Since 1983, the US Army has been using the M270 MLRS multiple launch rocket system. Later, this MLRS entered service with other armies. Despite its considerable age, the M270 retains high combat qualities and remains the main model of its class in the armies of several countries. Such successes are based on a number of design features, the availability of various ammunition, etc.
Design features
The M270 combat vehicle is a tracked platform with an artillery unit installed on it. The chassis for the aggregates is unified with the M2 Bradley BMP, which simplifies operation and provides high performance. The artillery unit of the M270 was developed using interesting solutions that became the key to the subsequent modernization.
Unlike other MLRS, the American M270 does not have a guide package for launching rockets. Instead, the M269 starter-charging module is used. It is made in the form of an armored box with seats for two transport and launch containers. For the installation of the latter, the M269 has its own reloading mechanism. Due to this mechanism, TPK with missiles can be received from any transport vehicle.
A standard container for 227 mm unguided rockets consists of a metal frame and six fiberglass tubes with rockets serving as guides. Due to the spiral skids on the pipe wall, the rocket is spun up at launch.
The artillery unit M270 accepts two containers at once, which allows a salvo of 12 227 mm missiles. After firing, the container is removed, and a new one is installed in its place.
Such an architecture of the launcher to a certain extent simplifies preparation for firing, and also provides a good basis for modernization. The M269 product has a significant internal volume, suitable for use not only by TPK for 227-mm missiles. So, in the framework of this artillery unit, it was possible to fit the MGM-140 ATACMS operational-tactical missile of 610 mm caliber.
The presence of such ammunition has dramatically expanded the range of tasks to be solved by the MLRS, and also transferred it to a different class of equipment. It is easy to see that a different architecture of the M269 launcher would not have allowed such results to be obtained.
Rocket projectiles
For the MLRS M270 MLRS, a wide range of ammunition of different types and different purposes was developed. The most widespread are unguided rockets with different combat load. Products of the M26 line are designed to engage various area targets in a wide range of ranges. M27 and M28 are training ammunition with different configurations.
The M26 shells of three modifications receive a cluster warhead that can accommodate up to 644 M77 or M85 fragmentation-cumulative warheads. The maximum firing range in the M26 line is 45 km. The M27 product is an M26 inert missile designed to practice loading ammunition. The M28 training projectile repeats the design of the M26, but carries weight simulators and smoke bombs to mark points of impact. The M28A1 training missile has a firing range reduced to 9 km.
Within the framework of the GMLRS project, several 227 mm guided missiles were developed with different payload options and flight characteristics. The M30 projectile is equipped with a GPS guidance system and carries 404 M85 submunitions. The firing range is up to 70 km. The M31 missile has a similar design, but carries a monoblock warhead. In the near future, it is expected to start operating the GMLRS-ER missiles - products with a flight range of up to 150 km.
The bulk of the rockets for the M270 were developed in the United States, but several samples were created in foreign countries. So, the German AT2 rocket is based on the M26 design and carries a cluster warhead with anti-tank mines of the same name. Such ammunition is intended for remote mining of the terrain. In the recent past, Israel has upgraded its M270s and added three new missiles with trajectory correction or full homing to their ammunition load.
Operational-tactical missiles
The US Army currently lacks specialized tactical missile systems. The functions of such a technique are assigned to the existing MLRS M270 and M142 HIMARS. For use on MLRS, missiles of the ATACMS family were developed. The M269 can accommodate two TPKs with similar weapons.
Products of the MGM-140 ATACMS family are guided ballistic missiles with a length of less than 4 m and a diameter of 610 mm. Starting weight, depending on the modification, no more than 1700 kg. Several versions of the rocket have been developed, differing in guidance means, warhead and characteristics.
The first missile of the family, MGM-140A, had a guidance system based on inertial navigation and delivered 950 M74 high-explosive fragmentation elements at a distance of up to 130 km. The MGM-140B project used inertial and satellite navigation. The number of submunitions was reduced to 275, which improved flight performance and increased the firing range to 165 km.
The newest missile in the line is the MGM-168 (Block IVA). It carries a 227-kg unitary high-explosive fragmentation warhead and has a seeker from the MGM-140B. The range has been increased to 270 km. No new modifications were developed. Since 2018, the ATACMS SLEP service life extension program has been implemented. It provides for the repair and upgrade of stored missiles with their characteristics approaching the MGM-168 project.
In 2016, work began on a new rocket to replace the outdated ATACMS. The LPRF (Long Range Precision Fires) project provides for the creation of an operational-tactical missile with a range of up to 500 km. By improving individual components, it is necessary to increase the combat load and reduce the size. In the transport and launch container for the M270, two missiles should be entered at once.
In the near future, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin plan to launch flight tests of a new missile, now called the PRSM (Precision Strike Missile). In connection with the withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty, the possibility of reworking this project in order to increase the firing range is not excluded. The 500 km indicated for the LPRF / PRSM were due to the limitations of this agreement, now no longer valid.
According to reports, no new launchers will be developed for the PRSM. Such weapons will be used on platforms in the form of MLRS M270 and M142 HIMARS.
Versatile weapon
According to open data, the US Army now has about a thousand MLRS type M270 MLRS. About a quarter of this number in recent years has been modernized according to the M270A1 project, as a result of which it has improved tactical and technical characteristics. Significant quantities of such MLRS have been put into reserve, but the operation of others continues.
For three and a half decades, the service of the M270 MLRS has come a long way. The launcher was modernized several times, and at the same time modifications of existing ammunition were created and completely new ones were developed. As a result, instead of a multiple launch rocket system with a specific range of tasks to be solved, the US Army received a multipurpose missile system that combines the qualities of equipment of several classes.
Using combat vehicles M270 MLRS with different ammunition, the United States and other operating countries can solve different combat missions inherent in MLRS and OTRK. This approach is planned to be maintained in the future. To replace the existing ATACMS missiles, a new PRSM prototype is being created.
The appearance of such weapons will again increase the combat qualities of the base MLRS, and the growth may be higher than previously expected. As a result of recent events, the United States is not faced with the limitations of the INF Treaty, and the range of a promising missile may be more than the previously announced 500 km.
The high combat potential of the M270 MLRS complex is provided by several main factors. First of all, this is the successful architecture of the launcher, which is charged using unified transport and launch modules. The second factor is the constant modernization of the means and equipment of the self-propelled combat vehicle. The development of new missiles for various purposes is of decisive importance.
Despite its considerable age, the M270 MLRS MLRS retains high performance, and in the near future it will receive new capabilities. Thanks to this, the US army is able to continue to operate not the newest machines without any loss in performance. Over time, the M270 will have to give way to newer developments, but for now this remains a matter of the distant future. In the coming years, MLRS will remain in the military.
