M224 60MM Mortar

 The M224 60mm lightweight mortar is a muzzle-loading, smoothbore weapon that is typically used for the close-in support of ground troops. It is ideally suited to support airborne, air assault, mountain, ranger, and light infantry forces. The M224 replaced the older World War II-era M2 and M19 mortars, as these weapons had only 2,200 yards of effective range. The M224 60mm was designed to fire all of the older types of ammunitions, but it primarily fires news, longer-range rounds.

This mortar composed of the barrel, a combination base cap, and the firing mechanism. The mount is made up of a bipod and base plate with a screw-type elevating and traversing mechanism. The M64 sight may be attached to the bipod mount with a standard dovetail. The M224 60mm may be drop-fired (conventional mode) or trigger-fired (conventional or hand-held mode). A lightweight auxiliary baseplate must be used when firing the mortar in hand-held mode.