Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal have asked Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control for full-rate production of the GMLRS missile launcher, which reportedly fires guided and unguided projectiles at targets as far as 26 miles away.
According to Lockheed Martin, the system also can fire the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at targets as far away as 190 miles, as well as the future Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which can attack land and sea targets from as far as 300 miles away.
The rocket-based artillery system can fire its munitions quickly and then move away to avoid counter-battery fire. The GMLRS carries its guided munitions in pods that feature six rockets. Each system carries two pods that must be hand- loaded. Further, GMLRS can fire all of its 12 munitions in under a minute.
Additionally, the system's alternative-warhead rocket is an airburst fragmentation warhead that explodes about 30 ft above a target area to disperse solid-metal penetrating projectiles to destroy enemy soldiers, armored vehicles, command posts and other battlefield targets.
The long-range GMLRS unitary-warhead rocket is a GPS-guided munition with a 200 lb high-explosive warhead that can be used on open battlefields and in urban areas. Meanwhile, the guidance system enables the rocket to avoid causing collateral damage, and enables GMLRS crews to fire fewer rockets.
The unitary-warhead GMLRS rocket has a multi-mode fuse for point detonation, delay detonation and proximity detonation to attacking soft targets, lightly fortified bunkers, and enemy personnel in the open.
For more information, visit the Lockheed Martin website.
