U.S. Army to acquire Scorpion Light mortars, says Global Military Products
StoryMay 19, 2026
Flavia Camargos Pereira
Military Embedded Systems
SOF WEEK 2026--TAMPA. The U.S. Army is close to awarding Global Military Products (GMP), a subsidiary of Global Ordnance Holdings, an agreement to supply the service with the Scorpion Light 81 mm mobile mortar system. James Knight, GMP Director of Business Development, stated that the branch and the company are currently “in the final stages of procuring 16 systems.”
“We anticipate an award within the next couple of weeks. Our first deliveries for this contract are actually scheduled for this month,” Knight said.
This deal with the U.S. Army will follow a previous agreement -- announced in February 2026 -- with the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) to supply it with the Scorpion Light 81 mm mobile mortar.
Equipped with 72 rounds, the system is on display at the SOF Week 2026 exhibition, currently underway in Tampa, Florida: Showgoers may view the mortar solution mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle – Utility (ISV-U) at Westin Waterside.
As it weighs 1,200 kg (2,600 lbs), the capability can also be integrated on larger vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, helicopters, and aircraft.
According to GMP, Scorpion Light provides “shoot and scoot” capacities and features what it calls a “non-seating base plate” designed not to dig into the ground.
“It allows you to fire from any surface, like gravel, hard pack surface, or concrete. The system can actually stow, deploy, shoot eight rounds, leave a place, and come back within two minutes,” Knight stated. “It means increased survivability, lethality, and responsiveness for soldiers.”
The system is controlled through a touchscreen device, which can be operated from inside the cab or from outside the vehicle. Another feature is a fully digital fire-control system that locates targets and executes ballistic calculations automatically for multiple munition types.
Scorpion Light already underwent a series of trials with the U.S. Army. The most recent ones were conducted during April 2026 in the Philippines as part of the branch’s Transformation in Contact (TiC) effort.
“It has been tested in a multitude of environments. We did testing with the Army in Yuma and Aberdeen Proving Ground. All of those test results [that] included live fires had very positive overall outcomes,” Knight said. “Most soldiers loved the speed of the system, how fast it lays on targets, and how easy it was to use.”
The vendor is also taking advantage of SOF Week to showcase the Scorpion 120 mm mobile mortar system mounted on a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly referred to as a Humvee.
