| Country: |
United States of America |
| Class: |
BSRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
3.94 m |
| Diameter: |
0.23 m |
| Launch Weight: |
296 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
HE submunitions, HE unitary |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage solid |
| Range: |
70 km |
| Status: |
Development |
| In Service: |
Exp. 2006 |
Details
The Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) is a battlefield short-range, road mobile, solid propellant artillery rocket. Originally an Extended-Range (ER)-MLRS, the addition of a guidance system results in what is essentially a ballistic missile. This system was developed jointly between the United States and a consortium of European states.
The GMLRS is a tactical asset designed for deployment on the battlefield. It is deployed from mobile launch vehicles while carrying multiple missiles. The system can engage moving ground targets with high explosive (HE) grenades designed for use against both personnel and vehicles, or support facilities with a single unitary warhead. The single warhead can be used to destroy important facilities such as surface-to-air missile sites, airfields or communication centers, though its payload is insufficient to do much damage to population centers or factories. The mobile launch system enables the GMLRS to keep pace with moving military formations and attack multiple targets from a single vehicle.
The GMLRS has a range of over 70 km (43 miles) and is deployed in launch batteries of six and twelve. It can be equipped with 404 dual-purpose grenade high HE submunitions or a 90 kg unitary HE warhead. It uses an inertial guidance system coupled with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. The accuracy of this system is unknown, but given the short-range and modern design of the system, it is likely in the range of 10-50 m. The missile has a length of 3.94 m, a body diameter of 0.227 m and a launch weight of 296 kg. The missile uses a single-stage solid propellant engine and is typically carried in sets of 6 or 12.
The ER-MLRS was the basis for the GMLRS design and entered production in 1996, with in-service deliveries starting in 1998. A smart submunition program was terminated in October 1999, while the development of the GMLRS was approved for a joint program involving France, Germany, Italy, UK and USA in 1998. The US Army started production in 2003 of approximately 80,000 GMLRS missiles to be made between 2002 and 2012, with an official in-service date of 2006. The European consortium is expected to build 40,000, with production starting in 2007. A Lockheed Martin proposal in 1999 was made for a Precision Over-the-Horizon Land Attack Rocket (POLAR) which would be a GMLRS with an increased range of 200 km (124 miles).
On June 30, 2004 there was a successful test of the GMLRS unitary warhead. 110 missiles were tested up to April 2005. The first flight test was carried out in July 2005. The missile was used by the US army in Iraq in June 2005.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 189-190.
Army Tests MLRS
September 5, 2004 :: Middle East Newsline :: News
The U.S. Army has again successfully tested the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (Guided MLRS), at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The test was said to be to improve accuracy. Versions of the system are said to have been sold to Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, Israel, and South Korea. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile details: Guided MLRS
Guided MLRS Rockets Successfully Tested
July 13, 2004 :: Lockheed Martin :: News
Lockheed Martin reports the second successful flight test of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., taking place on June 30.
The GMLRS rocket has a high explosive warhead of 180 pounds, and a range of about 70 kilometers. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - American
» Missile details: Guided MLRS
