One of the most dangerous weapons on the Modern Battlefield is rocket artillery. Rocket artillery weapons are deadly because they can destroy A location before units can find cover. They are designed to pump out a large fire volume in a short time.
Here are what could be considered the most effective NATO rocket artillery systems. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control created HIMARS in 1996 as part of an advanced concept technology demonstration initiative.
HIMARS is a crucial enabling technology for the future battlefield. In some aspects, the HIMARS can be viewed as the MLRS M270’s smaller relative, as it features more current Fire Control that is being retrofitted to the M270a1 model. The HiMARS can attach only one six-rocket pod to the MLRS2 launcher.
M270 MLRS shoots 227 millimeters of Rockets, 12 of which are held in two six rocket pods. The M26 cluster rocket, which could carry 644 dual-purpose submunitions, was the go-to rocket for the duration of the Cold War.
As a result of treaties prohibiting cluster munitions, a new rocket with a singular high explosive warhead is being fielded. The system is intended to be rapidly reloaded by exchanging pods.
In place of one rocket pod, the MLRS can also fire Adam’s tactical guided missile. The C-130 transportable system is substantially more strategically movable than the M270.
Since it is placed on a truck chassis, it is also less expensive to maintain than the M270; nevertheless, this reduces its tactical mobility.
The M142 HIMARS is the light multiple rocket launcher platform developed for the United States Army in the late 1990s. Mounted on a standard M1140 truck frame, Himars carries six Rockets or one MGM-140 atom missile.
It can fire-guided multiple launch rocket system Rockets Army tactical missile system missiles, the Next Generation Precision strike missile, and extended range GMLRs Rockets.
HIMARS fires the same ammunition as MLRS launchers but has a wheeled chassis. Soldiers, Marines, and allies can position, engage, and quickly redeploy after firing with the shoot and Scoot concept.
The Army and the United States Marines Corps operate the M142 HIMARS. A HIMARS was deployed at the Navy’s biannual Pacific Rim Naval exercise last year under the leadership of a naval commander.
During this, six 227-millimeter GPS-guided Rockets were launched at the retired Navy Landing ship tank LST USS Racine from 60 miles away using targeting data transmitted via link 16 datalink and an army MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone.
It’s safe to say that HIMARS deserves the praise it’s received for its remarkable combat reliability, having racked up more than 1.9 million operating hours so far.
