U.S. Army is sending one additional artillery battalion of M270 rocket launchers to South Korea

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Defence & Security News - United States
 
U.S. Army is sending one additional artillery battalion of M270 rocket launchers to South Korea.
The U.S. Army is sending a field artillery battalion of about 400 soldiers and multiple-launch rocket systems M270 to South Korea, a move the Pentagon said on Friday, March 20, 2015,was part of a reorganization of the service and unrelated to any tensions on the peninsula.
     
     

Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman says the extra firepower and soldiers were not requested by U.S. commanders in South Korea. Rather, the additions reflect an internal Army reorganization that is increasing the number of Multiple-Launch Rocket System battalions in each field artillery brigade from two to three worldwide.

The unit will leave its equipment in South Korea at the conclusion of the deployment so other battalions can use it as they rotate in on similar deployments, he said. The rotational deployments represent a slight increase in the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, defense officials said.

The multiple-launch rocket system can fulfill a variety of missions but is particularly effective at countering fire from enemy artillery batteries. Officials said they thought the field artillery brigade in South Korea was the only one permanently stationed outside the United States.

"The addition of this battalion is part of an Army-wide reorganization that will raise the number of MLRS (multiple-launch rocket system) battalions in all field artillery brigades from two to three," Warren said.

Lieutenant Colonel Don Peters, an Army spokesman, said that as part of the restructuring, the Army has eliminated some of its field artillery brigade headquarters units. To retain overall combat power, it is spreading the multiple-launch rocket battalions among the remaining artillery brigades.
     
The U.S. Army is sending a field artillery battalion of about 400 soldiers and multiple-launch rocket systems M270 to South Korea, a move the Pentagon said on Friday, March 20, 2015,was part of a reorganization of the service and unrelated to any tensions on the peninsula.
     
The M270 is a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) maunfactured by the American Company Lockheed Martin. The first M270 MLRS entered in service with the U.S. Army in 1983.

The MLRS launcher unit comprises an M270 launcher loaded with 12 rockets, packaged in two six-rocket pods. The launcher, which is mounted on a stretched Bradley chassis, is a highly automated self-loading and self-aiming system. It contains a fire control computer that integrates the vehicle and rocket-launching operations.

The basic MLRS tactical rocket warhead contains 644 M77 munitions, which are dispensed above the target in mid-air. The dual-purpose bomblets are armed during freefall and a simple drag ribbon orients the bomblets for impact. Each MLRS launcher can deliver almost 8,000 munitions in fewer than 60 seconds at ranges exceeding 32km.

The M270 MLRS is operational in the US Army, while fourteen countries have fielded or ordered MLRS: Bahrain, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and United Kingdom. The system has also been built in Europe by an international consortium of companies from France, Germany, Italy and the UK.