Profile
- Type
- 82 mm smoothbore infantry mortar
- Origin
- Yugoslavia / Serbia
- Service note
- Cold War-origin Yugoslav mortar family; M69A remains in Serbian and former Yugoslav inventories
Artillery
82 mm M69 mortar
The 82 mm M69 is a Yugoslav-designed smoothbore mortar family for infantry indirect fire support, with the M69A variant using a four-person crew, NSB-3 sight, and high-angle fire out to roughly 4.9-6.25 km depending on ammunition. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation identifies M69 mortars among Armenian and Artsakh equipment destroyed or captured in 2020.
- Built in
- YugoslaviaSerbia
Service History
- In service
- In service with former Yugoslav and other operators into the 2020s
- Used by
- Armenian and Artsakh forces, Serbian Armed Forces, Former Yugoslav armed forces
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Military Technical Institute, Belgrade
- Designed
- Cold War period
- Built in
- YugoslaviaSerbia
- Unit cost
- Not publicly available
- Produced
- Cold War period to present production or support for later variants
- Number built
- Not publicly available
- Variants
- M69, M69A, M69B 81 mm variant, M96 derivative
Specifications
- Caliber
- 82.14 mm
- Crew
- 4 operators
- Weight
- 45 kg in combat position; 52 kg in travelling position for M69A
- Maximum range
- 4,943 m with HE M74 shell; 6,250 m with HE M91 shell
- Rate of fire
- 20-25 rounds per minute
- Elevation
- +45 to +85 degrees
- Sighting device
- NSB-3
- Mobility
- Breaks down into barrel, baseplate, bipod, sight, tools, spares, and accessories
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Infantry indirect fire support
Fielded by Armenian and Artsakh forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting; Oryx visually documented fourteen 82 mm M69 mortars among Armenian-side equipment losses, including destroyed and captured examples.
82 mm M69 mortar Images
Related Weapon Systems
2B14 Podnos82 mm smoothbore mortarThe 2B14 Podnos is a Soviet 82 mm smoothbore mortar developed in the early 1980s as a lighter, longer-ranged replacement for older battalion mortars. Its portable barrel, baseplate, and bipod loads make it suitable for light infantry fire support, and OSCE reporting documents Podnos mortars on both sides of the Donbas front during the Russia-Ukraine War.
M22460 mm lightweight company mortarThe M224 is a U.S. 60 mm lightweight company mortar built for infantry close-support fires from either a conventional bipod/baseplate setup or a lighter handheld mode. Its modest weight, 70- to 3,490-meter conventional-mode range, and high-angle fire make it useful for small-unit suppression, screening, and illumination missions; Ukrainian forces have been documented employing U.S.-made M224 mortars during the Russia-Ukraine War.
120 mm M75 mortar120 mm towed smoothbore mortarThe 120 mm M75 mortar is a Yugoslav-designed towed smoothbore mortar for infantry fire support, smoke, illumination, and high-angle indirect fire in broken terrain. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation places M75 mortars with Armenian/Artsakh forces during the 2020 war, where several were destroyed or captured.
60 mm M57 mortar60 mm light infantry mortarThe 60 mm M57 is a Yugoslav-pattern light infantry mortar now listed by Serbian manufacturer PPT Namenska. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation recorded M57 mortars captured from Armenian forces, tying the portable short-range fire-support weapon to the 2020 fighting.
120-PM-38120 mm towed heavy mortarThe 120-PM-38, also known as the M1938, is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar designed under B. I. Shavyrin and built for infantry fire support. Its large mortar bomb, wheeled transport arrangement, and roughly 5.7 km range made it a durable Soviet artillery design, with Ukrainian stocks documented around the Russia-Ukraine War and pre-war Yemeni Army stocks listed in Yemen Civil War equipment references.
2S12 Sani120 mm heavy mortar systemThe 2S12 Sani is a Soviet/Russian 120 mm mortar system built around the 2B11 mortar, a wheeled carriage, and a transport vehicle. It gives battalion-level units a mobile indirect-fire weapon with a roughly 7 km range, and modernized 2S12A systems on Ural-based vehicles have continued to appear in Russian supply and combat reporting during the Russia-Ukraine War.Sources
The Fight For Nagorno-KarabakhPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: 82 mm M69 mortars were fielded by Armenia / Artsakh and visually documented among Armenian-side destroyed and captured equipment in 2020. | Accessed: 2026-06-2082 mm M69A MortarPublisher: Yugoimport-SDPR | Note: Supports M69A system description, components, crew, sight, range, elevation, weight, rate of fire, and other technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20MortarsPublisher: PPT Namenska | Note: Supports current Serbian manufacturer context and M69A technical specifications including caliber, combat weight, rate of fire, range, sight, and crew. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Serbian M69A Mortar Documented in SyriaPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports designer, M69A/M69B family background, NSB-3 sight context, and general M69A technical data. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mortar 82 mm M69Publisher: Imperial War Museums | Note: Supports Yugoslav-state creator context and basic object identification for the 82 mm M69 mortar. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mortar 82 mm M-69 Croatian ArmyPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports primary image provenance; the file page identifies the photographed Croatian Army M-69 mortar and lists CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20North Macedonia Participates in Saber Junction 19Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance; the file page identifies a North Macedonian mortar setup image and lists U.S. National Guard public-domain status. | Accessed: 2026-06-20M69 82 mm Mortar at ExhibitionPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance; the file page identifies an M69 82 mm mortar display image and lists CC BY-SA 3.0 Serbia licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20M69 82 mm MortarPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance; the file page identifies an M69 82 mm mortar image released into the public domain by its author. | Accessed: 2026-06-20