Profile
- Type
- 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- France
- Service note
- Cold War design in continuing service
Artillery
MO-120 RT
The MO-120 RT is a French 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar developed by Brandt and later associated with TDA/Thales production. Its rifled barrel, two-wheel carriage, and rocket-assisted ammunition option give it longer range than many smoothbore infantry mortars, while remaining towable by light or medium vehicles. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukrainian forces received Belgian MO-120 RT mortars and used the type for front-line indirect fire support.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- BrandtTDA ArmementsThales
- Built in
- France
Service History
- In service
- Entered service in the early 1960s and remains in service with multiple operators
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces, French Army, Belgian Army
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Brandt
- Designed
- 1950s
- Built by
- BrandtTDA ArmementsThales
- Built in
- France
- Produced
- Early 1960s-present
- Variants
- MO-120-RT-61, M327 EFSS, HY-12 Tosam
Specifications
- Caliber
- 120 mm rifled mortar
- Weight
- About 582 kg
- Range
- About 8.1 km with standard rounds; up to about 13 km with rocket-assisted rounds
- Rate of fire
- Up to 18 rounds per minute maximum; about 10 rounds per minute normal
- Elevation
- +30 to +85 degrees
- Traverse
- 14 degrees
- Mobility
- Fixed two-wheel carriage for towing by light truck or dedicated mortar tractor
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
Ukrainian forces fielded French-designed MO-120 RT 120 mm rifled towed mortars after Belgium transferred four systems in November 2022; open reporting also identified Ukrainian crews firing them near Bakhmut.
Related Weapon Systems
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-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 still documented around the Russia-Ukraine War rather than acquired as a modern foreign transfer.
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.
FH70155 mm towed howitzerThe FH70 is a jointly developed British-West German-Italian 155 mm L/39 towed howitzer with an auxiliary power unit for limited self-movement. In Ukrainian service it added another NATO-standard tube-artillery option alongside M777 and CAESAR systems, giving Ukrainian artillery units a 155 mm platform documented at the front from 2022.
L118 Light Gun105 mm towed light howitzerThe L118 Light Gun is a British 105 mm towed artillery system built for mobile field artillery, airborne movement, and rapid emplacement. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukraine's directly sourced combat context is tied to the L119 variant of the same light-gun family, supplied by the United Kingdom and supported by allied training and maintenance.
M101 105 mm Howitzer105 mm towed field howitzerThe M101 is a U.S.-origin 105 mm towed field howitzer whose low weight, standard 105 mm ammunition, and simple split-trail carriage kept it useful long after World War II. In Ukraine, Lithuanian-donated M101A1 guns provide shorter-range tube artillery for infantry fire support where mobility, available ammunition, and survivable dispersed gun positions matter more than modern 155 mm range.Sources
MO-120 RT-61 (MO-120-RT) French 120mm Heavy MortarPublisher: U.S. Army ODIN Worldwide Equipment Guide | Note: Supports official reference background for the MO-120 RT-61 heavy mortar and its role as a 120 mm rifled towed mortar. | Accessed: 2026-06-20120mm MO-120-RTPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports specifications, development background, designations, and producer/manufacturer context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20(No Longer) A Show Of Shame - Belgian Weapons Deliveries To UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Documents four 120 mm MO-120 RT mortars supplied to Ukraine by Belgium in November 2022 for the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ukrainian Soldiers Pictured Firing French Heavy 120mm MortarsPublisher: Forces News | Note: Reports French MO-120 RT mortars used by Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut in Donetsk region during the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mortar 120mm F1.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for a MO-120 RT / Mortier 120 mm F1 photograph, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by the uploader. | Accessed: 2026-06-20