Poland has been supporting Ukraine to a great extent - it has taken in a huge
amount of refugees and supplied Ukraine with arms.
The country has again made an important move.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced during his visit to Warsaw on April 5, 2023,
that Ukraine and Poland had agreed on a new military aid package,
which includes the supply of 120mm self-propelled mortar systems.
Polish President Andrzej Duda added that Poland would provide Ukraine
with three batteries (24 units) of Rak self-propelled mortars.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why Poland supplied Rak self-propelled mortars would be
lethal addition to Ukraine's arsenal? Let's get started.
M120 Rak is a self-propelled wheeled gun-mortar equipped with
an automatically loaded 120 mm mortar mounted on a tracked (SMG 120 / M120G)
or wheeled (SMK 120 / M120K) chassis, designed by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW).
It is produced in Poland, and used by Polish Land Forces.
Serial production and the first delivery started in 201
Work on the Rak mortar started in 2006, the first prototypes were presented in 2009.
The turret is armed with a 120mm breech-loaded mortar system with a barrel length of 3,000mm.
The 120mm mortar has a rate of fire of 6 to 8 rounds a minute
and a maximum firing range of 10km or 6.2 miles.
The system can fire at an angle of elevation between -3° and 80° and can traverse 360°.
In addition to standard grenades, it can fire shells with a HEAT charge, smoke and lighting
ammunition. The time of moving from the march position to the combat position is 30 seconds
maximum. The firing position can be left within 15 seconds after the last grenade is fired.
The mortar is fed by an automatic loading system, which holds 20 projectiles for immediate use,
while 26 additional projectiles are stored in the crew compartment
The secondary armament includes a 7.62mm UKM 2000 D machine gun
equipped with BAZALT day-night gun sight.
The complete Rak mortar system, apart from the latter, includes accompanying vehicles:
artillery command vehicles (AWD), reconnaissance vehicles, technical
and logistic support vehicles (ammunition vehicles) and armaments repair vehicles (AWRU).
The vehicle is equipped with a digital fire control system, including a thermal
camera and a laser rangefinder, so it can work effectively during the day and
at night. The data may, inter alia, draw from the FlyEye unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Rak mortar can fire remotely as an unmanned weapon, using commands and data
transmitted electronically to the vehicle's computer.
Initially, until the implementation of modern ammunition with a range of
10,000 m, Polish Rak mortars use old OF843B grenades for towed mortars, modernized with
special fittings, with a weight of 16.02 kg and a range of 6,900 m, intended for training.
The conflict has not been an easy one for any side. It has turned out to be a grueling ordeal for the
men on the ground and a complex challenge for respective military leadership.
While Russia had a massive advantage in weaponry when the conflict began,
western supplies have helped Ukraine offset the balance to an extent.
The protracted conflict is taking a toll on the Russian arsenal.
Russia is now having to dig deep - we have seen even older T-55 Tanks being pulled out of storage.
In this situation, 24 units of Rak self-propelled mortars will be lethal addition to the Ukrainian
arsenal since it's a versatile system and if used properly could inflict significant damage.