Source: USA Today
Crew of a MP-120 120mm mortar in action somewhere in Ukraine, August 2025. The MP-120 is designed and built by Ukrainian Armor, LLC, a company headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. The MP-120, being constructed within Ukraine, allows supply of a heavy mortar to the Ukrainian Army without dependence on external military aid to replace combat losses or bolster units with additional mortars. Another benefit of the MP-120 is the replacement of older Soviet-era 120mm mortars which remain in use such as the 2B11, the 2S12 “Sani” (“Sleigh”), and any remaining 120-PM-38 that have lingered on in service. The MP-120 is also replacing another Ukrainian produced mortar, the M120-15 “Molot” (“Hammer”). The latter, produced by Ukroboronprom Mayak Plant PJSC, entered service in 2016 but has proven unreliable with tube failures having killed and injured over five dozen soldiers by 2021. The MP-120 was accepted for service on January 25, 2022, a little under a month before the Russian invasion.
The MP-120 has a combat weight of 36 pounds and it takes a trained crew between 2 to 3 minutes to ready the mortar for action. In the background of the photograph, the two-wheeled transport carriage can be seen. This is used to tow the mortar behind a vehicle as well as permit the crew to push the mortar along the ground to the firing position. Once the baseplate is firmly emplaced in the ground, the mortar's barrel bottom is connected to the plate via a ball-and-socket style joint. This permits a full 360 degrees of traverse without having to reposition the entire mortar. The bipod permits elevation and a limited amount of left or right traverse for more fine barrel positioning. The MP-120's barrel utilizes steel construction which prioritizes robustness. This was well illustrated during the MP-120's trials prior to acceptance in which 5,500 rounds were fired through one example. This amount usually resulted in the need for a complete barrel replacement with existing service mortars but the MP-120 showed only .2mm of barrel wear. As a consequence, the MP-120 can effectively fire over 10,000 rounds before the barrel needs replacement.
Sighting is done using a MUM-706 UMS (Unified Mortar Sight) which has a 2.5x magnification, a 9 degree field of view, 2 inch parallax, 360 degree range of horizontal sighting, between 35 to 90 degree angle of elevation, and plus or minus 30 degrees of angle of inclination in the vertical plane. A benefit of using a UMS is that the sight can be used on other calibers of mortars which include 60mm, 81mm, and 82mm mortars.
The MP-120 is able to use any 120mm mortar bomb which is designed to be fired through the 2B11 and 2S12. It is also compatible with bombs made for the venerable 120-PM-38 mortar and for the 120-PM-43. Range can vary depending on the bomb. One of the more potent munitions is the 3OF53 HE-FRAG (High-Explosive Fragmentation) bomb. Weighing 35 pounds of which 7.6 pounds is explosive, the 3OF53 can be fired out to a maximum range of 3.5 miles. When it bursts, it creates a lethal fragmentation radius against infantry of 2,690 yards. The MP-120 can fire bombs capable of using surcharges which are supplementary propellant bags (that are horseshoe shaped) which can be added to the bomb's tail. These can extend the range with the MP-120 able to fire such bombs to a maximum range of 4.4 miles. A trained crew can fire up to 15 rounds per minute. The MP-120 also has a safety feature to prevent double loading. This consists of a mechanical interlock that prevents another bomb from being put loaded until the bomb already in the barrel is fired. Also, the MP-120 has a BAD (Blast Attenuation Device) on the muzzle which reduces the blast effects that occur during firing.
