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By Tyler Barth
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - One of the most important qualities for armaments is its ability to be updated, excellently exemplified by the new Mortars App.
The App serves as a replacement for various legacy software such as the Mortar Fire Control Software (MFCS) and its parallel, the Lightweight Handheld Mortar Ballistics Computer (LHMBC). Introduced in 2023, it permits Soldiers to carry out effective and intuitive fire control solutions using flexible, modular programming on devices as small as a Samsung phone running Android OS.
According to Software Project Lead for Mortars App Julia Gustafson, a computer engineer at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center at Picatinny, the Mortars App is designed with a modern and reliable software architecture, providing it with an easy-to-use interface and interoperability between operating systems. Additionally, the App is easier to transport, only requiring a phone or a tablet as opposed to the laptop-based LHMBC or the larger MFCS, and consolidates software into one efficient package.
The MFCS, for heavy and mounted mortar users, dates back to 2003, and its parallel for light and dismounted users, the LHMBC, was released in 2004. Though it was effective in its time, as technology improved, the two started to show their age. Departing developers took their knowledge with them, and the systems ran on two code bases, accumulating significant technical debt. Additionally, the system software was tied to the platform, so any desire to have it on a new device would require completely restarting.
In 2015, the United States Marine Corps requested an Android LHMBC app, and after an attempt to create an app using the legacy architecture was not up to par, the Weapons and Software Engineering Center (WSEC) chose to develop a new, more flexible software architecture instead. This architecture, the Common Fire Control Framework, is the blueprint of the Mortars App.
Gustafson has been involved in mortar fire control software for several years and joined the Mortars App development team at the WSEC in its early stages. Active planning began in 2020 and finished ahead of schedule in 2023, the same year the LHMBC’s last version was released. The initial iteration, called 3.0, lacked interoperability and several features, but was available for Soldiers to download and use, and was already several times more advanced than the attempted app with the legacy architecture.
The modern 4.0 iteration finished formal testing in January 2024, and later that year the MFCS received its last update. The App achieved clearances which would allow it to become the ubiquitous software for M32A2 fire control, seen on all Army mortar units, in March 2026, and with it secured full release.
Soldiers, Gustafson said, loved the Mortars App from day one. The 82nd Airborne Division was highly experienced with the MFCS, and picked up the App with little training, providing good feedback. Many Soldiers have reached out to praise the App, noting their desire for something modern which could still follow the flow of the legacy software for an intuitive process.
Also, as the software is both modular and highly flexible, any significant updates or offshoots will start from a mature operating base. These projects will require fewer developers, fewer resources, and will deliver products to the warfighter even faster than before, she said. Additionally, the App’s software architecture is device agnostic, so if in the future it needs to be transitioned off of an Android OS, it can be.
“We created the solution that had such an impact on the [Fire Control Systems & Technology] Directorate and Soldiers, and were able to provide something modern, user friendly and responsive. Paving the way for providing these solutions has been exciting,” she noted.
Gustafson said she and her team have more modern software advances on the way. These advances are wanted on increasingly accelerated schedules, but Gustafson showed confidence that, using modernized software processes and architecture, the team is up to the task.
“I’m really proud of the team I work with. Everyone on my team, they’re as enthusiastic with everything on the App as I am. I’m blessed with a great team, and this wouldn’t have happened without the smart, dedicated people here,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2026 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 566893 |
| Location: | PICATINNY ARSENAL, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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