HIMARS

The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS ) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck frame.

The HIMARS carries one pod with either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets or one ATACMS missile. It is based on the U.S. Army's FMTV five-ton truck, and is capable of launching all rockets in the Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions. HIMARS ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS. It has a single pod, as opposed to the standard two for the M270 and its variants.

The launcher can be transported by C-17 Globemaster, C-5 Galaxy, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. Video unavailable The FMTV truck that transports the HIMARS was initially produced by Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division, the original equipment manufacturer of the FMTV. It was produced by the Oshkosh Corporation from 2010 to 2017, with all units since then being manufactured by Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control division.

Development

The requirement for HIMARS came about in 1982, when the 9th Infantry Division (Motorized) saw the need to acquire a light multiple rocket launcher as a counterfire asset. The requirement failed to gather support from the Field Artillery School and languished for a number of years. The institutional bias at the time was oriented towards heavy forces. With the waning of the Cold War and the growing interest in low-intensity operations, both the Field Artillery School and Missile Command realized that the M270 MLRS was too heavy for rapid deployment and pushed for the funding of HIMARS.

The Gulf War gave new impetus towards fielding a lightweight MLRS, when the M270 proved too costly in airlift assets to deploy in theater and the launchers did not arrive with the initial wave of U.S. troops. In April 1991, the HIMARS concept was tested at White Sands Missile Range, using a modified Honest John launcher.

HIMARS was then developed as a private venture by Loral Vought Systems, later Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, to meet this requirement. The system first appeared publicly in 1993. In 1996, the U.S. Army Missile Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $23.2 million contract to build four prototypes. In April 1998, the vehicles were delivered to the XVIII Airborne Corps for a two-year evaluation with 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment.

In July 1998, the Army conducted a test firing of the ATACMS. In December 1999, the Aviation and Missile Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $65 million contract for engineering and manufacturing development. Under this contract, Lockheed Martin delivered six HIMARS in late 2001 for Army evaluation. In April 2003, the Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $96 million contract to begin low rate initial production. Around this time, the Marine Corps placed an order for two units for evaluation purposes.

The launcher system and chassis are produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control in Camden, Arkansas as of 2019.

Design

The HIMARS is similar in design to the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), with the main exception being that it is a wheeled vehicle as opposed to a tracked vehicle. The HIMARS can carry the same type of pods as the M270, but carries one pod while the M270 carries two pods. The HIMARS windows are made of sheets of sapphire laminated with glass and polycarbonate.

The HIMARS was also tested as a unified launch system for both artillery rockets and the SLAMRAAM surface-launched variant of the AMRAAM anti-aircraft missile.

In October 2017, a Marine Corps HIMARS fired a rocket while at sea against a land target for the first time from the deck of the amphibious transport dock , demonstrating the system's ability to operate while on ships to deliver precision fire from a standoff range against shore defenses. The vehicle's targeting software was reworked so it can better fire while on a launch platform in motion.

By early 2022, Lockheed Martin was producing HIMARS at a rate of 48 launchers annually, but following the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that rate was increased to 60. In October 2022 the company announced it would boost production to 96 systems annually in response to increased demand caused by the war. Limitations in building new industrial capacity means it will be several months before production can be ramped up from five to eight vehicles monthly.

Operational history

HIMARS first entered service in June 2005 with the 27th Field Artillery, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina.

Afghanistan and the Middle East

Three prototype HIMARS launchers were successfully used during the Iraq War. The first US Marine Corps battalion equipped with HIMARS, the 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, was deployed to Iraq in July 2007.

In February 2010, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan indicated in a press release that two rockets fired from a HIMARS were believed to have fallen 300 metres short of their intended target, killing 12 civilians during Operation Moshtarak. ISAF suspended the use of the HIMARS until a full review of the incident was completed. A British officer later said that the rockets were on target, that the target was in use by the Taliban, and that use of the system had been reinstated. Reports indicated that the civilian deaths were due to the Taliban's use of human shields. The presence of civilians at that location had not been known to the ISAF forces. A report in the ''New York Times'' in October 2010 credited the HIMARS with aiding the NATO offensive in Kandahar by targeting Taliban commanders' hideouts, forcing many to flee to Pakistan, at least temporarily.

In November 2015, the U.S. Army revealed that it had deployed the HIMARS to Iraq, firing at least 400 rockets at Islamic State (ISIL) targets since the beginning of that summer. HIMARS detachments were sent to Al Asad Airbase and Al-Taqaddum Air Base in Al Anbar Governorate. In March 2016, a U.S. Army HIMARS fired rockets into Syria for the first time in support of Syrian rebels fighting ISIL, from launchers based in neighboring Jordan.

In January 2016, Lockheed announced that the HIMARS had reached 1 million operational hours with U.S. forces, achieving a 99 percent operational readiness rate.

In April 2016, it was announced that the U.S. would be deploying the HIMARS in Turkey near the border with Syria as part of the battle with ISIL. In early September, international media and the U.S. State Department reported a newly deployed HIMARS had engaged ISIL targets in Syria near the Turkish border.

In October 2016, HIMARS were stationed at Qayyarah Airfield West, some south of Mosul, taking part in the Battle of Mosul.

In June 2017, a HIMARS was deployed at Al-Tanf, Syria, to support U.S.-backed rebels in the area.

On 24 May 2018, a HIMARS strike killed 50 Taliban fighters and leaders in Musa Qala, Afghanistan. Three rockets struck the building within a 14-second timespan.

In September 2018, US support forces coordinated with Syrian Democratic Forces fighting to defeat ISIS in east Syria in the Deir ez-Zor campaign, sometimes striking ISIS positions with GMLRS rockets 30 times per day. The HIMARS used in this support operation were located in the Omar oilfields, some north of the ISIS-controlled targets.

Ukraine

On 1 June 2022, the US announced that it would be supplying four HIMARS to Ukraine with M31 GMLRS unitary rockets. On 23 June, the first HIMARS arrived in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. On 25 June 2022, Ukraine started deploying the system against Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, "Artillerymen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit ... military targets of the enemy on our, Ukrainian, territory". The Ukrainian military stated that this first strike, on a Russian base in Izyum, killed over 40 soldiers. The day before, a second batch of four was announced to be delivered in mid-July.

On 1 July, a US defense official told reporters that Ukraine had been using the system to destroy Russian command posts: "selecting targets and then accurately hitting them ... degrading Russian capability". On 18 July, Zaluzhnyi said: "An important factor contributing to our retention of defensive lines and positions is the timely arrival of M142 HIMARS, which deliver surgical strikes on enemy control posts, ammunition and fuel storage depots."

Another four HIMARS were announced for delivery on 8 July, the delivery spacing driven by the weeks-long process to train Ukrainian troops on how to use the platform. To avoid escalating the conflict, the US restricted Ukraine from using HIMARS to attack targets on Russian territory. For the same reason, the US had not provided Ukraine with the longer-range ATACMS missile, which could easily engage targets inside of Russia.

A fourth batch of four was announced on 20 July, bringing the total number of HIMARS committed to Ukraine to 16. Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov stated that the country needed "at least 100" of the system and that by that point, eight systems had destroyed 30 command stations and ammunition storage facilities, decreasing the intensity of Russian shelling and slowing their advance. In that announcement, it was revealed that the number delivered had reached 12 launchers. That number had increased to 16 by 1 August.

On 30 August 2022, ''The Washington Post'' reported on Ukrainian claims to have successfully used decoy HIMARS units made out of wood to draw at least 10 Russian 3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles. One US diplomat stated that Russian sources had claimed more HIMARS destroyed than the US had sent. A Pentagon official had earlier in the month asserted that no HIMARS had been destroyed at that time. On 8 September, US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters: "We are seeing real and measurable gains from Ukraine in the use of these systems. For example, the Ukrainians have struck over 400 targets with the HIMARS and they've had devastating effect".

A further 18 HIMARS were announced on 28 September, as part of an aid package aimed at meeting Ukraine's mid- and long-term needs, so deliveries are to begin in six months at the earliest. Ukraine had previously been provided with only M31 Unitary Warhead missiles, which are "not ideal against targets spread over large areas, as the deadly chunks are not designed to fly far." As of early October they have been granted the M30A1 which uses the Alternative Warhead that can cover up to "half a square mile of land in a single salvo" with 180,000 tungsten steel BB sized balls. The US announced on 4 October that four more HIMARS launchers would be provided from US military stockpiles, to increase the total to 20 HIMARS in Ukrainian service.

HIMARS attacks by Ukraine have been credited with "destroy Russian command nodes, tens of thousands of howitzer artillery rounds and a staggering 20 million small-arms rounds." As of 11 November 2022, a senior U.S. official stated no HIMARS systems have been destroyed after five months in operational use. As of February 2023, CNN reported that Ukraine had expended approximately 9,500 GMLRS rockets. In response to the effects of HIMARS, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the HIMARS system as a high priority target for Russian troops. Ukrainian officials identified Russia's loitering munition

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