GMLRS ALTERNATIVE WARHEADS
Abstract
Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) munitions are the Army's primary organic Joint Expeditionary, all-weather, 24/7, tactical precision guided rockets employed by modular Fires Brigades supporting Brigade Combat Teams, Divisions, Joint Special Operations Force, and Joint Force combatant commanders and is also a key component of the Marine Corps Future Fighting Effort. GMLRS is the primary munitions for units fielded with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270A1 rocket and missile launcher platforms. GMLRS provides close, medium, and long range precision and area fires to destroy, suppress, and shape threat forces and protect friendly forces against the following: cannon, mortar, rocket and missile artillery, light materiel and armor, personnel, command and control, and air defense surface targets. GMLRS integrates guidance and control packages and an improved rocket motor achieving greater range and precision accuracy, requiring fewer rockets to defeat targets, thereby reducing the logistics burden. The two fielded variants are GMLRS with Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM/Increment 1) and GMLRS Unitary (U/Increment 2), a 200-pound class high explosive warhead. A third variant of GMLRS, the Alternative Warhead (AW/Increment 3) (currently in the Technology and Development (TD) Phase) is being developed to replace DPICM and meet requirements outlined in a 25 JUN 2008 DoD Cluster Munitions Policy, which requires all cluster munitions to produce less than 1% Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) on the battlefield by 2019. Increment 3 will fill a Warfighting Capability Gap left by the future removal of current cluster munitions from the battlefield. This effort includes development, integration, and test activities to evaluate payload performance against validated models/simulations. Following the TD Phase and successful Milestone B, the Army will down-select to a single warhead design to carry into Engineering and Manufacturing Development (1QFY12); with Production and Deployment beginning in 2QFY15. Enhanced GMLRS technology improvements will provide the following: (1) enhanced operational capability and flexibility across the target set, (2) potential cost savings across weapon system life cycle through obsolescence initiatives, (3) test equipment commonality and reduced user effort for sustainment operations with enhancements to the MLRS Common Test Equipment (MCTE), (4) future insensitive munitions (IM) technology studies, and (5) optimize and extend ranges and scalable effects to reduce collateral damage, as per emerging requirements currently in the Joint Capability Integration and Development System (JCIDS) process.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2012
- Source ID
- 78G_0603778A_7_2040_PB_2012
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