Ukraine seeks HIMARS upgrade to break Russian defenses

Newsweek writes about it. 

Dan Rice, a former US Army officer and influential advisor to Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, played a pivotal role in securing US support for sending 155mm rockets to Ukraine. Now, Rice advocates for expanding Ukraine's arsenal with M26 DCIPM rockets for their High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). This upgrade would enable Ukrainian forces to neutralize Russian artillery, the main threat to their advances.

"If you get 2,000 cluster rockets, I think the war will be over," Rice told Newsweek. "It's that simple."

Rice proposes outfitting HIMARS with M26 DCIPM rockets to counter Russian artillery, which hampers Ukrainian offensives. These rockets have a range of 45 km, surpassing the 25 km of the current 155mm DCPIM rounds. This tactical shift could level the playing field against Russia's formidable artillery.

Photo: Getty Images

"Frontline battalions of the Russians are going to be wiped out, and the rear echelon is going to be wiped out," Rice said. "We have tens of thousands of these cluster rockets in Germany sitting around, waiting to be destroyed. Instead of destroying them, just give them to the Ukrainians. And they'll win the war."

Rice highlights the success of the 155mm DCIPM shells already in use, emphasizing their ability to target and eliminate Russian artillery. These shells disperse 88 smaller submunitions over a wider area, compared to traditional explosive charges. Rice argues that deploying DCIPM rockets would be even more effective, releasing 512 or 644 submunitions.

"I feel for these Ukrainian soldiers that aren't being given the right ammunition," Rice said. "As an American Army officer, I would never be in combat without DPICM. Never. I'd be calling that in first thing. And if a commander was ordered to fight without it, they would call it an illegal order and they would have to resign, because you're not giving the American soldiers the stuff they need.”

While the US approved cluster munitions for artillery shells, Rice criticizes the reluctance to provide the same munitions for rockets.

"The rockets have the same exact submunition but we're not going to approve the rockets. That's just hypocrisy," he said. 
He attributes this delay to political hesitations and concerns about escalation. Rice emphasizes the urgency of this decision to prevent a prolonged frozen conflict.

"The U.S. is withholding weapons because we think we're protecting future generations of Ukrainians," Rice said. "Meanwhile, we're sacrificing the current generation because we're not giving them the right ammo."

"I'm sensing a growing resentment against the West within Ukraine, and I've been there since the beginning," Rice noted.

Rice asserts that providing the right weapons to Ukraine could save lives and lead to victory. 

"The fate of a nation boils down to a few weapons systems, and a keystroke in Washington can save tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives and free millions of oppressed people. All it takes is a political decision...All you need at this point, in my opinion, are ATACMS and—most importantly—the DPICM HIMARS rockets."