Pentagon’s No.1 weapons supplier Lockheed Martin Corp has tested a new extended-range version of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System.
According to Lockheed Martin, it successfully tested its next-generation Extended-Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (ER GMLRS) munition in an 80-kilometer flight demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
During the flight test, the ER GMLRS round was fired from the U.S. Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher, built by Lockheed Martin, meeting test objectives.
“Our new Extended-Range GMLRS significantly increases the range of the current system, offering the choice of munitions for longer distances and improving options with the same reliability and accuracy our customers have come to expect,” said Gaylia Campbell, vice president of Precision Fires and Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Our team is dedicated to conducting extensive developmental testing as part of our discipline to assure mission success for the U.S. Army with more flexibility for multi-domain operations.”
As noted by the company, the demonstration confirmed the missile’s flight trajectory performance, range and validated interfaces with the HIMARS launcher and system software performance.
Lockheed Martin has produced more than 50,000 GMLRS rounds and is under contract to produce more than 9,000 new GMLRS unitary and alternative-warhead rockets, more than 1,800 low-cost reduced-range practice rockets and integrated logistics support for the U.S. Army and international customers. The systems are produced at its Precision Fires Center of Excellence in Camden, Arkansas.
For more than 40 years, Lockheed Martin has been the leading designer and manufacturer of long-range, surface-to-surface precision strike solutions, providing highly reliable, combat-proven systems like MLRS, HIMARS, ATACMS and GMLRS to domestic and international customers.