"Missile surprise" for Russia: the US has worked out the" shelling " of Crimea

Forbes: the US has worked out firing tasks on the Black sea from Romania

The US ground forces, with the help of military transport aircraft, transferred multiple launch rocket systems to Romania, where they worked out several firing tasks at one of the ranges. According to American journalists, such actions pose a serious and unpredictable threat to Russian troops in Crimea. The actions of the us military were analyzed by the observer of the newspaper.Ru " Mikhail Khodarenok.

Last week, the US Army moved two combat vehicles (BM) of the HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System) long-range multiple launch rocket system to Romania, which were deployed in the immediate vicinity of the Crimean Peninsula, Forbes writes.

The one-day training of an artillery brigade recently deployed to Europe was a preparation for high-tech warfare. According to the author of the material Forbes, this is clearly a message for Moscow: the us army In Europe has restored its long-range firepower, and they want the Russians to know about it.

The event itself started on November 19 at Ramstein air base in Germany. Soldiers of the 1st battalion of the 77th field artillery regiment of the 41st field artillery brigade loaded two wheeled high-mobility BM MLRS HIMARS (each with a calculation of three fighters-the operator, driver, and commander of the calculation) on us air force MC-130J military transport aircraft, which delivered the cargo to Romania. There, personnel and materiel were unloaded, marched and deployed to the Romanian training ground, fired missiles at the Black sea, then returned to the airfield, loaded back and flew back to Germany.

The US army and marine Corps, which have similar capabilities, call these missions "Rapid penetration HIMARS" or HIRAIN (HIMARS Rapid Infiltrations). This is the cornerstone of the ground combat unit's new approach to heavy firepower. Instead of being slowly relocated by road or rail, MLRS combat vehicles can now be easily airlifted. This means that HIMARS installations can appear almost anywhere where there is a nearby airfield.

The high speed of these transfers and deployments with the help of military transport aircraft can significantly complicate the detection of BM MLRS and subsequent counter-battery fire of the enemy, experts believe, since it is quite difficult to detect a rocket launcher that spends only a few hours on the ground next to the troops.

This Thursday's exercise represents a major turnaround for the combat and operational training of us Army units and formations in Europe - they kept rocket launchers in Europe for decades until the last MLRS was withdrawn from Europe in 2006, when the Pentagon focused its resources on fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The black sea was rapidly turning into a Russian lake. In an effort to deter further aggression from Moscow, at the end of 2018, the Ground forces of the US armed forces sent the 41st field artillery brigade back to Germany," the author of the article describes the logic of the American military leadership.

Today, the brigade has four batteries, each with about nine combat vehicles. At least one of the batteries has a himars wheeled BM instead of a heavy tracked MLRS.

The 12-ton HIMARS carries six 270-mm missiles capable of traveling up to 40 miles, or one army tactical missile system with a range of 100 miles. The 26-ton tracked MLRS has twice the payload capacity. According to the publication, HIMARS may have less firepower than the MLRS, but it has the advantage that it is light enough to be transferred using a C-130 military transport aircraft.

The 41st field artillery brigade trained in Germany for a year before being sent to Estonia for its first major live-fire exercise. Russia has shown great dissatisfaction with this issue. "A rhetorical question - how will the Americans react in the event of such live firing by our military in the immediate vicinity of the US state border?" the Russian foreign Ministry asked during the shooting.

"Russia's criticism of the exercises shows that our Eastern neighbor is following them very closely," Estonian defense Minister Juri Luik said at the time.

Especially considering the new ammunition that the US Army is developing for HIMARS and MLRS. These include an anti-ship missile and replacing the ATACMS missile with a promising product with a range of up to 310 miles.

The black sea is only 250 miles from the Romanian coast to the Crimea. BM MLRS HIMARS, urgently transferred to Romania, and just as quickly relocated back, pose a serious and unpredictable threat to Russian troops in the region. Forbes believes that the himars shooting in Romania will be a small "missile surprise" for the US Ground forces for the Russian army group in Crimea.

At the same time, when analyzing the data presented in Forbes, Russian observers have the impression that American observers are confusing two American multiple launch rocket systems of the US Ground forces. If we are talking about the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), this system was originally developed on a wheeled chassis. The five - ton fmtv wheeled chassis of the US Army (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles-family of medium tactical vehicles) was used as a base for mounting weapons. Again, the M142 HIMARS was originally designed to be carried on the C-130 military transport aircraft.

As for tracked MLRS combat vehicles, in this case we are talking about the M270 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) - an American universal combat vehicle used as an MLRS and a tactical missile launcher. Adopted by the US army back in 1983. The launcher is mounted on the tracked base of the American Bradley platform. The cockpit accommodates a combat crew of three people: the installation commander, the gunner and the driver.

As for the international military exercises Saber Strike-2016 with the participation of BM M142 HIMARS in Estonia, it should be recalled that they were held back in 2016 (Forbes for some reason does not mention this).

Now about the main thing. The Forbes material, in General, is written according to the patterns and standards that have long been established in the West - a single sample of weapons and military equipment is taken, and then completely detached from the General geopolitical and geostrategic situation in the world, its possible combat use against the Russian Federation is described.

There are quite a few examples of such publications recently. For example, the air defense breakthrough of the Kaliningrad region. Such plans were announced by the commander of the US air force in Europe, Jeffrey Harrigan.

Or training of the US air force in launching air-launched cruise missiles in The black sea for the subsequent destruction of objects on the territory of the Russian Federation (in particular, in Sochi and government facilities).

And in this case-MLRS HIMARS against the Crimea. However, the author of the publication leaves out the consequences of this development of events, which are reduced to the beginning of hostilities between Moscow and Washington.

As previously written "Newspaper.EN " the hypothetical conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation is unlikely to be limited to a small skirmish. Such a confrontation will inevitably take on the character of a world war and will be protracted.

The author's opinion may not coincide with the editorial Board's position.

Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-industrial courier newspaper (2010-2015).

Mikhail Khodarenok