U.S. Special Operations Test Drone-Mounted Laser to Push 120mm Mortar Precision Beyond Standard Range.

A small U.S. special operations drone helped guide precision mortar strikes beyond the standard range of a 120 mm mortar, Leonardo DRS revealed on October 14, 2026. The test shows how compact drones could extend mortar reach while keeping troops farther from the fight. At the Utah trial, a PDW C100 carrying the STAG-5 sensor and laser designator repeatedly supported extended-range strikes. The combination could give special operations forces faster, more flexible precision fires with less exposure on the battlefield.

U.S. special operations forces tested a C100 quadcopter carrying a STAG-5 laser designator to guide precision mortar strikes beyond the standard range of a 120 mm mortar (Picture Source: Leonardo DRS)

A small quadcopter carrying a laser target designator has demonstrated how U.S. special operations forces could push precision mortar engagements well beyond conventional firing distances while separating the sensor from the shooter. Leonardo DRS disclosed on October 14, 2026, that a Performance Drone Works C100 equipped with its STAG-5 electro-optical/infrared gimbal supported extended-range precision mortar engagements during the Iron Sting Precision Mortar Validation Event at Dugway, Utah. The demonstration offers a glimpse of how tactical drones could transform conventional mortar sections into more distributed precision-fire systems with greater standoff, flexibility and survivability.

Iron Sting Pushes Precision Mortar Reach Beyond Standard Limits

The event, conducted at the White Sage Mortar Range in Dugway, Utah, was hosted by the Capability Development & Innovation office within the Secretariat for Special Operations in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. It evaluated the safety, accuracy and extended-range performance of next-generation precision mortar munitions while providing operators with hands-on experience using emerging technologies in realistic scenarios. Leonardo DRS said the C100 supported engagements beyond the standard maximum range of a 120 mm non-rifled mortar. Performance Drone Works, which had previously disclosed details from the same Iron Sting event, said Special Operations Forces struck targets more than 1.5 kilometers beyond that standard maximum range and successfully repeated the performance against an adjacent target.

Related Topic: U.S. Army Tests C100X Drone to Sharpen Troops for Modern Battlefield Threats

STAG-5 Turns a Small Quadcopter Into an Airborne Targeting Node

At the center of the demonstration was Leonardo DRS's STAG-5 electro-optical and infrared gimbal with an integrated laser target designator, turning the C100 from a surveillance platform into an active node in the precision engagement chain. The STAG-5-SLD configuration weighs approximately 4.7 pounds and combines a SWIR sensor, daylight camera, STANAG 3733-compliant coded laser target designator, laser rangefinder and infrared illuminator. The wider STAG-5 architecture incorporates two-axis stabilization, integrated GPS/INS for geopointing and geolocation, onboard HD image processing, multi-mode target tracking, STANAG 4586-compatible Ethernet control and digital video with MISB metadata. Packing these functions into a compact payload allows a relatively small unmanned aircraft to perform detection, tracking, location, designation and post-engagement observation from the same airborne platform.

A More Distributed Precision-Fires Network for U.S. Special Operations

The operational significance lies not in the drone physically increasing the ballistic range of the mortar tube, but in allowing U.S. forces to exploit longer-range precision ammunition with a targeting architecture capable of reaching farther into the battlespace. The mortar crew, observer and laser designator no longer need to be concentrated in roughly the same tactical area. A C100 carrying the STAG-5 could move forward or laterally from the firing position, acquire a target from the air and illuminate it for compatible precision-guided ammunition while the mortar element remains farther behind terrain, cover or concealment. Such an arrangement could extend the effective reach of a mortar team while reducing the requirement for a ground observer to occupy an exposed position with direct visibility of the target. It also creates a more distributed sensor-to-shooter chain in which the position generating the targeting solution can be geographically separated from the position launching the weapon.

For U.S. Army special operations forces, that combination could significantly expand the utility of an already mobile and relatively lightweight indirect-fire capability. Small SOF elements operating with limited access to persistent aviation or larger intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms could potentially deploy an organic aerial designator alongside their mortar element, giving commanders another option for conducting precision engagements without assigning a larger aircraft to every target. Separating the drone, observer and mortar team could also give commanders greater flexibility in how they position individual elements of the fires network. On battlefields increasingly shaped by reconnaissance drones, acoustic sensors, counter-battery radars and rapidly networked fires, dispersing the sensor and shooter could help reduce the concentration of critical assets while supporting faster repositioning after an engagement.

The demonstration also points toward a broader evolution in the role of small tactical drones. Rather than functioning primarily as airborne cameras, systems such as the C100 can increasingly serve as precision-fire enablers capable of connecting target detection directly with guided weapons. The STAG-5 and C100 pairing has already been demonstrated outside the mortar mission. During an earlier UK Ministry of Defence-supported live-fire event, a C100 carrying a Leonardo DRS STAG-5 tracked and designated targets for ground-launched APKWS rockets. Leonardo DRS has also described the STAG5-SLD as the first laser-target-designator-enabled small-UAS payload added to the U.S. government's Blue UAS Framework, strengthening its relevance to trusted U.S. unmanned-system architectures. Taken together, these developments indicate that the payload could support a broader family of precision weapons rather than remain tied to a single mortar application.

As with any UAS-enabled targeting architecture, operational effectiveness in highly contested environments will depend on the resilience of the wider system, including communications, navigation and continued sensor-to-shooter connectivity. Iron Sting was focused on validating precision-fire performance and operator integration, while future operational employment would involve the broader network of unmanned aircraft, communications, fires systems and tactical procedures surrounding the STAG-5. This wider systems approach will be increasingly important as the U.S. Army seeks to connect small unmanned platforms with precision weapons across dispersed formations.

Iron Sting highlights a potentially important shift in how U.S. special operations forces could employ mortars: expanding the effective battlespace of the firing unit by moving the targeting sensor away from the weapon itself. With the mortar team positioned at greater standoff, a small C100 carrying the STAG-5 can search for, track and designate targets while precision ammunition connects the airborne sensor to the ground-based shooter. The demonstrated engagement of targets more than 1.5 kilometers beyond the standard maximum range of a 120 mm non-rifled mortar shows how longer-range ammunition, compact laser designation and tactical UAS can be combined into a distributed precision-fire network. If developed further as an operational capability, the concept could give U.S. Army special operations teams a more organic means of delivering accurate indirect fire while increasing the geographic separation and flexibility of key elements across the battlefield.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.