MGM-140 ATACMS

MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System)
ATACMS being launched by a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System in 2012
TypeRocket artillery
Tactical ballistic missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1991–present[1]
Used by
  • Australia
  • United States
  • South Korea
  • Morocco
  • Romania
  • Greece
  • Turkey
  • Poland
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
Wars
Production history
DesignerLing-Temco-Vought
Designed1986
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Unit costM39: $820,000 (FY1998)[2] (or ~$1,476,000 FY2022)
M57: ~$1,700,000 (FY2021)[3]
No. built3,700[4][5]
Specifications ([7][8])
Mass3,690 pounds (1,670 kg)
Length13 feet (4.0 m)
Diameter24 inches (610 mm)
Wingspan55 inches (1.4 m)

Maximum firing range190 mi (300 km)

Flight ceiling160,000 ft (50 km)[6]
Maximum speed Supersonic, in excess of Mach 3 (0.6 mi/s; 1.0 km/s)[6]
Guidance
system
GPS-aided inertial navigation guidance
Launch
platform
M270, HIMARS

The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS; pronounced /əˈtækəmz/) is a tactical ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions. It uses solid propellant, is 13 feet (4.0 m) high and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, and the longest-range variants can fly up to 190 miles (300 km).[9] The missiles can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

An ATACMS launch container has one rocket but a lid patterned with six circles like a standard MLRS rocket lid to prevent an enemy from discerning what type of missile is loaded.[1]

  1. ^ a b "MGM-140 ATACMS". Military Today. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. ^ "M39 Army Tactical Missile System (Army TACMS)". Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Joe Biden is Probably About to Send These Deep-Strike Missiles to Ukraine". 20 September 2023.
  4. ^ "U.S. army awards Lockheed Martin $78 million contract for ATACMS guided missile modernization". Armyrecognition.com. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Lockheed Martin Tactical Missile System Upgrades". Armedforces-Int.com. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b Hasik, James (2 November 2016). "Third Offset Breakthrough: U.S. Army Using Existing Technology to Develop 'Warship-Killer' Missiles". The National Interest. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. ^ "ATACMS Long-Range Precision Tactical Missile System" (PDF). lockheedmartin.com. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Lockheed Martin MGM-140 ATACMS". Designation-systems.net. 19 September 2006. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Army Tactical Missile System Block IA Unitary". Lockheed Martin. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.

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