Army Tests Drone Drop of 60 mm Mortar Rounds

A removable attachment called MALET lets mortar rounds normally fired from ground tubes be dropped from a moving drone.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Military

Photograph of a small drone hovering over open scrubland with an olive-drab cylindrical casing slung beneath it under overcast sky. — The Army tested MALET, a removable attachment that lets 60 mm mortar rounds be dropped from a moving drone, drawing on lessons from the war in Ukraine. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Army tested a device that drops 60 mm mortar rounds from a moving drone in a live-fire test. The attachment, called the munitions air-dropped lethal effects tool, or MALET, was developed at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.

Why it matters

The Army is applying lessons from the war in Ukraine, where mortars were turned into drone-dropped bombs. MALET is intended to eliminate the need to modify mortar rounds in the field, which would involve tampering with explosive safety mechanisms.

The live-fire test used 60 mm mortar rounds dropped from a moving drone onto a target area, and the device is also compatible with 81 mm rounds. The Army has not said when the system could be fielded to troops.

The players

U.S. Army

The United States Army is the land warfare branch of the American armed forces, responsible for developing and fielding weapons systems such as this one.

Picatinny Arsenal

Picatinny Arsenal is an Army installation in New Jersey that serves as a center for weapons and munitions research and development.

The details

MALET clips onto existing mortar rounds to help them fall properly and ensure their explosive charges function when dropped from a drone. The attachment can be removed without damaging the ammunition, so an unused round can be returned to conventional mortar service.

Work on the MALET project began in 2024 at the Army's Armaments Center.
The Army announced the live-fire test results on November 5, 2026.

Battlefield Lessons

The MALET program follows battlefield improvisation seen in Ukraine, where mortars were converted into drone-dropped bombs. The Army is now attempting to build that capability into a purpose-designed attachment rather than field modifications.

The attachment is designed so existing 60 mm and 81 mm mortar rounds can be used without field modification, which affects how quickly units could adopt the capability. The timeline for fielding to troops has not been announced.

The takeaway

The MALET test shows how a battlefield workaround from Ukraine is being turned into a standard military tool. Whether it reaches troops depends on the results of the upcoming major exercises.