US Marine Corps seeks to apply lessons from Russo-Ukrainian war
USMC-operated High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). (Photo: USMC)
The US Marine Corps has been learning lessons from the war in Ukraine and is now focusing on the acquisition and deployment of UAVs and artillery systems with long-range capabilities.
Conclusions drawn from the war in Ukraine are pushing the USMC toward equipping its troops with advanced UAVs and are underlining the value of long-range artillery systems.
Speaking on 18 July during a webinar organised by the US-based think tank CSIS, Gen Eric Smith, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps claimed that the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is ‘absolutely vital’ for the branch.
Smith noted that UAVs or loitering munitions would be deployed to hit back at HIMARS batteries or direct counter-battery fire, so ‘you have to be able to fire and move immediately’.
HIMARS is perfectly capable of shoot-and-scoot missions, as
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