| Added punch for the artillery |
| the multiple launch rocket system |
|
HIMARS is the newest member of the MLRS family and is a highly mobile artillery rocket system offering MLRS firepower on a wheeled chassis. |
| Why the MLRS remains one of the most powerful artillery systems in frontline service. |
| Artillery is the god of war was Napoleon's famous
maxim. On the modern battlefield the god of war must be the multiple launch rocket system
(MLRS) that established a deadly reputation during the 1991 Gulf war. Hapless Iraqi
conscripts on the receiving end of MLRS rockets dispensing submunitions or cluster
warheads called it steel rain because the sky above their positions seemed to fill with
black raindrops that fell to the ground and caused massive destruction. Coalition troops
however, gave the MLRS another nickname, they called it the 'grid square remover' because
of the destructive footprint of the weapon. In summary, the MLRS is perhaps the most powerful artillery system in frontline service. It was designed and is produced by Lockheed Martin Vought Systems Corporation. Series production began for the US Army in 1980 and since then a further 12 countries have purchased the system including Bahrain, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Turkey and the UK. The MLRS is a full weapon system that includes an M270 armoured transporter/launch vehicle, a highly accurate computerised fire-control system and rockets. These have a range of 20 miles (32km) and twelve can be carried at a time on a transporter/launch vehicle. A single MLRS M270 launcher can put more than two tonnes of destructive firepower on a target and its full load of 12 rockets can cover between 30 and 60 acres with almost 8,000 grenade-like submunitions. Each of the 644 submunitions in an MLRS rocket has the same destructive power as a hand grenade and contains a shaped charge that enables it to penetrate light armour. |
 The MLRS is a highly mobile automatic system that fires surface-to-surface rockets from the M270 weapons platform. |
Its fire-control system and high
mobility gives the MIRS a 'shot-and-scoot capability'. The system is highly automated so
the three-man crew can drive to firing site, conduct one or more fire missions and quickly
depart without even leaving the launch vehicle's armoured cab. An entire 12-rocket load
can be ripple-fired in less than a minute and the crew can rapidly re load with two
six-pack launch-pod containers. Each rocket is quickly and automatically fired by the
fire-control system that re-aims the launcher after each shot. |
 The navy tactical missile system (NTACMS) is a variant of ATACMS. |
The most significant upgrade to the MLRS system has
been the fielding of the army tactical missile system (ATACMS) that is a precision
deep-strike weapon designed to destroy high-value targets deep behind enemy lines with
great accuracy. Each M270 launcher can carry two ATACMS weapons, compared to the standard load of 12 rockets. The ATACMS Block 1 missile is 1 3 feet long, two feet in diameter and has a range of 102 miles (165km). Each missile contains 950 M74 bomblets that disperse over a target area and detonate on impact. A single ATACMS can destroy a company-sized target. The US Army used ATACMS with great success during Operation Desert Storm to destroy Iraqi air defence sites and command posts out of range of all other coalition artillery systems. In 1996 Turkey became the first foreign customer for the weapon. Work is underway to improve the range of the system to 186 miles (300km) and other improvements include adding GPS guidance and the development of brilliant anti-armour technology submunitions. |
 ATACMS is a conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon capable of striking targets beyond the range of existing army cannons, rockets and other missiles. |
The US Navy has awarded a contract to Lock
heed Martin Vought Systems to test a ship-launched variant of the ATACMS missile to
possibly provide general fire support for amphibious landings or to strike coastal defence
sites. This version would take over many of the US Navy's fire-support roles currently
performed by ship's guns or strike aircraft. Lockheed Martin Vought Systems is under contract to the US Army to develop prototypes of the high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) that will increase the strategic mobility of the weapon system. The HIMARS will carry a single six-pack of MLRS rockets or one ATACMS on the US Army's new FMT"' five tonne truck white retaining the automated fire-control system of the existing MLRS. An HIMARS will be able to be carried in a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules airlifter, unlike the M270 launcher that currently can be carried only in a Lockheed Martin C-141 Starlifter or C-5 Galaxy aircraft. Proven in combat, the MLRS is set to remain in service well into the 21st century and will be the standard against which other artillery systems are judged. |
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