What are the real capabilities of American MLRS and why are the rumors about their invulnerability false
The receipt by the armed formations of Ukraine of twelve American HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and the beginning of their use did not go unnoticed. Ukrainian propaganda has launched an active advertising campaign, promoting them as a new miracle weapon capable of turning the situation around at the front. What are the real strengths and weaknesses of this system, especially for Izvestia, military expert Dmitry Kornev understood.
Quick Strike
The M142 HIMARS is an American multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on a three—axle wheeled chassis. It was created as a more mobile and lightweight version of another American MLRS — M270 MLRS on a tracked chassis. Both are produced by Lockheed Martin. But if MLRS has been produced since the 80s, then the release of HIMARS started only in the late 90s.
It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the next multiple launch rocket system, it's just a more modern and futuristic Western Katyusha. But this is not quite true. MLRS was created as a component of reconnaissance and firing complexes, the concept of which was developed in the West in the 80s of the last century. Both MLRS and HIMARS, as its heir, take their toll not so much by the weight of a volley of several powerful missiles covering a large area, as by the speed of the strike and its high accuracy. To some extent, these systems can be considered high-precision weapons.
MLRS M142 HIMARS
Image Source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
A few words about the characteristics and capabilities of the Ukrainian "novelty". In terms of its ammunition, HIMARS is almost identical to MLRS — only its launcher carries one universal container with six missiles of several types, while its predecessor uses two such containers.
The main missile armament of the systems includes unguided M26 caliber 227 mm, which have a range of up to 45 km. More advanced guided M30 240 mm caliber can already hit targets at a range of up to 70-80 km. A universal container with six ammunition can be replaced with a container with the same dimensions, but with one MGM-140 ATACMS long-range guided missile. Depending on the type of warhead, it can be used for a range from 160 to 300 km.
One of the key advantages of both HIMARS and MLRS is that the replacement of a shot cassette with a loaded one is carried out by the launcher independently, without involving additional equipment and manual calculation work. Recharging HIMARS in the field takes literally five minutes. This is several times faster than any other common MLRS, but requires a large amount of ammunition, which Ukraine does not yet have.
Wheel maneuverability
Another feature of HIMARS is their high mobility. The installations can be transported by any transport aircraft capable of transporting an 11-ton truck — for example, the C-130 Hercules or the Soviet An-12 and IL-76. The chassis allows you to move on paved roads at speeds up to 85 km /h.
Conventional unguided missiles for HIMARS carry cluster warheads with fragmentation and cumulative fragmentation submunitions. They can effectively hit any weakly and medium-protected targets such as troop locations, military bases, fortified headquarters, warehouses.
Photo: Global Look Press/Capt. Ian Sandall
Image source: iz.ru
Guided missiles can be equipped with high-explosive warheads of increased power, which, taking into account the deviation from the target of only a few meters, are capable of destroying protected point targets such as fortified command posts, missile launchers, bunkers and concrete buildings. The control system of high—precision missiles is inertial with a combination with GPS navigation: during the flight there is a constant correction of the trajectory of the missile, which allows you to hit the target fairly accurately.
In terms of accuracy and power, modern Russian multiple launch rocket systems such as "Hurricane", "Tornado" and "Tornado-S" can compete with HIMARS light missiles, especially with the most advanced correctable missiles of recent generations. Their performance is comparable to guided ammunition for HIMARS. The long-range MGM—140 ATACMS should be considered somewhat apart - they are comparable only with the more advanced ballistic missiles 9M723 of the 9K720 Iskander-M missile system.
Thus, the American complex can, depending on the load, perform the role of several domestic complexes at once. So far, Ukraine has received only light guided missiles to it, but not ballistic ATACMS with a range of 300 km. Negotiations on them are still underway.
Complex work
How does the HIMARS-type missile systems work as part of a reconnaissance-firing or reconnaissance-strike complex? The essence of such tactics of using missile systems is that any participant in a combat operation with the appropriate authority can "order" a fire strike — it can be the commander of an advanced infantry squad, a specialized reconnaissance group, a reconnaissance aircraft or a headquarters according to reconnaissance drones.
HIMARS and MLRS are equipped with modern digital means of communication, which can receive all the information necessary for striking a target in a matter of seconds. Thus, a battery of missile systems maneuvering or hidden in the front line, or even a separate launcher, can receive data about the target and strike it within a minute.
In fact, MLRS was created at one time for the fastest possible defeat of newly discovered opponents — for conducting counter-battery warfare with Soviet artillery and MLRS. In the case of work on rear warehouses and troop positions in the frontline, the coordinates of the targets, of course, are determined in advance by intelligence: air, space, intelligence.
Photo: Global Look Press/Dinendra Haria
Image source: iz.ru
Without accurate intelligence information about the coordinates of the most important targets, the capabilities of guided missiles for HIMARS and MRLS are sharply reduced due to a rather modest warhead weighing several tens of kilograms. She can't compensate for the miss with the power. Independent intelligence capabilities of Ukraine to determine the coordinates of moving objects in real time are small.
Of course, HIMARS missiles are dangerous for modern complex air defense, but they are not some exotic type of targets. These ammunition are quite large — noticeably larger than the usual 122-mm Grads. Accordingly, they will be reliably detected by the radars of most modern anti-aircraft missile systems.
Buki, Tori, and, of course, more modern Pantsiri, and S-400 are capable of working on these missiles. The only question is that the defended object should be covered by such an "umbrella" of air defense.
Dmitry Kornev
