Marines' 24th MEU deploys with HIMARS rocket system

May 21 (UPI) -- The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is the first to deploy the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System from the East Coast, a Marines statement on Friday said.

The amphibious attack unit, regarded as a fast-response air-and-ground task force and garrisoned at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was assigned a HIMARS, a wheeled, multiple rocket launching system, in September 2020.

Mounted on a standard Army M1140 five-ton truck frame, it carries six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM).

The truck is made by the defense division of the Oshkosh Corp., with the rocket launching system produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control.

With use by the 24th MEU, HIMARS becomes a "theater-level asset" forward-deployed in the area of operations, the Marine Corps statement said, instead of embarking the vehicles on naval vessels.

"MEUs operate globally, year around as the Nation's Force-in-Readiness," said Col. Eric D. Cloutier, 24th MEU commanding officer. "As we lean into the future fight, expanding our reach and flexibility by utilizing platforms like HIMARS gives us the ability to facilitate maneuver and freedom-of-movement for friendly forces, and our allies and partners, while denying our adversaries the ability to do the same."

The HIMARS system allows a platoon to infiltrate contested environments, attack targets, and then depart without an enemy opportunity for engagement.

While the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps have the majority of HIMARS vehicles, they are also in use by Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Romania and Jordan.

The Marine Corps' 2021 deployment cycle is the first use of HIMARS by an East Coast-based MEU.