TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. Army has awarded Global Military Products (GMP) a $12.9 million contract to procure and integrate Scorpion Light 81mm mobile mortar systems onto the Army’s Infantry Squad Vehicle–Utility (ISV-U) platforms.
The contract was awarded under the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) framework. It covers the integration of the Scorpion Light with Army digital fire-control technologies and government-furnished M253 mortar barrels.
Digital Fire Control
The Scorpion Light is designed to provide infantry units with a mobile and digitally enabled indirect-fire capability for distributed operations.
Its digital fire-control architecture supports rapid target acquisition, digital fire-mission processing, precision engagement and rapid re-aiming, while reducing crew workload. The system also incorporates the Army’s Nett Warrior networked communications architecture, enabling digital fire missions and target handoffs between systems.
Rapid Shoot-and-Scoot Capability
The system is designed to quickly deploy, fire and relocate. The Scorpion Light can emplace, fire eight rounds and relocate in under two minutes.
It takes about 30 seconds to fire the first round and another 30 seconds to displace after the final round. A non-seating baseplate allows the mortar to operate on surfaces such as gravel, hard-packed ground and concrete without digging in.
Mounted on the ISV-U
The Scorpion Light will be integrated with the Infantry Squad Vehicle–Utility, a utility variant based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 architecture and designed for severe off-road environments.
The integrated system is certified for internal transport in a CH-47 Chinook and is air-droppable. The Scorpion is also a vehicle-agnostic system and has previously been integrated with Polaris MRZR variants used by the U.S. Marine Corps under a separate contract awarded earlier in 2026.
Two Years of Army Testing
The Army and Global Military Products have worked together on the Scorpion platform for about two years through Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) initiatives and Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) efforts.
The work included direct soldier feedback to improve the system's mobility, lethality, survivability and operational effectiveness.
James Knight, director of Global Military Products, said the program supports the Army’s Transformation Initiative, which focuses on smaller, more agile and highly lethal combat formations for complex operational environments.
Balikatan 2026 Testing
The Scorpion was recently evaluated during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Philippines.
Soldiers from the Multi-Purpose Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division fired 20 rounds from two separate Scorpion systems in under two minutes during live-fire operations.
Earlier evaluations were also conducted during Transformation in Contact events in Hawaii in 2025, as well as at Yuma and Aberdeen Proving Ground.
First Deliveries
Global Military Products is a division of Global Ordnance. The Scorpion system originates from Spanish manufacturer NTGS, also known as Alakran outside the United States, and is marketed in the U.S. by Global Military Products.
Deliveries of the first systems under the $12.9 million Army contract are expected to begin in the week of September 7, 2026.
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