Several US transport planes were alleged to have transported tactical missiles to Ukraine amid tensions in the eastern part of the country
Specifically, on April 4, a US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft
taking off from the Moron de la Frontera base in Spain landed in southern Ukraine
A few hours later, another C-17A from Ramstein Air Base in Germany also flew to Ukraine
The shipments of these aircraft are believed to be weapons and military equipment
Military sources said that the Americans brought the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
It was a shortened version of the famous American M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
built on a standard Army M1140 truck frame, developed in 1996 for the US Army
HIMARS can use the full range of Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM) and share ammunition with the MLRS M270A1
The M142, produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, utilizes the same pod as the M270 MLRS uses
One pod can hold six 227mm M26, M30 / M31 missiles (range 70km) or one MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (2-300km range).
This complex is 7m long, 2.4m wide, 3.2m high, and weighs 16.2 tons
It can reach a top speed of 85km/h, a range of 480km, with a crew of 3 members
The M142 can be transported by military transport aircraft, allowing it to reach combat zones quickly
The fire control system and the global positioning system (GPS) allow it to perform actions in either automatic or manual mode
In combat, the command and control station transmits the target data over a secure data link to the computer
In just 16 seconds, the computer loads the target data into the launcher
and quickly signals the crew to load and fire a programmed amount of ammunition
As of October 2018, Lockheed Martin has delivered about 500 HIMARS launchers to the US Army and international customers
Currently M142 HIMARS is in the equipment of the US Armed Forces
Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Canada, Qatar, Poland, Romania, the Philippines...
M142 HIMARS has fought in the battlefields of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq
With the deployment of the M142 HIMARS in Europe
the United States showed both Russia and its European allies that they were ready to preemptively strike any target at distances up to 300km
In the age of cruise missiles, attack drones, stealth fighters and other types of aircraft
artillery has not lost an important role on the battlefield
Self-propelled artilleries can fire and quickly move away from combat positions, making counterattack more difficult
The US М142 HIMARS was successfully demonstrated in Romania
with the new MGM-140В ATACMS Block 1A missile
capable of hitting targets at distances of up to 300km, close to the capabilities of tactical missile complexes
In the event of a war, Ukraine will be used as an outpost against Russia
From its border areas, HIMARS can strike targets in western Russia, as well as Crimea
Obviously, the US HIMARS will change the balance of power in Europe, forcing Russia to have solutions to cope