A Big Thorn in Russia’s Side: US HIMARS Rocket Launchers

U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers fire salvoes during a military exercise in the Grier Labouihi region, in Morocco, on June 9, 2021. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

Commentary

“The M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS are the most dangerous and capable weapons available to the Ukrainian armed forces that can influence combat operations.” — Alexey Sakantsev, Russian military analyst.

Russia is seemingly winning the war, but that doesn’t mean that the M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) and its bigger brother, the tracked M270, aren’t a really big thorn in Russia’s side.

Indeed, the extraordinary range and accuracy of the guided rockets launched by the M142 and M270, in combination with the excellent real-time battlefield intelligence provided by the United States and other NATO countries, has undoubtedly made them one of the weapons Russia fears most. And if Ukraine is to be believed, as of Jan. 1, 2024, Ukraine has yet to lose a HIMARS or M270 to Russian attacks.

To date, Ukraine has received 39 M142 HIMARS, plus 23 M270 tracked multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers, and an undisclosed number of guided rockets and army tactical missile system (ATACMS) missiles.

The 18-ton M142, more often referred to in the media as HIMARS, carries a single pod containing six guided MLRS rockets, or two precision strike missiles, or one ATACMS. Alexey Sakantsev, a Russian military expert, notes that along with its excellent mobility, it’s also hard to detect, and notes that thanks to its six-by-six wheeled platform, it “can be disguised as a truck that will complicate its detection and destruction.”

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Its bigger, older brother, the 26-ton M270, is slower on the road, but its caterpillar treads give it better off-road mobility. It can fire the same mix of rockets and missiles, but carries two pods, enabling it to carry twice as many rockets and missiles as the smaller HIMARS.

While Russia has been successful in jamming and shooting down some of the missiles and rockets launched by these MLRS systems, it has almost certainly not been as successful as claimed. Consequently, Russian targets are being killed and destroyed on a regular basis by the HIMARS and M270.

High-value targets destroyed by the HIMARS reportedly include a brand-new $250 million counter-battery radar hours after it was deployed. Another successful use includes using four HIMARS rockets to destroy four multi-million-dollar Msta-S self-propelled howitzers. The HIMARS and the M270 have also been used to destroy ordnance depots and command posts. And HIMARS/M270s have been used to successfully target and kill Russian generals.

Reasons for the success and survivability of the U.S.-supplied MLRS include their range and mobility, but the most important factor in their success is that Ukraine has been able to rely on high-quality, real-time battlefield intelligence provided by the United States and other NATO countries.

While the M142 HIMARS is faster than the M270, both are great for firing at a target and then immediately moving away in order to avoid counter-battery fires. These “shoot and scoot” tactics, in combination with the ability to execute precision strikes on targets over 50 miles away (100 miles with more recently supplied ATACMS), allow them to hit targets 20 to 30 miles behind enemy lines while remaining safe deep in Ukrainian-held territory.

Even if Russian counter-battery forces are able to immediately pinpoint from where the M142 or M270 fired, chances are that they won’t have a weapon with the range to fire back that’s within range of the U.S.-supplied rocket launchers. And even if there’s a Russian weapon that can return fire almost immediately, by the time the rocket, missile, or artillery round reaches the spot from where the rockets or missiles were launched by the HIMARS/M270, they will have scooted.

However, it must be emphasized that without good battlefield intelligence, the HIMARS and the M270 would only be fractionally as successful and survivable. And that battlefield intelligence is largely being supplied by Ukraine’s Western allies.

As noted in a New York Times article, “Targeting assistance is part of a classified effort by the Biden administration to provide real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine.”

Not only does the real-time battlefield intelligence provide the HIMARS with targets, but it also warns the Ukrainians of threats to the U.S.-supplied MRLSs. It’s this battlefield intelligence that has enabled these weapons to be so successful.

Consequently, even if recent, currently unverified claims by Russia of having destroyed two HIMARS launchers turn out to be true, there’s zero doubt that U.S.-supplied real-time battlefield intelligence, in combination with U.S.-supplied weapons, is being used by Ukraine to kill a lot of Russians. And there’s zero doubt that the HIMARS and the M270 are a big thorn in Russia’s side.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.