MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry has signed contracts on the delivery of the latest Drok 82mm self-propelled mortars and Floks 120mm artillery guns, Uralvagonzavod Special Representative for Military and Technical Cooperation, Army General Alexei Maslov told TASS on the occasion of Land Forces Day on Tuesday.

"As part of the ‘Nabrosok’ project, the work on the Floks self-propelled artillery system and the Drok mortar that are being developed on order from the Defense Ministry is at the concluding stage of preliminary trials," the army general said.

"The work is proceeding in compliance with the plan. A contract has been signed for their serial production," he added.

The Floks 120mm artillery gun is mounted on the Ural-4320 6x6 wheeled armored vehicle. The gun has been developed as part of the ‘Nabrosok’ R&D work. As its main feature, the new self-propelled artillery system carries a combined semi-automatic rifled gun that can fire all types of mortar shells and projectiles. The weapon can be used as a howitzer and a mortar and can be employed for direct fire.

Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier reported that the state trials of the Drok self-propelled mortar developed for the Airborne Force would take place in 2019. The mortar is mounted on the Taifun-VDV armored vehicle and is designated to provide support for airborne assault forces. The mortar can fire both standard munitions and new shells with the enhanced yield and the extended range. Fire can be delivered from the vehicle’s combat compartment and from the ground.

The Drok self-propelled mortar weighs 14 tonnes and has a crew of four. The mortar can fire to a range of 100 meters to 6 km at a rate of about 12 rounds per minute and has an ammunition load of 40 shells.

The press office of Uralvagonzavod defense manufacturer earlier said that the company had signed a contract with the Defense Ministry at the Army-2019 international arms show on the delivery of 120mm wheeled mortars but did not specify the guns.