The 4th Battalion, 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade, attached to “Task Force 82,” supported the Romanian 8th Field Artillery Brigade during their M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Artillery Table VIII Gunnery using Reduced Range Practice Rockets, Jan. 17, 2024. This Romanian artillery exercise was conducted by the Romanian 8th Field Artillery Brigade and supported by the 4th SFAB to increase readiness and interoperability between NATO Allies. U.S. Army Maj. Zachary Busenbark, Commander, Alpha Battery, 4th Battalion, 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade, and Team Leader for the SFAB Field Artillery Advisor Team, spoke to the importance of maximizing his team’s involvement with NATO military forces in Europe.
“In Europe, the desire is for the maximization of interoperability with both NATO Allied forces and partner nations to ensure we can train and fight together effectively as a combined team. The domains of interoperability—human, procedural, and technical—are practiced to the maximum extent possible to make sure that as a combined team we can be as lethal as possible in the event that we have to go fight and win as a coalition,” said Busenbark.
The Romanian Land Forces HIMARS launchers use are U.S. missile and rocket systems that fire the Guided M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System as well as the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System. The launcher can be transported by C-17 Globemaster, C-5 Galaxy, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The MLRS rocket has a range of approximately 70 kilometers, and the ATACMS can reach as far as 300 Kilometers. In addition to mission readiness, this gunnery exercise helped prepare the Soldiers for next year’s NATO Combat Readiness Evaluation. Task Force 82, from the 82d Airborne Division, leads critical aspects of the US military to assure Allies and partners, deter adversaries, and reinforces NATO security force assistance in the Black Sea region.
The M142 HIMARS (M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck frame. The HIMARS carries one pod with either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile. It is based on the U.S. Army’s FMTV five-ton truck, and is capable of launching all rockets specified in the Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS; however, it is limited to a single pod as opposed to the standard two for the M270 and its variants.
