The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) has developed the Munitions Air-dropped Lethal Effects Tool (MALET) kit, which transforms standard munitions into weapons for dropping from drones. According to the Pentagon's official media portal DVIDS and the U.S. Army, the system will allow the American military to utilize existing stockpiles, specifically 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds, instead of procuring specialized aerial bombs for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Development of the MALET complex began in 2024, when specialists from the fuze and mortar divisions of the DEVCOM Armaments Center set out to create a safe solution for the front line. Engineers sought to give service members the ability to effectively drop rounds without makeshift field modifications and without manually removing safety mechanisms.
The system consists of a removable adapter kit that mounts directly onto the mortar round's body without damaging it or causing irreversible changes. A black clamp featuring an attachment point for the drone's drop mechanism secures to the middle of the munition, running a control cable along the body to the front assembly. A massive cylindrical nose fuze unit is mounted in place of the standard fuze, while enlarged, wide-shaped stabilizers are fitted over the tail assembly to ensure aerodynamic flight stability. If a round is not deployed or a mission changes, MALET can be easily removed to return the munition to its original configuration for mortar firing.
During tests across several U.S. testing grounds, specialists demonstrated the operation of the fuze and safety elements while dropping live 60mm rounds from drones in motion. In the autumn, MALET kits are planned to be provided to troops for evaluation during large-scale exercises to collect soldier feedback and accelerate the transition to serial production.
Also reported by Bastion (Karpenko) and The War Zone
