The new weapon will be integrated onto mortar carrier vehicles, joint light tactical vehicles and long-range unmanned surface vehicles
16/06/2021
|A Hero 120 launcher on a joint light tactical vehicle. Photo: UVision
The U.S. Marine Corps System Command has awarded American company Mistral and Israel's UVision a contract to design, build and test a new loitering munition system, which will be based on UVision’s Hero 120, and integrate it onto various vehicles deployed by the corps.
In a statement, Mistral said that it teamed up with UVision to deliver advanced and unique loitering strike munition capabilities based on the Hero 120 to the USMC. The Organic Precision Fire-Mounted (OPF-M) system will provide the USMC with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) as well as highly accurate and precision indirect fire strike capabilities. Additionally, Mistral will integrate the OPF strike system with the USMC C2 and other mission payloads and assist the USMC in integrating the OPF Multi Launcher onto LAV-M mortar carriers, joint light tactical vehicles and long-range unmanned surface vehicles, according to the company.
The USMC's selection comes after the completion of tests and evaluations at different U.S. Government test centers. "Mistral and UVision bring together decades of experience in the development and manufacturing of defense systems to address the U.S. Marine Corps' need for a proven precision strike loitering system," stated Col. (Ret.) Yossi Gez, EVP of Mistral.