Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS)

Abstract

Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets are surface-to-surface artillery rockets fired from the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. GMLRS rockets provide 24/7, all-weather precision fires to engage both area and point targets at short, medium, and long ranges. The GMLRS Program currently consists of multiple variants: GMLRS Unitary utilizes a 200-pound high explosive warhead to engage point targets with limited collateral damage; GMLRS Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) cluster munition to engage area or imprecisely located targets and GMLRS Alternative Warhead (AW) which has been developed as a non-cluster munition to engage the same target set as GMLRS DPICM. GMLRS DPICM Production was terminated in response to the June 2008 Department of Defense (DoD) Cluster Munitions Policy. GMLRS Unitary and AW are currently in full rate production. The 26 October 2016 Deputy Secretary's Management Action Group (DMAG) directed the Army to define and execute an effort for GMLRS modifications that would extend the maximum range (Extended Range (ER) GMLRS) and integrate sensors and seekers into the rocket to engage complex targets with greater precision at greater ranges. These modifications to GMLRS were designated by the Army Acquisition Executive as an engineering change proposal (ECP) and not as a new program. The Army prioritized the development and integration of an Enhanced Alternative Warhead (EAW) over support for the seeker spiral. The GMLRS program is a component of an integrated fires development effort that includes survivability, resiliency, and effectiveness improvements against advanced threats from near-peer adversaries. These efforts include integration with an evolving common fires mission command, common development tools and processes, and annual test and evaluation to provide data to support program assessments and progress toward closure of performance gaps. The GMLRS program will continue to leverage ongoing Government and Industry research and development efforts to extend range, increase survivability, and enhance lethality. The Project EG3: Guided MLRS funding line supports GMLRS enhancements including ER GMLRS system development and qualification, EAW system development (hardware, rocket and launcher software) as well as component and system level qualification, integration, and test into standard range GMLRS rockets; development of Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (APNT); and integration of EAW into ER GMLRS.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2025
• Source ID: 0205778A_7_2040_PB_2025
• Change Summary Explanation: Decrease in FY 2025 reflects transition of the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) development effort to Science and Technology Budget Activity 03 0603464A/Long Range Precision Fires Advanced Technology to mature the dispense mechanism and submunition form factor for future integration into GMLRS.
• Service Agency Name: Army

Entities

Organizations

• United States Army

Tags

Readers

• Missile Defense Systems.
• Munitions and Ordnance Engineering