vehicles in the 6x6/8x8 class or Navy vessels.
Patria NEMO features modular design and therefore it guarantees maximum flexibility and capability for further upgrades for diverse requirements to meet the specific needs of modern warfare and threats in changing environment. Patria NEMO can be used for self-defence and various indirect fire missions.
The fire control system provides fire support plans and fire missions, which are transmitted via tactical data network to the command and control systems. Fire support decisions are made at the fire direction centre, and the Patria NEMO units execute the fire missions – right on target. The Direct Fire Sight System can be used for identifying the target and for acquiring a full view of the situation on the battlefield.
Advantages of the Patria NEMO system
- Compact, mobile, turreted and remote-controlled mortar system
- Fire-on-the-move capability
- High rate of fire
- Excellent crew protection
- Rapid deployment to avoid counter-battery fire
- Indirect, direct and MRSI capabilities with direct lay functionality
- Compatible with network-centric warfare systems
- Modular ballistic protection against infantry weapons, splinters and IEDs
- NBC and muzzle blast protection
- Reduced carrier stresses
- Safe and secure on-board ammunition system available from Patria to suit the platform
- Compatible with all standard 120 smoothbore mortar ammunition as well as smart guided ammunition
- Full 360º traverse
- Elevation -3° to +85° (direct and indirect fire)
It is evident from the above data that the Patria NEMO system meets all possible Czech requirements from a technical/combat point of view. It has mobility, full automation, aiming (including direct fire capability), aiming, firing cadence and different types of ammunition. As far as the fire control system is concerned, it always depends on the customer which system he uses. And since NEMO is also implemented in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, there is no problem of modification. So it remains for the Czech Army to decide on what platform the combat suite should be integrated on and what the central artillery fire control system will be. There are not many options in the area of self-propelled mortars with all these capabilities, NEMO could certainly be a good choice.