White Sands Missile Range Missile Park

High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) mockup designed and fabricated at WSMR in 1993 to provide MLRS firepower on a lightweight, small, wheeled chassis. It was so realistic and functional that on 13 December 1993, a MLRS rocket was fired from the mockup. HIMARS carried a single six-pack of rockets on a 5-ton truck. Its fire control system, electronics and communications units were interchangeable with the MLRS M270 launcher. Because it was smaller, it fit on a C-130 aircraft, requiring fewer airlift sorties to get MLRS firepower where it was needed. The lightweight wheeled chassis allowed high road speeds and movement into areas inaccessible to the larger M270 launch vehicle.