U.S. Army Sgt. Jacob Ramirez, a multiple launch rocket system crewmember, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment , raises a M142 HIMARS, to simulate accuracy of live rounds, at Fort A.P. Hill Landing Zone, Virginia, July 20, 2020. (U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Daniel J. Alkana, 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) (Pfc. Daniel Alkana)
The Russian military has destroyed with Kalibr cruise missiles an ammunition depot in Ukraine’s Odessa region, where rockets for US-suppled M142 HIMARS systems were stored, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on August 21.
“High-precision sea-based long-range Kalibr missiles near the village of Mayorskoye in the Odessa Region destroyed an ammunition depot with rockets for the American HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and Western-made anti-aircraft systems,” ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
The ministry shared a video showing the launch of two 3M14T Kalibr cruise missiles from what appears to be an Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet.
The 3M14T has a range of 1500-2500 kilometers. The missile’s guidance system is built around an INS [inertial navigation system] and GLONASS satellite guidance systems.
The cruise missile, which has a top speed of Mach 2.9, can fly as low as 20 meters above water and 50 meters above ground with a help of a TERCOM [terrain contour matching] system. It is armed with a 450 kg HE-FRAG [high explosive fragmentation] or bunker buster warhead.
The US has supplied Ukraine with 20 HIMARS launchers, so far. Some of these launchers have been already destroyed or damaged by the Russian military.
The HIMARS supplied to Ukraine are armed with M30/M31 series GMLRS precision-guided rockets, which have a range of more than 70 kilometers. GMLRS rockets are guided by a GPS-aided inertial navigation system and have a circular error probable of one meter. Each launcher can be loaded with a pod of six rockets. A single GMLRS rocket costs well over a $100,000.
Kiev forces have been using the HIMARS’ precision-guided rockets to target residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the Donbass as well as in the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. On July 29, at least 53 captives from the nationalist Azov Regiment were killed and more than 75 others were wounded when Ukrainian HIMARS rockets hit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk.
Despite the questionable use of the system by Kiev forces, the US’ most recent military aid package to Ukraine included millions-worth of GMLRS rockets.
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