Lockheed Martin Munitions Tested Using HIMARS Launcher

Lockheed Martin's Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary munitions have completed stockpile reliability tests.

All rockets were launched from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the company announced Wednesday.

The tests included eight GMLRS rockets that were conditioned at hot and ambient temperatures. The ATACMS Unitary missile, which is the current production configuration, was conditioned hot for the test. The HIMARS launcher can fire ATACMS and GMLRS munitions ranging between 15km and 300km.

The flight tests, which were part of the US Army's tactical munitions reliability program, were conducted using simulated targets. Soldiers were inside the HIMARS' Increased Crew Protection cab, where they initiated the launches.

"Lockheed Martin's HIMARS, ATACMS and GMLRS precision fire solutions provide critical, quick-strike capabilities to US and allied forces worldwide," said Ken Musculus, vice president of tactical missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

In service since 2005, HIMARS brings MLRS firepower to a wheeled chassis. It carries a single six-pack of rockets or one ATACMS missile, and can launch the entire MLRS family of munitions. It is C-130-transportable and can be deployed into areas previously inaccessible to heavier launchers.