Mortar launcher, 81mm

Conflict Usage

Boko Haram Insurgency

Side: Boko Haram and ISWAPRole: Insurgent indirect fire support and recovered mortar capabilitystrike

Nigerian Army and MNJTF reports cited by local media documented Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters losing 81 mm mortar tubes, bombs, and an 81 mm mortar during 2020 and 2022 operations in Borno and the Lake Chad basin; the sources do not identify a specific model.

Operation Inherent Resolve

Side: U.S.-led coalition and partner forcesRole: Partner-force mortar training and indirect-fire capabilitystrike

CJTF-OIR imagery documented an Iraqi 73rd Brigade, 16th Division soldier training with an M252 81 mm mortar at Camp Taji in June 2015 as part of coalition building-partner-capacity work against ISIL.

War in Afghanistan

Side: United States and Afghan government forcesRole: Illumination fire support for Afghan ground operationsstrike

Task Force Southwest imagery documented U.S. Marines fielding an M252 81 mm mortar at Camp Shorab in May 2018 during a fire mission that helped enable Afghan National Defense and Security Forces operations in Helmand Province.

Mortar launcher, 81mm Images

Related Weapon Systems

Artillery81/82 mm mortar81/82 mm crew-served medium mortarThe 81/82 mm mortar family covers the standard crew-served, muzzle-loaded, high-angle indirect-fire class used by infantry and light artillery units worldwide. In the Kurdish-Turkish Conflict, a 2018 analysis of PKK tactics describes Russian-made 82 mm mortars used against Turkish security facilities in mountainous areas and later PKK use of 81 mm mortar tools as well, without identifying one specific model. In the War in Afghanistan, U.S. budget documents show Afghan Border Police 82 mm mortars sustained for patrol and border checkpoint missions, reflecting continued Afghan government fielding of the system.

MunitionsImprovised explosive deviceImprovised explosive deviceImprovised explosive devices are nonstandard bombs assembled from commercial, homemade, or military explosive components and triggers; this entry covers Houthi roadside and repurposed-ordnance IED use in Yemen, the Pulwama vehicle-borne suicide car bomb, Maute group booby traps in Marawi, and Boko Haram IED and mine-style attacks in the Lake Chad basin.

ArtilleryMortar launcher, 60mm60 mm light mortar launcherA 60 mm mortar launcher is a light, crew-served indirect-fire weapon built around a smoothbore tube, baseplate, sight, and often a bipod. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, Nigerian military reporting has documented 60 mm mortar tubes recovered from ISWAP fighters, while Conflict Armament Research has separately documented mortar materiel and captured 60 mm rounds among JAS/Boko Haram and ISWAP-linked seizures around Lake Chad. The recovered launcher models are not publicly identified, so this entry treats the item as a caliber-class system rather than a specific national model.

ArtilleryMortar launcher, 82mmPortable smoothbore mortar launcherThis entry covers the 82 mm mortar-launcher caliber class rather than a single factory model. In the Boko Haram Insurgency, UN-supported Lake Chad Basin research identifies mortar launchers among Boko Haram-used manufactured light weapons, with 82 mm mortar ammunition documented in the same typology and components recovered during Nigerian clearance operations.

Infantry WeaponsFN MAG general-purpose machine gun7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gunThe FN MAG is a Belgian belt-fed 7.62x51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun designed and originally manufactured by FN Herstal. In the Boko Haram Insurgency archive, it is represented through a 2021 report of Boko Haram deserters near Bama surrendering weapons that included an FN MAG, evidence of the gun's presence in insurgent small-arms stocks rather than a documented state transfer.

Artillery120 mm M74 mortar120 mm smoothbore towed mortarThe 120 mm M74 is a Yugoslav-origin smoothbore mortar intended for infantry indirect fire support. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation places captured M74 mortars on the Armenian / Artsakh side, making it part of the conflict's dense artillery and mortar record.

Sources