A new palletized ground-based launcher concept that can be loaded with up to two dozen 227mm guided artillery rockets at a time – four times what an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) can pack at once – recently broke cover. The launch system is designed to be carried on a 10-wheeled cargo truck and can also fire other weapons, including short-range ballistic missiles and surface-to-air interceptors.
Lockheed Martin displayed the launcher on a U.S. Marine Corps 10×10 MKR18 Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) truck at the Human-Machine Integration Summit IV last week. U.S. Army’s Futures Command hosted the event at Texas A&M University’s George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC).
The LVSR is very similar, but not identical to the Army’s 10×10 M1075 Palletized Load System (PLS) truck. Oshkosh Defense manufactures both vehicles.
A Marine MKR18 LVSR truck with a more typical payload (a shipping container). USMC
“This Lockheed Martin proof-of-concept configuration demonstrates how a logistics vehicle in the field can rapidly transition to a launcher delivering a deep magazine of GMLRS, ATACMS or PrSM,” a company spokesperson told The War Zone.
The 227mm Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) family of 227mm precision-guided artillery rockets, along with the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles, are all Lockheed Martin products. The company collectively refers to them as the MLRS Family of Munitions (MFOM).
Members of the MFOM all come in standardized ammunition ‘pods,’ which can hold six GMLRS rockets, two PrSMs, or a single ATACMS. The wheeled M142 HIMARS can be loaded with one of these pods at a time, while tracked M270 MLRS launch vehicles can carry two at once.
A mock-up of an ATACMS missile next to one of a standardized ammunition ‘pod.’ US Army
An M270 MLRS launcher fires a 227mm rocket. Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin
A HIMARS launcher fires an ATACMS missile. US Army A US Army HIMARS launcher fires an ATACMS missile. US Army
Whether any other munitions might already be compatible with the new launcher concept is unclear. Follow-on variants and derivates of the PrSM are already in active development for the Army. This includes a version with an additional seeker system that has a demonstrated capability to engage moving ships. There are also plans for a type with a maximum range of at least 1,000 kilometers (approximately 621 miles), which could incorporate an air-breathing propulsion system. The baseline PrSM has a range of at least 310 miles (500 kilometers), which could grow to 400 miles (650 kilometers) in the future.
A PrSM is fired during a test. Lockheed Martin
The new launcher concept “may also be applied to Integrated Air Missile Defense interceptors,” the Lockheed Martin spokesperson did tell The War Zone, but provided no specific examples.
Lockheed Martin is the manufacturer of the combat-proven PAC-3 series. The PAC-3 family is currently used in the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, but is also now being developed in a configuration compatible with Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS). Variants and derivatives of the Mk 41, yet another part of Lockheed Martin’s portfolio, are found on various U.S. and foreign warships, as well as in static and mobile ground-based configurations.
A PAC-3 MSE interceptor seen being fired from a standard launcher used with the Patriot surface-to-air missile system. DOD A Patriot launcher fires a newer PAC-3-series missile during a test. DoD
The latest PAC-3 MSE variant is said to be just over 17 feet long (5.3 meters) in length, which is notably longer than the MFOM pod form factor. The launch system shown at the recent Human-Machine Integration Summit does appear to have enough space to load longer weapons.
PAC-3-series interceptors already offer greater magazine depth for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system using existing trailer-based launchers, as shown in this graphic. Lockheed Martin A graphic showing various Patriot launcher types and possible load configurations. Lockheed Martin
There are surface-to-air interceptors from other companies that might also be options for use with this new launcher concept. For instance, the Army is in the process of acquiring the Enduring Shield system, which currently uses the AIM-9X Sidewinder as its primary interceptor. The service already wants to acquire another missile offering capability akin to the AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) for that system. The Marine Corps is also separately working to field a service-specific version of Israel’s Iron Dome system and the Tamir interceptor that goes with it.
It is also worth noting here that an LVSR-based launcher has been used in previous testing of the Operational Fires (OpFires) hypersonic missile, which is substantially larger than an MFOM pod. OpFires is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program. Lockheed Martin has been developing the missile, which is tipped with an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, in cooperation with Northrop Grumman and Dynetics (a subsidiary of Leidos).
A rendering of the LVSR-based OpFires launcher loaded with three of those hypersonic missiles. Lockheed Martin
Altogether, Lockheed Martin says its new ground-based launcher concept offers a way “to deploy offensive and defensive fires from the same platform and logistics footprint.”
The palletized launcher does certainly offer more onboard magazine depth than HIMARS or MLRS on a mobile platform. It’s unclear whether the launch system can be unloaded and employed from a static position on land or the deck of a ship, but this seems very plausible and could expand its overall flexibility. In an air and missile defense configuration, the launch system could also leverage emerging networking capabilities like the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) to tie in with existing and future radars and other sensors.
At the same time, a system that requires an LVSR-sized truck to move it around is by definition relatively large. HIMARS was notably developed specifically to provide MLRS-like capability, but in a package that was more readily deployable, especially by air via a C-130-sized aircraft. The value of the HIMARS’ ability to conduct shoot-and-scoot operations and its general mobility have been on full display in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
HIMARS softening up Russian lines. Also, nice shoot and scoot.
Source: https://t.co/gwgedgdX5q#Ukraine #HIMARS pic.twitter.com/ByFIEExDor
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) May 8, 2023
In a similar vein, Army officials have publicly disclosed an interest in finding ways, if possible, to shrink down the size of its Typhon ground-based missile system to make it easier to deploy and operate. The Typhon system, also known as the Mid-Range Capability (MRC), includes trailer-based Mk 41 VLS-derived launchers capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as multi-purpose SM-6 missiles. A single Typhon launcher can be loaded with just four missiles at once.
A group of four launchers, as well as a trailer-based command post, which form the core of a single Typhon system battery. US Army A full battery set of four Typhon launchers, as well as the trailer-based command post. US Army
“So, the Mid-Range Capability, we fielded it, we have put it into the theater, but we’re learning lessons on how we can improve the next evolutions of that,” Army Col. Michael Rose, commander of the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) headquartered at Fort Shafter in Hawaii, said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual convention in October. “How do we make it more mobile? How do we make it smaller? How do we make it more agile? How do we employ it most effectively and how do we sustain it? A lot of those lessons are feeding back into our RDT&E [research, development, test, and evaluations] and acquisitions professionals to improve and enhance that new operational capability.”
The Army has also been experimenting with an uncrewed HIMARS derivative called the Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML) with a particular focus on expanding ground-based stand-off strike capacity without significant additional manpower requirements.
An uncrewed Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML) fires a rocket during a test. US Army
For its part, the Marine Corps is currently pushing ahead with fielding much smaller, remotely operated ground-based missile launchers derived from the 4×4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) rather than systems based on larger platforms like the LVSR. This is part of an ongoing reorientation of the service’s entire force structure around concepts of operations that focus heavily on the ability to relatively rapidly redeploy and redeploy forces from one forward location to another.
Observations from the conflict in Ukraine have prompted significant new interest in the MFOM, especially in Europe, though still primarily paired with the lighter-weight HIMARS launcher. Lockheed Martin is also working with Germany’s Rheinmetall on a new wheeled launcher, the Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System (GMARS), which can be loaded with two MFOM pods at a time.
Lockheed Martin’s new palletized launcher concept could still be attractive to the U.S. military for certain purposes, especially given its flexibility to be used for surface-to-surface strikes and air and missile defense, as well as allies and partners with different mobility and deployability requirements.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
