HIMARS vs. MLRS: Which Rocket System Packs a Bigger Punch? – Part 2

“HIMARS” Leading Ukraine’s “Counterattack”

As the Russian army, which has taken over Luhansk in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, intensifies its offensive on the nearby Donetsk region, the news that the American-made “HIMARS” is leading Ukraine’s “counterattack” is being reported through foreign media. The HIMARS, supported by the United States, is reducing the combat capability of the Russian army by concentrating attacks on Russian rear supply lines and command posts.

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukrainian Defense Minister, said in a state-run TV interview that “HIMARS has destroyed about 50 Russian ammunition depots recently and destroyed dozens of Russian command posts and strategic targets,” and “HIMARS is doing a great job of accurately hitting places that the Russian army did not expect and taking away their ‘combat sustainability’.” Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, also stated that “Ukraine is using HIMARS effectively and has made a big difference on the battlefield.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that “the number of deaths, which used to be 100 to 200 a day, has recently decreased to about 30, as we are not being pushed back in the firepower battle with Russia.” Bohdan Dmytruk, the commander of the Ukrainian mechanized brigade, also said that “enemy shelling in the Kharkiv region has decreased to one-tenth.”

The HIMARS is a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) that mounts a launcher capable of firing six rockets at once on a six-wheeled drive armored truck that can reach a top speed of 85 km/h. It is a weapon system based on the MLRS. Using the latest digital equipment, it can strike enemy targets within minutes and quickly move to other areas, which is its strength. Its main weapon is a guided rocket with a maximum range of 84 km.

Moreover, it is lighter and faster than the MLRS. All types of ammunition operated by the M270 MLRS can also be used compatibly by HIMARS, thus enhancing its versatility. It is highly regarded for its suitability for long-range precision strikes and “hit-and-run” tactics, which greatly help artillery power. Thanks to this, it boasts firepower that can devastate an area equivalent to six soccer fields from over 40 km (approx. 25 miles) away with destructive explosion power reminiscent of the “Steel Rain”.

The Ukrainian army is currently operating 12 HIMARS received from the U.S. military in the eastern Donbass, southern Kherson, and northeastern Kharkiv fronts. The U.S. plans to send four more HIMARS. The U.S. Army has rated the M142 HIMARS as a “battle-proven all-weather weapon and a lethal and responsive wheeled precision strike system.”

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