High Mobility Artillery Rocket System

M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
HIMARS at the White Sands Missile Range in January 2005.
Type	Rocket artillery, Tactical ballistic
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control BAE Systems (Chassis)
Unit cost	$5.1 million (2014)
Specifications
Weight	24,000 lb (10,900 kg)
Length	7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Width	2.4 m (7 ft 10.5 in)
Height	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Crew	3
Traverse	360
Rate of fire	1, 2, 4, All 6
Maximum firing range	2–300 kilometres (1.2–186.4 mi)
Armor	light
Operational range	480 km (298 mi)
Speed	85 km/h (52.8 mph)
Accuracy	Guided

The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a standard Army Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) truck frame.

The HIMARS carries six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile on the U.S. Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS is interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1, carrying half the rocket load.

The launcher is C-130 transportable. The chassis is produced by BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division), the OEM of the FMTV. The rocket launching system is produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control.

The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is the light, wheeled version of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The HIMARS utilizes the same pod as the M270 MLRS uses. A pod can hold six rockets or a single missile. The windows are made of glass and layers of sapphire.

18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina was the initial army test bed unit for the M142 HIMARS. C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment began field testing 3 HIMARS prototypes in all types of training events and environments in 1998 as a residual of the Rapid Force Projection Initiative (RFPI) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). In 2002, the United States Marine Corps arranged with the United States Army to acquire 40 of the systems. Fielding began in 2005. In July 2007, Marines from Fox Battery 2nd Battalion 14 Marine Regiment from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma were deployed to the Al Anbar province of Iraq. This is the first Marine unit to use the HIMARS in combat.