Those C5's are huge

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TweetLOADING UP: An MLRS launcher prepares to enter a C-5 Air Force cargo plane for transport to field training.



According to a recent report in the Stars & Stripes newspaper, Germany-based rocketeers from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment trained in South Korea in mid-March on the latest Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) as part of the annual Reception, Staging Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) exercise.
Thousands of U.S. troops, from both on and off the Peninsula, participated in RSOI and another exercise, Foal Eagle, in March. The Babenhausen, Germany-based 1st-27th soldiers, who normally train on older M270 multiple launch rocket systems, arrived in South Korea the first of March and started training on the 2nd Infantry Division's state-of-the-art M270A1 MLRS, said Battery A commander Capt. Will Daniel. On Thursday, March 17, they fired the M270A1 for the first time at Rocket Valley, a training area near the Demilitarized Zone.

Each M270A1 launcher can fire up to 12 rockets in quick succession. The main advantage of the newer MLRS is its ability to move into position and fire more quickly than the M270, Capt. Daniel said. "It is a matter of seconds, whereas the older models take two or three times as long," he said.

The Grafenwöhr training area where 1st-27th fires the MLRS in Germany has a couple of rolling hills, but it is flat compared to Rocket Valley, Capt. Daniel said. "It doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It is just a different firing solution," he added.

Battery A fire direction controller Sgt. Michael Pulbrook relays commands to MLRS crews depending on the type of round required and the type of mission. The launchers can shoot short-, medium- and long-range missiles. They can suppress enemy air defenses so helicopters can move into an area, do counter fire against enemy artillery units or go after targets of opportunity, he said.

Shortly after he spoke, the MLRS units moved into firing positions in the valley. When the command was given, the rocket tubes pointed skyward at about a 45-degree angle and spun to face their targets at the far end of the mist-shrouded valley. Suddenly three brightly glowing rockets streaked through the sky, leaving smoky white vapor trails in their wake.

The rocket shoot was the culmination of weeks of work for those who arrived ahead of the unit and assembled the equipment, vehicles and field rations for more than 80 soldiers. Battery A supply specialist Joey Corrent said troops in South Korea have a different attitude.

"The attitude is different because they have to be ready to go in a minute. We are a go in 72 hours to a week in Germany, but these guys would roll up the hill in an hour-and-a-half and put rockets down range," he said.

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TweetThis is what the look like when an MLRS fires

Missiles and Fire Control successfully conducted the sixth flight test of a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket on March 30, 2005, at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Test objectives included demonstrating the GMLRS Unitary rocket in the delay mode at long range. The GMLRS Unitary tri-mode fuze provides the warfighter with three distinct detonation options: point detonate, which detonates the warhead on impact with the target providing minimal collateral damage; delay mode, which detonates after impact with the target providing a penetration capability; and proximity mode, which detonates at a predetermined height above the target allowing a greater target area to be covered.

This was the third flight of the GMLRS Unitary rocket with the enhanced capability fuze architecture. Preliminary data indicate all test objectives were achieved.

"The delay mode test of the GMLRS Unitary rocket demonstrates the ability to attack point targets where limiting collateral damage is an important tactical constraint," said Al Duchesne, director of MLRS Rocket Programs. "We continue to develop these new capabilities in the MLRS family of munitions to give our warfighters the tools necessary to achieve mission success."

Guided MLRS Unitary integrates a 180-pound unitary warhead into the GMLRS rocket, giving battlefield commanders the ability to attack targets up to 70 kilometers away with high precision. This low-cost, low-risk program will greatly reduce collateral damage by providing enhanced accuracy to ensure delivery of the warhead to the target.

MFC received a $119 million contract to conduct System Development and Demonstration (SDD) for a GMLRS variant with a single warhead in October 2003. The SDD contract includes 86 rockets, 71 of which are flight articles, with the balance supporting test and other activities. The contract also provides test hardware to support 26 flight tests for an initial configuration and 39 flight tests of a follow-on configuration.

The SDD phase of this program was preceded by a successful system demonstration in 2002 of a Quick Reaction Unitary Rocket and a nine-month Component Advanced Development program. The Guided Unitary SDD program will continue through 2007.

[charlie_HORSE]

TweetHOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!! ONG OMG they are huge

[SMILEY FACE]

TweetFor some reason when i saw ur thread and the C5, i thought u were talking about the corvette c5 and c6

[snickers1]

Tweetlets not forget about his little brother which is not so little

i used be a crew on the f-16 at edwards afb the c-5 and c-17 are just fricken huge in person.

[HungarianBeast]

Tweetcool pics guys.