US Army Mortars App Brings Fire Control to Smartphones
US forces are introducing the Mortars App for Android and Windows to replace heavy laptops and speed up digital mortar fire control.
US military personnel are set to gain a new way to control mortar fire through a smartphone. American specialists have developed the Mortars App, a program designed to replace heavy laptops and older fire-control systems, according to Voyennoye Obozreniye.
The application runs on Android and Windows. Its developers say the interface was built to be easy for soldiers to understand and adapted for use in battlefield conditions.
The idea for the system dates back to 2020. Development was completed ahead of schedule, three years after the project began. Version 4.0 was released in 2024, and the app is now being introduced into the armed forces.
The team behind the project expects future updates to require fewer resources than traditional systems. That should allow new functions to reach troops faster.
The project is led by computer engineer Julia Gustafson. According to her, work on the app will continue, while soldiers have already been giving developers positive feedback on the system’s clear logic and reliability.
Some questions remain unanswered. It is still unclear how well the app is protected from hacking and cyberattacks, or what would happen if a smartphone ran out of battery or was lost. The Pentagon, however, sees the digitalization of artillery as a step forward, with such tools intended to reduce the time between target detection and firing while improving strike accuracy.