The Iranian Ministry of Defence has introduced MIAAD, a new 120mm semi-active laser-guided mortar round that brings precision capability to standard mortar units. Revealed at Partner 2025 in Belgrade, the munition pairs a conventional mortar form factor with an onboard laser seeker, allowing forces to conduct precision top-attack strikes without specialized launchers or complex support equipment.
Because MIAAD is compatible with existing smoothbore 120mm mortar tubes, crews retain normal preparation, loading, and firing procedures—lowering training and logistical barriers and allowing rapid adoption by front-line units and allied militias. That design choice positions MIAAD as an inexpensive precision-guided indirect-fire weapon suitable for use in asymmetric and proxy warfare.
The round weighs 31 kg, carries a 10.7 kg HE-fragmentation warhead (4.1 kg explosive), and is claimed to engage targets effectively at 4.5–8 km with a reported hit probability of 0.7. It can be fired in coordinated salvos from dispersed emplacements against a single laser-illuminated target or used concurrently on nearby targets without signal conflict—enhancing survivability and concentrated lethality in contested terrain.
This development adds a new layer of challenge for forces seeking to counter Iranian influence and arms proliferation, as MIAAD delivers precision effects at comparatively low cost and with minimal changes to existing mortar arsenals.
