What Exactly Is A HIMARS Rocket System?

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a 5-ton truck from the family of medium tactical vehicles (FMTV). Lockheed Martin concentrated on making the platform as mobile and as fast as possible, maximizing its capabilities in the heat of battle. It carries six missiles of all types that can strike targets on land, in the air, or out at sea up to 310 miles away, depending on the munition. While HIMARS can be used against infantry and other targets on the move, it's more accurate against stationary targets like a base.

The system is operated by a crew of three, consisting of the driver, gunner, and commander, who can launch every armed rocket in a matter of 45 seconds. Reloading the firing tubes requires a small integrated crane and an MTVR MK37 resupply truck to be nearby, which seems complicated, but it can be accomplished by as few as one person as well. Since HIMARS is a mobile launch pad, it can move locations to get within range of some targets that might sit outside and improve its accuracy. The HIMARS is just one of the ways technology is transforming the military.

Lockheed Martin developed the HIMARS in 1996 and conducted tests at the White Sands testing facility in New Mexico. Before it could be distributed to the U.S. Army and Marines, it had to be transportable on the C-130 Hercules cargo plane, one of the oldest aircraft still in service today. Unlike the M270 MLRS, which the HIMARS was based on, that has two containers with six launchers each, the M142 HIMARS only has a single container. It finally found its home with the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery in 2005. Since then, it has been used by the U.S. Marines, NATO Forces, and Ukraine.

NATO used the HIMARS during operations in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq in 2011 and 2014. More recently, Ukraine gained access to its own HIMARS units and used them against Russia in 2023. Ukraine has mostly used the HIMARS against Russian supply depots near the frontlines but shifted gears to gain territory. Ukrainian forces used the rocket system to push Russian troops out of the Ukrainian city of Kherson. George Barros, an analyst, told TIME, "Without the HIMARS, I don't think the Ukrainians would have liberated Kherson," proving the system's effectiveness in combat and superiority to Ukraine's own self-propelled howitzer.