He United States Army and Lockheed Martin They have managed to redirect a rocket for the first time GMLRS in mid-flight and destroy a moving target during a test in White Sands, New Mexico, the defense company announced this Wednesday.
The GMLRS are a family of guided artillery rocketspowered by a solid fuel engine and designed to attack ground targets. Its standard reach versions measure 3.96 meters in length, they have 227 millimeters in diameter and a warhead of about 90 kilogramswith a rank greater than 70 kilometersaccording to the manufacturer.
The launcher used was a M142 HIMARSa highly mobile artillery system mounted on a six-wheel drive truck and operated by three soldiers. It weighs about 16.2 tons loaded, it has a road autonomy close to 480 kilometers and carries an interchangeable module with six GMLRS rocketsin addition to being able to move within a C-130 plane.
To orient yourself, the GMLRS combine GPS signals with an inertial system which calculates its position from the movement of the projectile. Your control system moves small fins on the nose to adjust trajectory and reach the coordinates programmed before firing.
During the test, the team transmitted target information to the already launched rocket via a data link Strigo and the communications system RIG-360. The latter, initially developed for anti-aircraft missiles, allows maintaining radio communications with projectiles in flight with 360-degree coverage and providing updates for their guidance.
The advance consists of being able to modify the target information when the attack is already underway, something that allows you to react if it changes position. The military importance lies in expanding the possibilities of the GMLRS against moving targets by connecting existing sensors, launchers and designation systems, without the need to completely redesign the ammunitionaccording to the company.
In 2023, Lockheed Martin tested sending updated target data to a receiver installed on an airplane. That test verified the communications necessary to redirect a GMLRS, although without yet launching a rocket.
Lockheed Martin has not disclosed the shot distance, target type, or a timeline for adding the upgrade to the units. He does maintain that the communications package could also apply to ER GMLRSthe extended range variant, and the missile PrSM.