Chinese MLRS vs US HIMARS: details

Newsweek published on August 8 an article suggesting a comparison between Chinese MLRS and US HIMARS.

Caliber.Az reprints the article.

During the unprecedented show of force that China has put on around Taiwan in retaliation for United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island, Beijing has tested a new weapon in their arsenal: a long-range Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) which has been compared to the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

The new MLRS was first revealed to the public during China's National Day parade in October 2019. Beijing reportedly tested the new weapon for the first time in mid-July, according to China's state-owned broadcaster CCTV, which said the MLRS fired rockets in a high-altitude zone.

The weapon was reportedly used again during the military drills around Taiwan these past few days.

Pictures from China's CCTV were posted last week on Twitter by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Engagement at the Defense Priorities think tank, who said the images showed the MLRS firing rockets into the Taiwan Strait on August 4. Goldstein called the weapons "a game changer."

A correspondent for the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English language newspaper, replied to Goldstein's tweet calling the MLRS the "Chinese version" of HIMARS.

But how does China's MLRS compare to the US HIMARS?

MLRS v. HIMARS

Military experts at Military Watch Magazine argue that China's new MLRS is "among the heaviest in the world with a range rivalled only by its North Korean counterpart the KN-25."

Capable of firing both rockets and ballistic missiles, the new hardware—named the Type PCL-191, part of China's Weishi series—has a platform that can carry up to eight 370 mm rockets able of reaching a range of 217 miles, a significant extension of Beijing's previous firing range and, according to experts, an improvement of its precision strike capabilities.

It can also be used as a launcher for two 750 mm "Fire Dragon 480" tactical ballistic missiles with 310 miles ranges. The US HIMARS, on the other hand, can carry six GPS-guided missiles which can be fired at targets over 185 miles away.

Compared to MLRS launchers, HIMARS have a key difference: missiles can be reloaded in about a minute with a small team consisting of only a driver, gunner and launcher section chief, allowing troops to quickly relocate after firing.

But the main difference between the US HIMARS and China's MLRS is that, while we know for sure what the capabilities and power of the American-produced weapons are, we do not yet know how reliable and accurate the Chinese system actually is.

We also do not know how many of these MLRS Beijing can already count in its arsenal, while we know that the US has several hundred HIMARS.

US-supplied HIMARS are currently being employed during the war in Ukraine to help Kyiv troops repel Moscow's military in the Donbas region.