HIMARS in Ukraine's Armed Forces: what this high-precision weapon is capable of

Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have less than a dozen HIMARS in service. And even such a small number of these systems can seriously spoil the plans of the enemy. What kind of weapon is this and why it is so effective in the war with the Russian army - we tell in this material.

Tactical and technical characteristics of multiple rocket launchers M142 HIMARS

The M142 HIMARS system is a universal wheeled launcher that can use a range of missile weapons: M26 unguided rockets (range 32-45 km, six missiles in the launcher), guided rockets M30/31 (range more than 70 km, six missiles in  launcher) and ballistic missiles of the ATACMS series (range up to 300 km, one missile in the launcher). In addition, we should not forget about the PrSM missiles (range up to 500 km), which are also compatible with the HIMARS launcher.

Currently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine use 227 mm high-precision GMLRS M31 projectiles against the Russian invaders. This missile has a high-explosive warhead weighing 90 kg and three detonation options: contact, delayed and air. In the contact mode, the projectile explodes immediately when it hits the target, the delayed mode is effective against fortified objects, and the detonation of the projectile in the air is for destroying the enemy in open positions.

The M142 HIMARS launcher is based on the US Army FMTV wheeled chassis.  The car has a speed of 85 km/h and a range of 480 km.  The crew of the HIMARS air defense system consists of three people — an operator, a driver, as well as a calculation commander.

Multiple rocket launcher M142 HIMARS during the war in Ukraine

It became known that the Ukrainian military received the latest multiple rocket launchers on June 23 — on this day, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov officially announced the arrival of American HIMARS systems in Ukraine. And on June 25, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi published the first video of the use of these missile systems on the Russian occupying forces. 

In the first days, HIMARS worked at the facilities of the Russian army almost 24/7, later - mainly at night, so that it was as difficult as possible for the enemy to track the movement of these multiple rocket launchers. Despite the small number of M142 HIMARS systems in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (eight units as of today, four more are to be delivered by the end of July), in less than a month, the Ukrainian military destroyed more than 30 logistical military facilities of the Russian army due to this weapon.

The main targets for HIMARS were ammunition depots, bases of the occupiers, headquarters and control points of the Russian army.  Among the most effective strikes of this weapon, on the evening of July 11, the ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka and the Russian base in Melitopol were destroyed, where, according to preliminary data, more than 200 occupiers were eliminated and 300 were injured.

HIMARS systems have already destroyed a serious amount of enemy ammunition, so the occupiers begin to worry and think about moving important objects beyond the range of damage of American weapons. However, the tasks of HIMARS do not end only at the ammunition depots and the enemy headquarters - electronic warfare stations, air defense systems, communication points and other objects of the Russian army are waiting for them.

Why are M142 HIMARS so effective?

The American multiple rocket launcher system has a number of advantages that qualitatively distinguish it from among the weapons that both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian Army have in their assets.

Mobility

Firstly, it is its mobility. The wheel base allows the HIMARS MLRS to destroy targets in the enemy's rear, quickly moving virtually along the entire front line, and today a battery of these vehicles can destroy targets in the east, and tomorrow - in the south.  Which makes the "HIMARS effect" as unexpected as possible for the Russian occupiers.

Speed ​​of task performance

Secondly, it is the speed of execution of the combat task by these systems.  For example, the process of recharging HIMARS takes no more than 5 minutes and is carried out with the help of a built-in crane, rather than a separate transport-charging machine.  In general, with this multiple rocket launcher system, the military can fire all six rockets and leave the position before the enemy even realizes what is happening.

Precision

Thirdly, it is the high accuracy of this system, due to which several missiles can hit the target one after the other - the deviation of the missiles from the target is no more than three meters. In fact, the military of the Ukrainian Armed Forces say that the second missile can fly straight into the hole that the first missile punched.

The combination of these advantages makes the M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system at this stage of the war with the Russian Federation a universal solution for destroying targets behind enemy lines.