During the Second World War, all American infantry companies had a team of 60mm mortars, intended to provide short-range artillery support when needed. Improvements in communication technologies and the range of its traditional artillery systems have gradually eliminated this practice. Yet, and despite the arrival of infantry anti-tank missiles, such as the Javelin, the Marine Corps HQ today believes that its units need a boost in their own firepower. Rather than going back to 60 mortars, and like the Israeli forces, the Corps is seeking today to acquire light vagrant ammunition acting in swarms for this function.
It must be said that stray munitions have largely demonstrated their effectiveness in recent months, in particular during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, during which the Harop, Harpy and Defender-1 of Israeli invoice implemented by the Azerbaijani forces decimated the armored vehicles, anti-aircraft defenses and support points of the Armenian forces facing them, without the latter having could retaliate. Only the onset of bad weather, from mid-October, made it possible to reduce the pressure that these stray munitions put on the Armenian defenders. The exact toll of these strikes is still imprecise, especially as the figures are understated or exaggerated on both sides depending on the case, but there is no doubt that these weapon systems have played a major role in the Azeri victory this fall.
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