The U.S. Army has rolled out a standardized Mortars App that lets mortar crews plan and control fire from tablets or smartphones, replacing older, bulkier software and reflecting a shift toward easier-to-update, app-based tools.
On a mortar line, the moment matters. Mortar crews are firing weapons they can’t always see directly—indirect fire that lobs explosive shells at high angles onto targets beyond their view. That means the math has to happen fast.
Now. soldiers have a new tool for that work: the Mortars App. designed to make it easier to plan and control mortar fire from tablets or smartphones. The U.S. Army app arrived after years of development and replaced outdated legacy programs. Picatinny Arsenal said the system was built to be intuitive. portable. and easy to update—and that troops were already embracing it. picking it up with little training and sending feedback for future upgrades.
Mortars are man-portable indirect fire weapons, but their fire-control process depends on calculations—what soldiers use to aim and adjust each shot. Running those numbers quickly is critical, and the app is meant to cut through the friction of older systems.
The Mortars App was first introduced three years ago as a replacement for the Mortar Fire Control Software and the Lightweight Handheld Mortar Ballistics Computer—legacy systems that were tied to older. bulkier platforms. The app lets soldiers calculate fire-control solutions from devices as small as Samsung phones. reducing the amount of equipment troops need to carry.
Picatinny Arsenal also linked the effort to a larger problem: the Pentagon recognized that previous mortar fire-control systems were becoming outdated or difficult to transport and use. There were technical issues too, tied to how institutional knowledge was handled—departing developers took that knowledge with them.
Work on the modern version didn’t start cleanly. Early developers tried to build an Android version using the legacy systems, but it fell short. Active planning for the current Mortars App began in 2020. By 2023, soldiers could download and use a workable iteration.
That first version was considered better than the prior attempt but still flawed. Further modifications followed. leading to an iteration that finished formal testing in 2024 and was cleared for full release in March of this year. Since then, it has become standardized software for M32A2 fire control across Army mortar units.
Feedback from troops has shaped how the app is landing in daily use. Picatinny Arsenal said soldiers found it easy to use. and the 82nd Airborne Division was able to pick up the Mortars App with little training. Soldiers also described it as modern and intuitive while still rooted in the processes of legacy systems. meaning the learning curve wasn’t steep.
As the app’s user base grows, US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command is able to push out updates and improve user experience, and the app can be used across devices.
The Mortars App is one example of the Army moving toward Silicon Valley-style development for weapons and technology—shifting from legacy systems to apps and programs that can be updated more easily. The Army’s work on its new command and control system has similarly broken functions such as fires. ammunition. and supply tracking into software tools soldiers can use in the field.
US Army Mortars App mortar fire control M32A2 Picatinny Arsenal indirect fire Samsung phones app-based weapons Combat Capabilities Development Command