Indirect fire weapons are those weapons that engage a target indirectly i.e. the barrel of the weapon does not point directly at the target.  As such these types of weapons are typically less accurate than direct fire weapons, and are therefore not used to engage point targets.  Moreover they are traditionally area-target weapons and operate over a greater range.

105mm Light Gun

The Royal Ordnance 105mm Light Gun was initially introduced into service with the NZ Army in 1990 in two distinct configurations; the L118 and L119. The L118 was subsequently withdrawn from service in December 2000, and the L119 was retained as the operational gun.  The guns are operated by soldiers of the Royal New Zealand Artillery.

The 105mm Light Gun provides close, indirect fire support to the Army’s combat troops, and can be employed in either offensive, or defensive operations.  The L119 configuration utilises the L20A1 ordnance and fires the US M1 series of ammunition to a range of 11,400m. It can fire a variety of  types of ammunition, including high explosive, illumination and smoke as required.

The 105mm Light Gun can be transported under-slung from a helicopter as one load, or alternatively can be towed using the A-frame which is an integral part of its structure.

The Specifications for this Gun are:

• Length  4.88m
• Height  1.37m
• Width   1.78m
• Carriage mass 794kg
• Elevating mass 1021kg

 

Mortar, 81mm, L16A2

The 81mm Mortar is a lightweight and man-portable medium mortar, which is capable of firing a wide range of ammunition types. This mortar was introduced into service in 1980 and is in service within the infantry battalions of the NZ Army, and is similarly employed to provide indirect fire support to combat troops.  The mortar consists of four basic components: the barrel, bipod mount, base plate, and sight unit C2A1. The operational capabilities of the 81mm Mortar are:

• Minimum Range 100m
• Maximum Range 5650m
• Rate of Fire per Minute 15 Rounds 
• Weight 37kg
• Traverse Accuracy 360+/-5%
• Error in Range 1.5mils in Line

Component Length and Weight

• Barrel 1280mm, 12.7kg
• Bipod (folded) 1143mm, 12.3kg
• Base plate 546mm, 11.6kg
• Sight-unit C2A1 180mm, 1.25kg