{"id":19390,"date":"2026-11-10T06:42:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T09:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=19390"},"modified":"2026-11-10T06:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T09:42:46","slug":"malet-kit-de-conversion-para-que-los-drones-aereos-puedan-lanzar-proyectiles-de-mortero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/?p=19390","title":{"rendered":"MALET, kit de conversi\u00f3n para que los drones a\u00e9reos puedan lanzar proyectiles de mortero"},"content":{"rendered":"

MALET (Mortar Air-Launched Effect Adaptor) es la denominaci\u00f3n de un nuevo kit de conversi\u00f3n desarrollado por el US Army, que permite adaptar municiones de mortero 60 mm est\u00e1ndar, para ser lanzadas directamente desde drones a\u00e9reos (UAS). Inspirado en t\u00e1cticas observadas en conflictos recientes, con este dispositivo se busca dotar a las peque\u00f1as fracciones de mayor versatilidad y alcance en el uso de armas como los morteros que normalmente operan. Permite adem\u00e1s aprovechar los enormes stocks de estas municiones econ\u00f3micas, adapt\u00e1ndolas as\u00ed a la guerra con drones comerciales y militares. El kit se instala r\u00e1pidamente en la munici\u00f3n que ser\u00e1 transportada y lanzada por el dron, sin requerir modificaciones complejas sobre el elemento original. De esta forma, un peque\u00f1o proyectil de corto alcance, puede ser empleado para batir blancos de oportunidad a 10 o 20 km, lo que aumenta la capacidad de apoyo de fuego org\u00e1nico de las peque\u00f1as fracciones.<\/p>\n

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The Army on Wednesday unveiled its new system<\/a> allowing front-line troops to rapidly convert 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds into drone-droppable munitions. Dubbed the Munitions Air-dropped Lethal Effects Tool (MALET), it is part of the service\u2019s Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit<\/a> (CLIK), which enables lethal payloads to be placed on unmanned systems, including small drones.<\/p>\n

The development of these systems is taking place as the Army races to catch up to a mode of delivering munitions on enemy targets that began to show up a decade ago, when ISIS fighters started using this capability during the Battle of Mosul in Iraq in 2016 and 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Work on the MALET system began in 2024, the Army explained in its announcement Wednesday morning. Experts at the Armaments Center\u2019s Fuze and Mortar Divisions \u201crecognized a critical opportunity,\u201d according to the service. \u201cRather than introducing new munitions to the battlefield, soldiers could benefit from a capability to safely drop existing munitions without having to perform field modifications or manually remove safety mechanisms.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they came up with was a clip-on kit that adds a fuze function to the round that allows it to be detonated after being dropped and includes fins to ensure \u201cthe aerodynamic stability required for a drone drop of the cartridge,\u201d the Army stated.<\/p>\n

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Prototype of the Munitions Air-dropped Lethal Effects Tool (MALET), a clip-on conversion kit which converts munitions into dropped munitions for aerial deployment. (U.S. Army) Eric Kowal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the rounds are converted, the goal is to drastically extend the range of mortars. Fired from a tube, they have a range of about between two to 3.5 miles<\/a>. While the Army did not specify which drones were used in recent MALET tests, a solicitation earlier this year<\/a> said the service is seeking to place these systems on drones with a desired\u00a0operational range of between 20 and 40 km (about 12.5 to 25 miles).<\/p>\n

The MALET system doesn\u2019t damage the mortar, nor does removing it. That way, if the mortar is not expended, or mission requirements shift, soldiers can return the munition back to its original state, allowing it to be fired as a conventional mortar if needed.<\/p>\n

Another advantage of the MALET system, according to the Army, is that it has a large supply of mortars.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of having to procure purpose-built munitions on drones, soldiers will be able to use rounds which they have in abundance already, such as 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds,\u201d the Army noted.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Army Soldiers from Multi-Purpose Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, fire a 60mm High Explosive Dual Purpose (HEDP) round during a Mortar Training and Evaluation Program (MORTEP) at Area X-ray Range Complex, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Oct. 20, 2026. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Jozeph Alvarez) Sgt. Jozeph Alvarez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent test drops at multiple facilities \u201chave already shown the MALET\u2019s effectiveness, successfully maturing both the system\u2019s fuze function and its critical safety elements,\u201d the Army claimed. \u201cThe team just recently had a successful test where they demonstrated the performance of MALET with live 60mm mortars. The items were dropped from a UAS on the move; they oriented correctly and detonated within the desired target area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army only provided still images showing the round after it was released and then hitting a target, so we can\u2019t independently confirm how well the system worked or how easy it is for soldiers to use it.<\/p>\n

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MALET undergoes live field testing. (U.S. Army) Eric Kowal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As it conducts these tests, the Army says the MALET architecture can be applied to munitions other than these two mortar types. Mortars were the first to be demonstrated due to their maturity and alignment with large UAS requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MALET Integrated Product Team (IPT) is exploring even more concepts\u201d which are \u201cmostly close-hold for now,\u201d said the Army. Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Indirect Fire Munitions Ryan Gorman would say only that these new concepts are \u201cunique.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MALET program is a great example of how the DEVCOM Armaments Center can leverage core competencies like fuze design, safety, and ammunition development and apply them to a dynamic, emerging space like lethal UAS to provide a unique and viable option for the warfighter,\u201d Gorman added.<\/p>\n

For the Army, the next step is to distribute the kit to major military exercises this fall \u201cto allow for soldier touchpoints and receive feedback,\u201d the service stated. \u201cConversations with industry partners, the User and Acquisition communities have already proven fruitful.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we noted at the top of this story, MALET is part of the Picatinny CLIK modular system. It includes the Armament UAS Delivered Immediate Battlefield Effects (AUDIBLE) Weapons Release System and the Gunslinger fire control software.<\/p>\n

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The Army\u2019s Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit (CLIK). (U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AUDIBLE enables \u201cquick change adapters to safely drop existing munitions, like the M67 grenade, providing a proven concept that is scalable to service a larger array of munition options,\u201d the Army said in a 2025 release.<\/a><\/p>\n

Gunslinger was originally designed by the Armaments Center for the Future Vertical Lift \u2013 Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft XM915 20mm Cannon, the Army explained in a separate release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fire control software helps users point the weapon where it will most likely result in a strike while taking into account variables like target or weapons platform motion.<\/p>\n

While the Army is touting the MALET system, it should be noted that last year, the service came under fire<\/a> for lauding its ability to drop a grenade from a drone. This practice had been in widespread use by even the lowliest of actors for years by then.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you ever seen a drone drop a GRENADE?\u201d a now-deleted post from the official U.S. Army account on X read. \u201cWatch Soldiers from @7thATC [7th Army Training Command<\/a>], the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine<\/a> [JMTG-U] and @173rdAbnBde [the 173rd Airborne Brigade<\/a>] execute the Army\u2019s first live-grenade drop from an unmanned aircraft system in Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accompanying video, also since deleted, showed Army personnel loading standard M67 fragmentation hand grenades<\/a>, as well as inert M69 practice types, onto small quadcopter-type drones fitted with purpose-built mechanisms for dropping them. The system was designed to pull out the safety pin on the unmodified grenade as it is released.<\/p>\n

The following image is a screen capture of the now deleted video.<\/p>\n

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A screen capture from the Army video showing a soldier loading an M69 practice grenade onto a small quadcopter-type drone at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. (US Army capture)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we pointed out last year<\/a>, the answer to the \u201chave you ever seen a drone drop a GRENADE?\u201d is a resounding \u2018yes\u2019 for anyone who has watched this area of development over the past decade. We had predicted exactly this kind of application for commercially available drones even years before ISIS began using them in Iraq in 2016.<\/p>\n

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