| Country: |
United States of America |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
3.98 m |
| Diameter: |
0.61 m |
| Launch Weight: |
1420 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 213 or 247 kg |
| Warhead: |
HE blast/fragmentation |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage solid |
| Range: |
270 km |
| Status: |
Operational |
| In Service: |
2000 |
Details
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is a series of short-range, road mobile, solid propellant ballistic missiles. The series was designed to take over the conventional role of the Lance missile, providing tactical support to ground troops. The missiles closely resemble the Lance and are deployed from modified Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launch vehicles. There were a total of five variants planned, the standard Block 1, the extended-range Block 1A, the anti-tank Block 2, a Block 1A unitary variant and a terminated nuclear version. The primary contractor was Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
The ATACMS Block 4A is a Quick Reaction Unitary (QRU) missile, an interim unitary warhead version of the ATACMS Block 1A missile, using either the 213 kg HE blast/fragmentation warhead from the AGM/RGM-84 Harpoon or the 247 kg HE blast penetration warhead from the SLAM-ER missile to replace the 300 submunitions of the Block 1A. It is now known as the Block 1A unitary missile. It is a highly effective tactical system designed to attack critical high-value targets and rear echelon forces such as airfields, Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) sites, artillery/missile forces, supply areas and command groups. The ATACMS Block 1A unitary has been designed to minimize collateral damage and to attack critical target points in all weather. Its range allows it to attack targets far behind enemy lines and rapid reloading allows for sustained firing. The small size of the missile and the mobility of launch vehicle system allow the missile to be positioned for maximum effectiveness.
The ATACMS Block 1A unitary is launched from a modified version of MLRS M270 AVMRL (Armored Vehicle Multiple Rocket Launcher), which exchanges two MRLS rockets for two ATACMS Block 4 missiles. The vehicle has a maximum road speed of 65 km/hr (40 mph), enabling it to keep up with armored units, and has a crew of three. A single ATACMS Block 4A can also be carried and fired by a US Army HIMARS XM142 wheeled light vehicle.
The ATACMS Block 1A unitary has a maximum range of 270 km (168 miles) and deploys a single 213 or 247 kg warhead. It uses an improved inertial guidance system combined with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system that provides it an unknown level of accuracy. Given the improved guidance and the short range of the system, the accuracy for the unitary warhead is likely 10-50 m CEP, and it can maneuver to dive vertically onto a target. The missile is 3.98 m long, 0.61 m wide and has a launch weight of 1,321 kg. It uses a single-stage solid propellant motor.
The ATACMS system ultimately derives from the 1978 ‘Assault Breaker’ technology demonstration program, which developed the concept of a ground launched guided missile equipped with guided submunitions. Formally begun as the Joint Tactical Missile System (JTACMS) in 1983, the program combined the Army’s Corps Support Weapon System and the Air Force Conventional Standoff Weapon programs. The testing phase for the ATACMS Block 1 was completed in December 1989 and the missile entered service in 1991 for use in the Persian Gulf War.
The ATACMS Block 1A started testing in 1995 and entered service in 1998. Production of the Block 1A was planned to continue until 2003 with a US Army total of 625, though several orders have been placed and completed following the program's original end date. Development started in 1999 on the ATACMS Block 1A unitary. Forty-three unitary warheads were ordered in 2000, which were delivered and tested the following year. A further 24 Block 1A unitary missiles were ordered in February 2002, and an additional 68 were ordered in February 2004. Some of the original Block 1 missiles were probably converted to the Block 1A unitary version, thus bringing total production to 280 missiles. A 2008 test showcased the Block 1A unitary missile's ability to make a vertical dive on a target.(1)
Footnotes
- Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 50, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2009), 199-203.
