Serbia has released the first images of its heavy self-propelled mortar TSMB M-25 shooting live ammunition, a proposal that stands out for mount a gigantic weapon on a relatively light truck. The set weighs about 19 tons and, according to the advertised features included in The War Zone, you can launch projectiles of approximately 100 kilos against targets located about 12 kilometers away.
Developed by the Military Technical Institute state of Serbia and presented at the Partner 2025 fair in Belgrade, the M-25 uses a mortar of 203mm. Due to the size of its caliber and its ammunition, It belongs to the superheavy category, designed to provide particularly high destructive power against targets such as bunkers and fortified positions..
Like other mortars, it can launch projectiles following steep, curved trajectories to reach targets that their operators do not have directly in sight. This indirect fire capability is useful in mountainous terrain and against positions protected by obstacles, common circumstances in the conflicts that have marked the Balkans.
The peculiarity of the M-25 lies in installing this weapon on a FAP 2026a three-axle all-wheel drive all-terrain truck 6×6 manufactured by Serbian company Fabrika automobile Priboj. It has a armored cabin for four crew members, it reaches about 80km/h on the road and offers an approximate range of 800 kilometers.
In front of a large track platform, the truck makes it easier to travel on the road and allows you to quickly change position after firing to try to avoid return fire. It also turns out cheaper to acquire and operaterequires simpler maintenance and facilitates air transportation of the system.
These advantages have the counterpart Less off-road mobility and lower survivability than a trackbed. In addition, its 12 kilometers range places it behind many modern howitzers of 155mmso it is designed for specific missions and not to replace conventional long-range artillery.
The standard grenade 203mm weighs about 100 kilos and incorporates approximately 27 kilos of explosivewith a fuze that causes detonation upon impact. Those responsible attribute to this ammunition a destruction radius of about 76 metersequivalent to a surface area of around 18,000 m²although no detailed results have been published that allow us to evaluate that figure.
The system is designed to use high-explosive ammunition and armor-piercing projectiles of concrete against fortifications. They have also been planned rocket assisted munitions to expand the reach and precision guidance kits for compatible projectiles.
The automated loading mechanism allows, according to Serbia, to reach up to three shots per minutealthough it requires placing the tube horizontally to introduce each projectile through the mouth. The fire direction equipment incorporates inertial navigation, a ballistic computer, communications and a gunner’s computer.