This will be the first time for a missile launcher to be deployed during a Balikatan Exercise. It will show its firepower capability in a live-fire drill that will be held at Crow Valley in Tarlac. The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a standard Army Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) truck frame.
The HIMARS carries six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile on the U.S. Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS is interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1, carrying half the rocket load. HIMARS has a maximum range of 300 kilometers. The platform was tested back in 1998 by the US before it was deployed in 2005. HIMARS can fire six rockets it can also be loaded on a C-130 Aircraft for deployment. The arrival of the HIMARS are expect by the end of this month in Subic Bay.
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