ATACMS

ATACMS
ATACMS rocket launch from an M270
General Information
Type	Short-range missile
Local name	MGM-140, MGM-164, MGM-168
NATO designation	Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS)
Country of origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
development	1982
Commissioning	1990
Technical specifications
length	4.00 m
diameter	604 mm
span	1,400 mm
drive	Solid rocket engine
speed	Do 3
Range	270-300 km
Furnishing
steering	GPS plus INS
Warhead	WDU-18, 221 kg
Detonator	Impact detonators , distance detonators , delay detonators
Weapon platforms	M270 and HIMARS
Lists on the subject

The ATACMS is a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) made in the USA. The U.S. Forces System Index is MGM-140 , MGM-164, and MGM-168 . ATACMS stands for A rmy TAC tical M issile S ystem.

development

The MGM-140 ATACMS was designed as a successor to the MGM-52 Lance . In 1982, Lockheed Martin (LTV) began developing systems. The first test launch took place on April 26, 1988. The first missiles were delivered to the US armed forces in June 1990. ATACMS is designed to equip artillery commanders with a surface-to-surface missile that can destroy enemy targets far behind the front line and interrupt enemy supplies.

variants

The rockets of the main series are shown in bold .

• MGM-140A ATACMS Block 1 (M39) : standard version with a warhead with 950 M74 - bomblets (submunition). Range 165 km.
• MGM-140B ATACMS Block 1 (M39A) : With a warhead with 300 M74 bombs (submunitions). Range 300 km.
• MGM-140C ATACMS Block 1A: Original designation of the MGM-164A ATACMS Block 2 .
• MGM-140D ATACMS Block 1A (M39A1) : Improved MGM-140A with INS and GPS steering system. Introduced in 1998.
• MGM-140E ATACMS Block 1A Unitary: Original name for the MGM-168A ATACMS Block 1A (QRU) .
• MGM-140 NTACMS: Project for the US Navy . Start from the Mk.41 - VLS . Project discontinued.
• MGM-168A ATACMS Block 1A (M48): Also called ATACMS-Quick-Reaction-Unitary (QRU). With a 221 kg WDU-18 fragmentation warhead with FMU-141 fuze. Range 270–300 km.
• MGM-164A ATACMS Block 2 (M39A3): With 13 BAT (self-targeting submunition). Range 140 km. Development stopped in 2003.
• MGM-164B ATACMS Block 2A: Like MGM-164A, but with six P3I I-BAT (self-targeting submunitions). Range 220 km. Development stopped.
• MGM-164 ATACMS 2000 (M57): Equipped with improved accuracy and WDU-18 warhead with FMU-161 igniter. Range 270–300 km.
• MGM-168 ATACMS Block 3 (TACMS-P): With T2K control system with improved precision. With penetration warhead for fighting bunkers . Project discontinued.
• MGM-168 ATACMS Block 3 (T2K): With T2K control system with improved precision. Equipped with an all-in-one dispenser for various small bombs and bomblets. Project discontinued.

technology

The entire system is on the M270A1 - tracked vehicle housed. Each vehicle can carry two ATACMS missiles. The M270A1 vehicle is also used for the MLRS system . HIMARS is used as a further launch vehicle . HIMARS stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and can transport an ATACMS rocket.

The ATACMS rocket is powered by an HTPB composite solid propellant that accelerates it to a cruising speed of around 1,000 m / s. After launch, the trajectory of the ATACMS missile describes a semi-ballistic curve with an apogee of around 48 km. The versions of the second series have a more powerful rocket motor and modified control software, which controls the rocket on an optimal flight profile. This gives these missiles a range that is around twice as long.

The MGM-140A / B / D versions are equipped with a warhead with cluster munitions . The bomblets are ejected at a preselected height. The bomblets descend in a circular area of ​​33,000 m² (circle diameter approx. 205 m). The M74 APAM (Anti-Personnel Anti-Materiel) bombs can be used against soft and semi-hard targets. Each bomblet has a fragmentation circle of around 15 m. The M74 bomblet is circular with a diameter of 71 mm. It is detonated by the M219A2 impact and time fuse.

The MGM-164/168 versions are equipped with the WDU-18 warhead of the AGM-84 Harpoon . This weighs 211 kg. While the MGM-164 version is equipped with an FMU-141 igniter, the MGM-168 version has an FMU-161 igniter. In addition to a mode with a proximity fuse, this also has a delay fuse mode for fighting bunkered targets. The MGM-168 swings to an angle of nearly ninety degrees to the surface of the earth on the target approach. As a result, the warhead is in a vertical position over the target at the moment of detonation and develops an optimal surface effect.

status

The production lines for the ATACMS were closed in 2007. The existing MGM-140 stocks in the United States with the cluster munitions warheads will be retrofitted and equipped with the WDU-18 warhead. As part of the Long-Range Precision Fires program , the armed forces of the United States want to develop the successor system PRSM with a range of 500 km.

War missions

The first war deployment took place during Operation Desert Storm . During this mission, the 6th Battalion of the 27th Field Artillery Brigade fired 32 MGM-140A ATACMS guided missiles at Iraqi positions. During the 2003 Iraq War , US forces fired 453 ATACMS. ATACMS was used in Afghanistan in the war on terror . In 2016, ATACMS were used on HIMARS in northern Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve against the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).

distribution

•  Bahrain - 30 Block 1A missiles and 110 M57 missiles
•  Finland - 70 Block-1A missiles
•  Greece - 100 missiles in stock plus additional Block 1A missiles ordered
•  Qatar - 70 Block-1A missiles ordered in 2012.
•  South Korea - 290 missiles in stock plus additional Block 1A missiles ordered
•  Turkey - 70 missiles
•  United Arab Emirates - 226 missiles
•  United States

Technical data of the ATACMS

Parameter	MGM-140A ATACMS Block 1	MGM-140C ATACMS block 1A	MGM-140B ATACMS block 1	MGM-168A ATACMS Block 1A (QRU)
Introductory year	1991	1998	2003	2003
drive	1 stage solid	1 stage solid	1 stage solid	1 stage solid
length	3.96 m	3.96 m	3.96 m	4.00 m
Hull diameter	604 mm	604 mm	604 mm	604 mm
Wingspan	1400 mm	1400 mm	1400 mm	1400 mm
Weight	1630 kg	1638 kg	1630 kg	unknown
payload	560 kg	560 kg	160 kg	221 kg
Warhead	950 M74 submunition	950 M74 submunition	300 M74 submunitions	WDU-18 fragmentation warhead
Operational range	165 km	160 km	270-300 km	270-300 km
Steering system	INS	INS plus GPS	INS plus GPS	INS plus GPS
Hit Accuracy ( CEP )	225-250 m	100-150 m	less than 100 m	10-20 m

Web links

Commons : ATACMS  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Globalsecurity.org
• Designation-Systems.net
• ATACMS in the Encyclopedia Astronautica (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Globalsecurity.org: M39 Army Tactical Missile System (Army TACMS) ( accessed October 7, 2019)
2. ↑ Lockheed Martin Delivers First Modernized TACMS Missile to US Army. In: armyrecognition.com. Army Recognition, September 29, 2016, accessed March 2, 2017 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} ATACMS Block IA Unitary. In: deagel.com. Deagel, accessed March 2, 2017 . 
4. ↑ United States, Cluster Munitions Ban Policy. In: the-monitor.org. Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, accessed August 8, 2016 . 
5. ^ Army Will Field 100 km Cannon, 500 km Missiles: LRPF CFT. In: https://breakingdefense.com/ . March 23, 2018, accessed April 9, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Wesley Morgan: How the US campaign in Iraq has escalated with a new weapon: rocket artillery. In: washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post, November 24, 2015, accessed March 2, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Thomas Gibbons-Neff: US rocket artillery based in Jordan is being used to strike Islamic State targets in Syria. In: washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post, March 11, 2016, accessed March 2, 2017 . 
8. ^ Trade Register on sipri.org , Retrieved September 16, 2018