The 120 mm M75 mortar is a Yugoslav-designed towed smoothbore mortar associated with the M74/M75 light-mortar family and post-Yugoslav export literature. Yugoimport describes it as infantry close-support artillery for high-angle fire, smoke, illumination, and difficult terrain, while Serbian sources and later defense reporting show the legacy weapon being paired with modern fire-control equipment. Direct records place M75 mortars in JNA fire support around Dubrovnik in 1991 and in Armenian/Artsakh losses during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
An ICTY-hosted expert analysis of the 6 December 1991 Dubrovnik shelling identifies a JNA 120 mm M75 mortar battery near Ledenica on the Ivanica road and states that the 120 mm mortars fired during operations around Dubrovnik.
Open-source loss documentation records Armenian/Artsakh 120 mm M75 mortars destroyed and captured during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, placing the type in Armenian/Artsakh indirect-fire service.
Yugoimport presents the M75 as a close-support mortar whose heavy baseplate and wheeled towing support still leave several field transport options for broken terrain.
High-angle infantry support against troops, firing points, light field works, smoke-screen targets, and night illumination tasks.
Road-towed or animal-towed movement, helicopter lift, cargo-parachute delivery, sled movement in snow or mountains, and short man-carried moves in sections.
Yugoimport gives a 15-shell-per-minute maximum rate but much lower cumulative figures for longer firing periods.
Serbian service coverage and Partner 2025 reporting show the M75 being kept relevant through fire-control improvements rather than a new mortar tube.
The Serbian Ministry of Defence reported a 2022 exercise in which a platoon fired 120 mm M75 mortars using a modern fire-control set.
Army Recognition described a Partner 2025 package for M75 and M69 mortars with laser ranging, thermal observation, RTK drone cueing, and the UPAS fire-control application.
The reported modernization path keeps familiar legacy mortars in service while shifting calculation, target-location, and lay-parameter work toward digital tools.
The M75 appears in both Serbian export documentation and Bosnian product listings, with small differences that are best read as source- and ammunition-specific data rather than a single universal firing table.
The mortar datasheet gives separate maximum ranges by shell type, including 6,340 m, 5,551 m, and 7,200 m examples.
The Bosnian product page lists a 9,056 m maximum range with an HE projectile and a 271 m minimum range.
The main mortar listings give about 1,690-1,695 mm barrel length, while some Yugoimport ammunition brochures use a 1,500 mm M75 barrel in their shell-specific ballistic tables.
VTI history treats the M74 and M75 as the second-generation 120 mm light-mortar family that followed the M52 and preceded the longer-range M95.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Lighter second-generation 120 mm mortar | VTI places the M74 and M75 together as mid-1970s light mortars introduced for infantry-battalion fire support. |
Yugoimport shell brochures tie both the HAL-20 thermobaric round and the M62P8 high-explosive round to 120 mm M75 mortar ballistic data.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 120 mm thermobaric mortar shell | The 2024 Yugoimport brochure states that the shell is assembled with UT M88 P2 and provides ballistic data specifically for the 120 mm M75 mortar with a 1,500 mm barrel. |
 | 120 mm high-explosive mortar shell | Yugoimport's 2022 M62P8 datasheet gives the shell's ballistic data specifically for use with the 120 mm Mortar M75 with a 1,500 mm barrel. Sources: Yugoimport 2022 M62P8 Datasheet |
VTI history says the 120 mm M74 and M75 light mortars were developed and introduced into service in the mid-1970s.
Sources: Seventy Years of the Military Technical Institute
Oryx's 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh loss list records Armenian/Artsakh 120 mm M75 mortars as destroyed and captured during the war.
Sources: Nagorno-Karabakh Equipment Losses
The Serbian Armed Forces reported routine 120 mm M-75 mortar training by infantry and mechanized battalion personnel of the 1st Army Brigade.
Sources: Training on 120 mm Mortars M-75 in Army Units
Defense reporting from Partner 2025 described a Serbian digital fire-control package for legacy 120 mm M75 and 82 mm M69 mortars, combining sensors, drone cueing, and the UPAS application.
Sources: Army Recognition M75 M69 Fire-Control Upgrade
