| The HIMARS [Lit; High Mobility Artillery Rocket System] is a highly-mobile artillery rocket system offering the firepower of MLRS on a wheeled chassis.
It was developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control under an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) programme, placed in
1996. In January 2000, Lockheed Martin was awarded an engineering and manufacturing development contract to provide six HIMARS launchers. In
January 2002 12 MLRS M28 practice rockets were successfully fired from HIMARS to a range of 34km. Low-rate initial production is to begin in 2003,
with service entry planned for 2005.
In addition to the standard MLRS round, HIMARS is capable of launching the entire MLRS family of munitions, including the Extended-Range Rocket, the
Reduced Range Practice Rocket and all future variants. HIMARS will carry a single six-pack of MLRS rockets, or one Army Tactical Missile System
missile.
HIMARS will carry a single six-pack of rockets on the Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) 6x6 all-wheel drive 5-ton truck supplied by
Stewart and Stevenson, Texas. The HIMARS vehicle weighs approximately 24,000 pounds compared to more than 44,000 pounds for the MLRS M270
Launcher. The launcher is transportable on the C-130 aircraft, allowing the system to be moved into areas previously inaccessible to the larger C-141
and C-5 aircraft required for the M270 launch vehicle.
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