M30 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
The Guided Unitary Rocket is fired from both the M270A1 and the HIMARS Launcher. The Guided Unitary Rocket is packaged in, and fired from, a Launch Pod Container (LPC) which will have the same height, width, and length characteristics as the current Multiple Launch Rocket Systems LPC. The Guided Unitary Rocket is equipped with a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) motor, a guidance package, and carries a warhead/payload which provides us the capability of attacking a variety of targets to include those that require low collateral damage. The growth potential inherent in the Guided Unitary Rocket modular design shall be maintained as new lethal and non-lethal technology advances are evaluated for insertion. The Guided Unitary Rocket will be designed to allow handling and maintenance within the current system.
The United States entered into a cooperative Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) program with the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy to develop a new guided rocket for the Multiple Launch Rocket System. The rocket, known as the M30 GMLRS, will have increased range, accuracy and lethality. The GMLRS EMD represents another example of international cooperation to produce a common product to achieve interoperability, while sharing and minimizing costs and risks.
Prime contract for the EMD phase was awarded on 4 November 1998 to Lockheed Martin Vought Systems (LMVS) by the US on behalf of the GMLRS partner nations. The EMD contract is a Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) type contract worth approximately $121 million and was scheduled to be completed in 48 months. LMVS was selected based on its previous experience and involvement with MLRS launchers and rockets.
The GMLRS EMD contract is one of the first Army programs to use the "Alpha Acquisition" contracting process in which the Integrated Product Team (IPT) approach is used to arrive at an acceptable contract between the prime and the Government in a timely manner. This approach includes the reduction of procurement timelines through the elimination of unnecessary stages, by the adoption of partnering agreements between the contractor and the Government, and by the establishment of collaborative IPTs.
Final plans for GMLRS production in the US and Europe are still being formulated. US production is scheduled to begin in FY02 with a planned buy of approximately 100,000 rockets.
The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Research, Development and Engineering Center (RDEC), with support from industry, conducted an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) to design, fabricate, and flight test a low cost guidance and control (G&C) package for the Extended Range MLRS rocket.
The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Advanced Technology Demonstration [ATD 95-98] demonstrated a significant improvement in the range and accuracy of the MLRS free-flight artillery rocket. Improved accuracy results in a significant reduction in the number of rockets required to defeat the target (as much as sixfold at extended ranges). Other benefits include an associated reduction in the logistics burden (transportation of rockets), reduced chances of collateral damage and fratricide, reduced mission times (resulting in increased system survivability), and increased effective range for the MLRS rocket.
The ATD designed, fabricated, and flight-tested a low cost guidance and control package to be housed in the nose of the rocket, thus minimizing the changes to the current rocket. The Phase I G&C package, consisting of alow cost inertial measurement unit (IMU), a flight computer, and canards driven by electro-mechanical actuators, will be housed in the nose section of the rocket and will result in a significant increase in rocket delivery accuracy. The IMU package will provide a 23 mil accuracy sufficient for some MLRS warheads with the GPS-aided package providing a 10 meter CEP accuracy for warheads which require precision accuracy. The package to be demonstrated will result in a rocket which is more cost effective and more lethal while requiring no change to crew training procedures or maintenance procedures (during the 15-year shelflife). The guidance and control package will be designed with applicability to bomblet, mine, precision guided submunition, and unitary/earth penetrator warheads.
A second phase of the demonstration will add a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and antenna to demonstrate near precision delivery (5 meters CEP).
In 1994, the Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (MRDEC) initiated the Guided MLRS Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) with the support of the MLRS Project Office and the TRADOC System Manager for Rockets and Missiles. From the start, the ATD's exit criteria included not only accuracy improvements, but also a production cost goal of $12k for the guidance and control package, a zero maintenance requirement for the rocket, and a shelf-life of at least 15 years.
The design, fabrication, and testing of the guidance and control package took place within the MRDEC. The thermal battery, IMU, and GPS receiver were purchased off-the-shelf and tested by the MRDEC. The control actuation system, guidance computer, and all missile software were designed in-house by the MRDEC. The GPS antennas were designed and fabricated by the Army Research Laboratory. The canards, spring-opening tailfin assembly, telemetry package, roll bearing, missile skin sections, and wiring harnesses were designed and fabricated by LMVS. The MRDEC assembled the rocket and performed all system testing.
On May 13, 1998, a fully successful first flight of the Guided MLRS was conducted at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. This flight was launched from an M270 launcher, flown to a range of 49 km, demonstrated the proper operation of all missile subsystems, and achieved the 3-mil accuracy (150 meters at 49 km) goal when navigating in pure inertial mode using a Honeywell HG1700 IMU. Given the level of success on the first flight, the second flight was changed from an inertial flight to a GPS-aided flight. However, due to a bug in the vendor's GPS receiver software, only three satellites were tracked and the missile again flew a successful inertial flight using a Honeywell IMU. The third flight was conducted with the Litton LN-200 IMU. All subsystems performed well except for the IMU, which did not meet the accuracy goal. The fourth flight experienced a catastrophic tailfin failure at launch as well as an electrical short in the umbilical. After a root cause failure analysis and further tailfin testing, an adjustment was made to the tailfin assembly and a blocking diode was added to prevent umbilical shorts from damaging the rocket's electronics. The ATD culminated on February 11, 1999 with a GPS-aided flight test in which the missile again flew 49 km and impacted only 2.1 meters from the target center, a resounding success.
The ATD successfully demonstrated all of its goals and has transitioned to the MLRS Project Office for a 4-year engineering, manufacturing, and development (EMD) phase. The EMD will be conducted as an international program with the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France. Current plans call for subsequent U.S. production of 90k rounds with the DPICM warhead. The accuracy demonstrated in flight number five's GPS-aided mode opens the door for future consideration of various MLRS unitary warheads and the addition of point targets to the MLRS target set.
The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) consists of two variants of rockets fired from the M270A1 or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. The GMLRS Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) variant carries 404 bomblets, while the GMLRS Unitary rocket will have a single, 200-pound class, high-explosive, Unitary warhead. Both variants use an inertial measurement unit guidance system that is aided by the Global Positioning System.
With the planned capabilities of the new rockets, the Army intends that a unit equipped with GMLRS will shoot farther (over 60 km versus 30 km) and achieve desired effects with fewer rockets (due to improved accuracy) and fewer duds (for GMLRS DPICM) or reduced collateral damage (for GMLRS Unitary) than the currently fielded MLRS rocket. GMLRS is used primarily in general support of maneuver divisions and corps. GMLRS DPICM is employed against lightly armored, stationary targets such as towed artillery, air defense units, and communication sites. GMLRS unitary will have three fuze settings for use against personnel in the open (proximity fuze); lightly fortified bunkers (delayed fuze); or a single, lightly armored target (point detonating fuze).
GMLRS DPICM is multi-national, cooperative development and production program that had its Milestone C decision in March 2003. It is scheduled for a 2QFY05 full-rate production decision and 2QFY06 initial operational capability. GMLRS Unitary had its Milestone B decision in March 2003. It is scheduled for a 4QFY06 Milestone C, 2QFY08 initial operational capability, and a full-rate production decision in 3QFY08. Depending on the results of initial testing and a validated need, an early version of the rocket could be fielded sooner than 2008.
To date, tests demonstrate that the GMLRS rocket has the accuracy and range needed to meet its requirements; however, the hazardous dud rate continues to be a problem.
The GMLRS engineering development tests fired nine rockets in six tests. All of the seven rockets that dispensed sub-munitions were well within the accuracy needed to meet effectiveness requirements. One rocket did not dispense its sub-munitions. The ninth rocket did not launch. The contractor identified fixes and included them in the production qualification flights. The problems have not recurred. The program successfully fired twenty-two of the scheduled 26 rockets during Production Qualification Tests. These rockets were within the accuracy needed to meet requirements. Four separate problems caused the four failures, in which three rockets failed to dispense their submunitions, and one rocket failed to launch. The contractor has identified the causes and will incorporate fixes into the production design. Rocket reliability is within the requirement for the program at this time; however, a higher reliability will be required for the production rockets.
The required dud rate (less than 1 percent) has not been achieved. The Army hoped to achieve this requirement by making adjustments to the fuze of the current DPICM bomblet. Even with these changes, the dud rate varies as a function of range between 1.2 and 7.6 percent. This is significantly better than the current MLRS M26 rocket, which has average dud rates of 10 percent at 17 km and 8 percent at 37 km. The Army continues to experiment with fuze adjustments, but it is unlikely the bomblet will meet the dud rate requirement for all ranges. Therefore, the Army requested changing the GMLRS sub-munition dud rate requirement to two percent averaged between ranges of 20 and 60 km and four percent averaged for ranges between 15 to 20 km and 60 to 70 km. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council approved this proposal in November 2003. The international partners are developing a self-destruct fuze, which might reduce the dud rate to less than one percent. Inclusion of this new fuze on the bomblet in production rockets depends on the results of upcoming tests and production costs.
Additional tests, including operational and live fire testing, are planned to demonstrate GMLRS DPICM effectiveness against countermeasured targets and to show its interoperability. All flight tests to date have been accomplished with a modified Improved Position Determining System launcher, as opposed to an operationally representative one. Planned interoperability testing, therefore, will demonstrate that GMLRS can be fired from the M270A1 and HIMARS launchers.
GMLRS Unitary will begin developmental testing in 2004.
MLRS Smart Tactical Rocket (MSTAR)
The Fiscal Year 2001 Army budget request included decisions to restructure or "divest" a number of programs in order to provide some of the resources to support its transformation to achieve the ambitious deployment goals outlined in the October 1999 Army Vision. The restructured programs are the Crusader and the Future Scout and Cavalry System. The "divestitures" include Heliborne Prophet (Air), MLRS Smart Tactical Rocket (MSTAR), Stinger Block II, Command and Control Vehicle (C2V), Grizzly, Wolverine, and the Army Tactical Missile System Block IIA. Funding for these programs was reallocated to fund the Army Vision transformation strategy.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION:
The MLRS Smart Tactical Rocket is the next step in the evolution
of the MLRS Rocket. The MSTAR will be a Guided (MSTAR) rocket
carrying terminally guided, smart submunitions to a maximum range
of approximately 60 km. After dispense, these munitions will use
onboard sensors to detect and engage stationary or moving targets.
An Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) is scheduled to begin
in FY98, followed by EMD beginning in FY02.
SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS:
Four candidate submunitions, P3I BAT, SADARM, LOCAAS, and Damocles
are being evaluated to determine which one best meets Army requirements.
Each candidate carries a sensor suite to detect, classify and
engage high value targets. They use either explosively formed
penetrators or shaped charges to penetrate armor.
