The HIMARS are on track to be fielded to the first unit, the 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., in March 2005, said Lt. Col. Darryl Colvin, product manager for Field Artillery Launchers, including HIMARS, M-270 and M-270A1. The system is now in the last series of ground and flight tests preparing for operational tests in September through December 2004. Testing will be at Fort Sill and at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Fort Sill's 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, is scheduled to receive the post's first installment of HIMARS in late 2006.
The Army will purchase 888 launchers, enough for 45 field artillery battalions. The United States Marine Corps is buying 40 launchers, enough to fill two battalions. The Marine's version of the launcher will be identical to the Army's version, which makes the project easier to gain approval and funding, said Heverin.
The Army will initially field the Block I version of HIMARS, said Heverin. The next variant will have "spiraled-in" technologies as they mature, including an improved, more survivable cab, and an improved command and control capability, enabling the launcher to understand targeting messages from different sensors on the battlefield. First the focus will be for the HIMARS to be able to understand messages from all Army sensors, and then the development will move to receiving messages from all Joint Variable Message Format sensors.
Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control developed the HIMARS and built the eight "maturation launchers" that are now being tested. The HIMARS is built at their Camden, Ark., plant, which is the same facility that builds the M-270 MLRS.
The maturation launchers were built under a $65 million engineering and manufacturing development contract with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, which was awarded in 2000, according to a Lockheed Martin release.
Two of the launchers were sent to the Marine Corps and six to the Army for testing. These follow the development of four prototypes in the early 1990s. Three are used at Fort Bragg, N.C., and one was sent to Lockheed Martin, Dallas, for troubleshooting.
The Army mounted the HIMARS and its re-supply vehicles onto its new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.
The FMTV is a 6x6 all-wheel drive, five-ton truck and has about 14 variations within the Army's system. Using the existing platform lessened the requirement for additional training for soldiers and mechanics.
The Army uses the FMTVs as wreckers, cargo vehicles, and command-and-control vehicles. The suspension was beefed-up with "fish plates" to stabilize the vehicle when firing. The HIMARS can fire from the side of the vehicle, although, it must wait a small amount of time between rounds to return to its aiming point.
For training purposes, the HIMARS offers greater ease and less expense in transporting. Because it is wheeled, it meets all of the requirements of the Department of Transportation and can travel on traditional roadways, without having to be loaded onto trucks or trains.
