September 11, 2012: The U.S. Army recently received its 20,000th
GMLRS (GPS guided MLRS) rocket. This total includes thousands of
cheaper (reduced range, no explosives) practice rockets. All
these rockets are packaged and used in containers (pods) holding
six rockets each. Most of these rockets are used by the American
army but many are for the U.S. Marine Corps and foreign
customers. So far about 2,300 GMLRS rockets have been fired in
combat, with a success rate of 98 percent. GMLRS rockets cost
about $100,000 each. The 309 kg (680 pound) GMLRS (guided
multiple launch rocket system) is a GPS guided 227mm rocket that
entered service eight years ago. It was designed to have a range
of 70 kilometers and the ability to land within meters of its
intended aiming point (GPS coordinates) at any range. This is
possible because it uses GPS (plus a backup inertial guidance
system) to find the target location it was programmed with. Four
years ago the army tested GMLRS at max range (about 85
kilometers) and found that i