M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System

The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system.

The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivered in 1983, and were adopted by several NATO and non-NATO militaries. The platform first saw service with the United States in the 1991 Gulf War. It has received multiple improvements since its inception, including the ability to fire guided missiles. M270s provided by the United Kingdom have seen use in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Description

Background

In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union had a clear advantage over U.S. and NATO forces in terms of rocket artillery. Soviet doctrine dictated large-scale bombardment of a target area with large numbers of truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), such as the BM-21 "Grad". By contrast, U.S. artillerists favored conventional large-caliber artillery for its relative accuracy and logistical efficiency. As a result, U.S. rocket artillery was limited to the remaining stock of World War II-era systems.

This mindset began to change following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which saw heavy casualties, especially from rear-area weapons like surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). Israel effectively employed rocket artillery against these targets. The United States predicted that this requirement would persist in the event of a war in Europe. Thus, the need had arisen for a system that could engage enemy air defenses and provide counter-battery fire, freeing large-caliber artillery units to provide call-for-fire artillery support for ground forces.

The MLRS was initially conceived as the General Support Rocket System (GSRS). In December 1975, the U.S. Army Missile Command issued a request for proposal to industry to assist in determining the best technical approach for the GSRS. In March 1976, the Army awarded contracts to Boeing, Emerson Electric, Martin Marietta, Northrop and Vought to explore the concept definition of the GSRS. In September 1977, Boeing Aerospace and Vought were awarded contracts to develop prototypes of the GSRS.

In 1978, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command made changes to the program so that the GSRS could be manufactured in Europe. This was to allow European nations, who had been independently pursuing their own MLRS programs, to buy in to the program. In July 1979, the United States, West Germany, France and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding for joint development and production of GSRS. In November 1979, GSRS was accordingly redesignated the multiple launch rocket system. Both competitors delivered three MLRS prototypes to the Army.

The Army evaluated the MLRS prototypes from December 1979 – February 1980. In May 1980, the Army selected the Vought system. In early 1982, Vought began low-rate initial production. In August 1982, the first production models were delivered. In early 1983, the first units were delivered to the 1st Infantry Division. In March 1983, the first operational M270 battery was formed. In September 1983, the first unit was sent to West Germany.

European nations produced 287 MLRS systems, with the first being delivered in 1989. Some 1,300 M270 systems have been manufactured in the United States and in Western Europe to date, along with more than 700,000 rockets of all kinds, including over 70,000 GMLRS guided munitions as of March 2024.

Overview

The M270 MLRS weapons system is collectively known as the M270 MLRS Self-Propelled Loader/Launcher (SPLL). The SPLL is composed of two primary subsystems; the M269 Launcher-Loader Module (LLM) houses the electronic fire-control system and sits atop the M993 Carrier Vehicle.

The M993 is the designation of the M987 carrier when it is used in the MLRS. The M987/M993 is a lengthened derivative of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle chassis, in which the ground contact length is increased from . Originally called the Fighting Vehicle System, the M987 chassis was designed to serve as the basis for many other vehicles. These included the XM1070 Electronic Fighting Vehicle, the M4 Command and Control Vehicle, the Armored Treatment and Transport Vehicle and the Forward Area Armored Logistics System, the latter encompassing three vehicles, including the XM1007 AFARV rearm vehicle.

The original GSRS plan called for 210 mm diameter rockets. After European allies became involved with the project, these were replaced with 227 mm rockets in order to accommodate the AT2 mine.

Cold War doctrine for the M270 called for the vehicles to spread out individually and hide until needed, then move to a firing position and launch their rockets, immediately move away to a reloading point, then move to a completely new hiding position near a different firing point. These shoot-and-scoot tactics were planned to avoid susceptibility to Soviet counter-battery fire. One M270 firing 12 M26 rockets would drop 7,728 bomblets, and one MLRS battery of nine launchers firing 108 rockets had the equivalent firepower of 33 battalions of cannon artillery.

The system can fire rockets or MGM-140 ATACMS missiles, which are contained in interchangeable pods. Each pod contains six standard rockets or one guided ATACMS missile; the two types cannot be mixed. The LLM can hold two pods at a time, which are handloaded using an integrated winch system. All twelve rockets or two ATACMS missiles can be fired in under a minute. One launcher firing twelve rockets can completely blanket one square kilometre with cluster munitions; a typical MLRS cluster salvo would involve three M270 vehicles firing together. With each rocket containing 644 M77 submunitions, the entire salvo would drop 23,184 submunitions in the target area. However, at a two percent dud rate, that would leave approximately 400 undetonated bombs scattered over the area, which could endanger friendly troops and civilians.

Production of the M270 ended in 2003, when a last batch was delivered to the Egyptian Army. In 2003, the U.S. Army began low-rate production of the M142 HIMARS. The HIMARS fires all of the munitions of the MLRS, and is based on the chassis of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. As of 2012, BAE Systems still had the capability to restart production of the MLRS.

In 2006, MLRS was upgraded to fire guided rounds. Phase I testing of a guided unitary round (XM31) was completed on an accelerated schedule in March 2006. Due to an Urgent Need Statement, the guided unitary round was quickly fielded and used in action in Iraq."Guided MLRS Unitary Rocket Successfully Tested"
, ''Microwave Journal'', Vol. 49, No. 3 (March 2006), p. 39. Lockheed Martin also received a contract to convert existing M30 Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) GMLRS rockets to the XM31 unitary variant.

The M31 GMLRS Unitary rocket transformed the M270 into a point target artillery system for the first time. Due to Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance and a single high-explosive warhead, the M31 could hit targets accurately with less chance of collateral damage while needing fewer rockets to be fired, reducing logistical requirements. The unitary warhead also made the MLRS able to be used in urban environments. The M31 had a dual-mode fuse with point detonation and delay options to defeat soft targets and lightly fortified bunkers respectively, with the upgraded M31A1 equipped with a multi-mode fuse adding a proximity airburst mode for use against personnel in the open; proximity mode can be set for Height of Burst (HOB). The GMLRS has a minimum engagement range of and can hit a target out to , impacting at a speed of Mach 2.5. In 2009 Lockheed Martin announced that a GMLRS had been successfully test fired out to .

In April 2011, the first modernized MLRS II and M31 GMLRS rocket were handed over to the German Army's Artillery School in Idar Oberstein. The German Army operates the M31 rocket up to a range of . A German developmental artillery system, called the Artillery Gun Module, has used the MLRS chassis on its developmental vehicles.

In 2012, a contract was issued to improve the armor of the M270s and improve the fire control to the standards of the M142 HIMARS. In June 2015, the M270A1 conducted tests of firing rockets after upgrades from the Improved Armored Cab project, which provides the vehicle with an enhanced armored cab and windows.

In early March 2021, Lockheed announced they had successfully fired an extended-range version of the GMLRS out to , part of an effort to increase the rocket's range to . Later in March the ER GMLRS was fired out to . In September 2023, Lockheed announced an ER GMLRS test achieved its maximum range of . The U.S. Army approved the ER GMLRS for production in May 2024.

Service history

When first deployed with the U.S. Army, the MLRS was used in a composite battalion consisting of two batteries of traditional artillery (howitzers) and one battery of MLRS SPLLs (self-propelled loader/launchers). The first operational Battery was C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division (Ft. Riley, Kansas) in 1982. The first operational organic or "all MLRS" unit was 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery.

Originally, a battery consisted of three platoons with three launchers each for nine launchers per battery; by 1987, 25 MLRS batteries were in service. In the 1990s, a battery was reduced to six launchers.

The 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery was reactivated as the Army's first MLRS battalion in October 1984, and became known as the "Rocket Busters". In March 1990, the unit deployed to White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to conduct the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation of the Army Tactical Missile System. The success of the test provided the Army with a highly accurate, long range fire support asset.

Gulf War

The first combat use of the MLRS occurred in the Gulf War. The U.S. deployed over 230 MLRS during Operation Desert Storm, and the UK an additional 16.

In September 1990, the 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. Assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery, the unit played a critical role in the early defense of Saudi Arabia. As Desert Shield turned into Desert Storm, the Battalion was the first U.S. Field Artillery unit to fire into Iraq. Over the course of the war, the 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery provided timely and accurate rocket and missile fires for both U.S. corps in the theater, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 6th French Light Armored Division, the 1st Armored, 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized).

A Battery 92nd Field Artillery (MLRS) was deployed to the Gulf War in 1990 from Ft. Hood Texas. 3/27th FA (MLRS) out of Fort Bragg deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield in August 1990. A/ 21st Field Artillery (MLRS) – 1st Cavalry Division Artillery deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield in September 1990. In December 1990, A- 40th Field Artillery (MLRS) – 3rd Armored Division Artillery (Hanau), 1/27th FA (MLRS) part of the 41st Field Artillery Brigade (Babenhausen) and 4/27th FA (MLRS) (Wertheim) deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield from their bases in Germany and 1/ 158th Field Artillery from the Oklahoma Army National Guard deployed in January 1991.

MLRS launchers were deployed during Operation Desert Storm. Its first use was on 18 January 1991, when Battery A of the 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery fired eight ATACMS missiles at Iraqi SAM sites. In one engagement, three MLRS batteries fired 287 rockets at 24 separate targets in less than five minutes, an amount that would have taken a cannon battalion over an hour to fire. In early February 1991, 4-27 FA launched the biggest MLRS night fire mission in history, firing 312 rockets in a single mission. When ground operations began on 24 February 1991, 414 rockets were fired as the U.S. VII Corps advanced. Out of the 57,000 artillery rounds fired by the end of the war, 6,000 were MLRS rockets plus 32 ATACMS.

Middle East

The MLRS has since been used in numerous military engagements, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In March 2007, the British Ministry of Defence decided to send a troop of MLRS to support ongoing operations in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, using newly developed guided munitions.

In September 2005, the GMLRS was first used in Iraq, when two rockets were fired in Tal Afar

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