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**[[214th Fires Brigade (United States)|214th Fires Brigade]]
**[[214th Fires Brigade (United States)|214th Fires Brigade]]
***1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment
***1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery Regiment
210th Fires Brigade (united States)|210th Fires Brigade]]
***1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment
***6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment
{{Col-break}}
{{Col-break}}
*'''[[Army National Guard]]'''
*'''[[Army National Guard]]'''

Revision as of 12:07, 1 December 2010

High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
Place of originUnited States of America
Specifications
Mass24,000 lb
Crew3

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a truck.

HIMARS carries six rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile on the U.S. Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) family of munitions. HIMARS is interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1, carrying half the rocket load.

The vehicle is C-130 transportable and produced by BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division), the OEM of the FMTV. The rocket system is produced by Lockheed Martin.

In 2002, the United States Marine Corps arranged with the United States Army to acquire 40 of the systems. Fielding began in 2005. In July 2007, Marines from Fox Battery 2nd Battalion 14 Marines were deployed to the Al Anbar province of Iraq. This is the first Marine unit to use the HIMARS in combat.

As of September 2007, the Singapore Army proposed to acquire HIMARS systems. The package includes 18 HIMARS launchers, 9 FMTV 5-Ton Trucks and XM31 unitary HE GMLRS pods, plus associated support and communications equipment and services. This proposed package is notable for not involving the M-26 or other unguided MLRS rockets. Singapore has likely created the first fully precision-guided MLRS force in existence.

In late 2009, Singapore took delivery of the first HIMARS firing unit and is slated to achieve Full Operational Capability within a year. It marks the first fully GPS-guided HIMARS unit.

HIMARS was also tested as a common launcher for both artillery rockets and the surface launched variant of the AMRAAM anti-aircraft missile.[1]

The HIMARS was intended for use as a way to provide Special Forces units with mobile artillery support.

Operational history

On February 14, 2010, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan indicated in a press release that it was thought that two rockets fired from a HIMARS unit fell 300 metres short of their intended target and killed 12 civilians during Operation Moshtarak. ISAF suspended the use of the HIMARS until a full review of the incident was completed.[2] A British officer later said that the rockets were on target, that the target was in use by the Taliban, and use of the system has been reinstated.[3] Reports indicate that the civilian deaths were due to the Taliban's use of an occupied dwelling, the presence of civilians at that location was not known to the ISAF forces.[4] An October 21, 2010 report in the New York Times credited HIMARS with aiding the NATO offensive in Kandahar by targeting Taliban commanders' hideouts, forcing many to flee to Pakistan, at least temporarily.[5]

Specifications

An MFOR rocket is launched from a HIMARS.
Photo credit: LCpl Seth Maggard, USMC.
Crew: 3: Gunner, Driver, and Section Chief
Weight: 24,000 lb
Length: 7m
Width: 2.4m
Height: 3.2m
Vehicle Range: 480 km
Road Speed: 85 km/hour
Armament: 6 M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System series rockets or 1 MGM-140 ATACMS missile

The British Army is expected to deploy a system called Lightweight Mobile Artillery Weapon System/Rocket (LIMAWS), which launches the same munitions from a similar vehicle (a single MLRS pod, mounted on a Supacat 600 transporter).[6]

Operators

 United States

 Singapore

 United Arab Emirates

 Jordan

Potential and future operators

 Canada

The Department of National Defence is considering the purchase of HIMARS. The former Chief of the Land Staff, Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, said the plan to acquire rocket launchers was something that "would be considered much further down the road—possibly in the 2012 time frame. [7][8][9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ HIMARS Launcher Successfully Fires Air Defense Missile
  2. ^ ISAF Weapon Fails to Hit Intended Target, 12 Civilians Killed
  3. ^ "Operation Moshtarak: missiles that killed civilians 'hit correct target'". Telegraph. 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  4. ^ "Artillery: It Wasn't Me". Strategypage.com. 2010-02-18. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  5. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/world/asia/21kandahar.html Coalition Forces Routing Taliban in Key Afghan Region
  6. ^ Missiles and Fire Support at DSEi 2007
  7. ^ "CASR Background — Artillery — Long-Range Precision Rocket System". Canadian American Strategic Review. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  8. ^ "Canadian army shopping for rocket launchers". CTV. 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  9. ^ "Canada Seeks MLRS Rocket Systems". Defense Industry Daily. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  10. ^ "Long Range Precision Rocket System (LRPRS) – A Multiple- Launch Rocket System – MERX LOI Letter of Interest Notice". Canadian American Strategic Review. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
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