According to information published on the website of "Star and Stripes", on June 1, 2022, the President of the United States Joe Biden announced a new aid of $700 million packages of military equipment to Ukraine including the delivery of HIMARS weapon system able to launch guided rockets and long-range tactical missile. The aim of this new aid is to increase the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army against the Russian armed forces' invasion of the country.
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The HIMARS is able to launch a long-range tactical missile at a range of up to 300 km and guided rockets that can reach a target at a maximum firing range of 70 km. (Picture source U.S. DoD)
Citing information from "Star & Stripes", the new military aid from the United States for Ukraine will include the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) able to launch guided rockets and tactical missiles. On May 31, 2022, President Joe Biden said that the United States would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could hit targets well inside Russian territory.
The new U.S. military aid will also include helicopters, tactical vehicles, artillery rounds, counter-fire radars, air-surveillance radars, and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
In recent days Ukraine had asked the United States to deliver weapon systems able to launch long-range missiles, but at first, the US had refused this request in order not to provoke Russia by sending weapons that could reach the Russian territory. The Ukrainians have already indicated that they will not use these weapons to hit targets on Russian territory.
Regarding the situation on the ground, Russian forces took parts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, as Moscow continued its push in the Donbas area.
With the HIMARS, the Ukrainian armed forces will be able to fire guided rockets at a maximum firing range of 70 km as well as a tactical missile that can hit a target up to a maximum range of 300 km. This type of weapons delivery to Ukraine could offer a real advantage compared to Soviet-made MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) such as the BM-21, BM-27, and BM-30.
The M142 HIMARS is a mobile rocket and missile launcher system based on M1140 FMTV 6x6 light military truck chassis. The rear of the truck can be fitted with six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS surface-to-surface long-range tactical missile.
The M142 HIMARS is able to fire different types of rockets at a range of up to 70 km, including the M26 / M26A2Er Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM), M30 GMLRS DPICM, M31 / M31A1 / m31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U), M30A1 / M30A2 GMLRS Alternative Warhead (GMLRS AW), XM404 /XM403 ER GMLRS RS Unitary and the M28A1 / M28A2 Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket (LCRRPR).
The M142 HIMARS can also fire the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), a family of surface-to-surface missiles including the MGM-140B previously named M39A1 which is a guided missile carrying 275 M74 sub-munitions and has a range of 165 km. The M48 Quick Reaction Unitary is a guided missile carrying a 225 kg explosive warhead used to engage a single target with minimal collateral damage with a range from 70 to 300 km. The M57 ATACMS 2000 Unitary (T2K) is fitted with a single warhead and a range from 70 to 300 km. The missile has an improved Navigation and Guidance capability, an all-in-view GPS receiver, an improved Control Actuator System (CAS) and Electronic Control Unit (EUC), and a more reliable, repeatable fuse.
