December 20, 2024: The United States continues to send weapons to Ukraine. They have already sent three million rounds of 155mm shells. Ukraine recently received more HIMARS GMLRS/guided multiple launch rocket system rockets with a range of 83 kilometers to 150 kilometers, ATACMS missiles with a range of 300 kilometers and PrSM/Precision Strike missiles with a range of 500 kilometers. All of these missiles can be carried and launched from a Himars vehicle. One ATACMS, two PrAM or six GLMRs can be carried.

The United States initially prohibited Ukraine from launching any of these missiles into Russia. That ban was recently lifted and now the Ukrainians are hitting targets deep inside Russia. Ukraine had already done that with locally made drones, which persuaded the Americans to lift their ban. Russia is now seeing a growing number of targets hit throughout their territory. This was embarrassing because some of those targets were near major cities like Moscow and St Petersburg. This alarmed Russian civilians, who were told that the Ukrainians were facing defeat. The opposite is true because the economic sanctions have throttled Russian missile production while personnel losses have been so massive that 12,000 North Korea troops were hired to replace the Russian soldiers that are dead, disabled or deserted.

HIMARS is a cheaper and lighter version of the original MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System). HIMARS is a truck mounted launcher, with each vehicle carrying one pod, instead of two in the earlier tracked MLRS. The 12 ton truck can fit into a C-130 transport, unlike the 22 ton tracked MLRS vehicle. Each pod carries six 208 kg GMLRS missiles, one 1.7 ton ATACMS or two 900 kg PrSM missiles.

HIMARS entered service in 2005 and was sent to Iraq in 2007, Afghanistan in 2010, Syria in 2017 and Ukraine in 2022. In Iraq U.S. Special Forces were one of the first to receive HIMARS in order to be able to strike Islamic terrorist targets quickly and accurately as soon as they were discovered.

By 2024 over 600 HIMARS were in service with the U.S. and six export customers. Nine other nations have ordered HIMARS but have not received any systems yet. Annual production of HIMARS is 60 vehicles.

Currently, the most active GLMRS user is Ukraine, which has at least 20 HIMARS vehicles and has fired over 12,000 GMLRS rockets so far. GMLRS, used in conjunction with reconnaissance UAVs like Predator, gives an army the ability to call in its own airstrikes day or night and in any weather.

In 2024 Ukraine began receiving the larger GPS guided ATACMS missiles. HIMARS vehicles can only carry one ATACMS. The Joint Strike Missile recently entered service has been used by the Ukrainians.

GMLRS is able to land within meters of its intended target. This is because its GPS, plus a less accurate backup inertial guidance system, has the ability to reliably hit its intended target absent jamming, and Russian jamming is becoming increasingly effective in Ukraine. The unjammed failure rate of GMLRS is less than one percent. Most users buy the rockets equipped with an 82 kg high explosive warhead. The U.S. Army has purchased over 200,000 GMLRS rockets, and this weapon has been used with great success in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The guided rocket is, obviously, much more effective than the older, unguided, version and has replaced it.

Only 3,700 of the larger and longer range ATACMS missiles were built by 1991 when production stopped. Over 600 have been fired in combat. ATACMS comes with two warhead options. One version of the warhead contains 950 anti-personnel bomblets, each the size of a baseball. With this warhead ATACMS has a range of 165 kilometers. A lighter warhead with only 300 bomblets has a range of 300 kilometers. GLMRS can use a warhead containing 404 of these bomblets. Most GLMRS are armed with the high explosive warhead.

ATACMS is being replaced by the 900 kg PrSM that is in between GMLRS and ATACMS in range and payload. HIMARS can carry two PrSMs. The U.S. wants to see how PrSM performs in combat.

The fighting in Ukraine has demonstrated that drones and DSAR/Direct Support Artillery Rockets are superior to conventional artillery, mainly 155mm howitzers. The drones and DSAR weapons used by both sides now account for most of the losses. Artillery is still used because guns and ammunition are still available. The gun barrels wear out after a certain number of shells are fired and when all the current artillery systems and munitions are gone, they will be replaced by drones and DSAR.