South Front
Polish M120K Rak self-propelled mortars. By Wikimedia user (Jarosław Wolski).
Ukraine and Poland have agreed on a new military aid package that includes M120K Rak self-propelled 120mm mortars, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced during a joint conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw on April 5.
Morawiecki said that three company-level sets of Rak mortars will be supplied to Kiev forces as a part of the new package.
A typical Polish military Rak company has eight mortars and four fire control vehicles. Thus, the three company-level sets that will be supplied to Ukraine will include 24 self-propelled mortars and 12 fire control vehicles.
The M120K Rak, which is based on the Rosomak 8×8 wheeled armored chassis, was designed by Poland’s Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) to provide rapid response and high mobility.
The 120mm breech-loaded mortar is fed by an automatic loading system that holds 20 rounds for immediate use. 26 additional projectiles are stored in the crew compartment. The mortar has an effective firing range of up to 10 kilometers, depending on the type of ammunition used. It can fire a variety of ammunition, including high-explosive, smoke, and illumination rounds, as well as precision-guided munitions.
A fully-computerized fire control system that includes an electro-optical targeting sight with a thermal imager and a laser range finder allows the RAK to engage targets with high accuracy at day and night.
Poland, a member of NATO, is one of the main military backers of the Kiev regime. Very recently, Warsow supplied a number of its own Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Kiev forces have received more than 800 artillery systems from NATO members and other allies since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine more than a year ago. Many of these systems have been already destroyed or damaged by the Russian military, who still have superior fire power.
