U.S. Marines conduct rare HIMARS exercise near Mount Fuji

U.S. Marines test-fired a dozen rockets on Wednesday, May 21, from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at a training range in the foothills of Japan’s Mount Fuji, as part of an exercise aimed at maintaining proficiency with a weapon that is becoming an increasingly important component of the American military’s arsenal.

The HIMARS is a mobile launcher mounted on the back of a military truck, designed to be rapidly deployed from concealment, fire rockets, and quickly relocate to avoid counter-battery fire. This “shoot and scoot” approach is gaining importance as drones become more widespread on the battlefield, making stationary positions more vulnerable.

The system has previously been used by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. More recently, U.S. Central Command said it was employed in the opening attack on Iran, where it launched a new precision-guided rocket capable of reaching targets hundreds of miles away.

Such capabilities are particularly significant in the Pacific region, where the United States is seeking to deter a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. China claims the island as its own and has not ruled out the use of force. HIMARS systems equipped with the latest missiles could reach targets in the Taiwan Strait if deployed on nearby Japanese or other regional islands.

However, the system is typically equipped with shorter-range rockets, and the exercise conducted at the U.S. military’s Camp Fuji—located about a two-hour drive from Tokyo—involved only dummy projectiles.

The drill marked only the second time HIMARS has been tested at Camp Fuji and was carried out in close coordination with Japanese military forces. As a precaution, a public road located between the launch site and the impact area was temporarily closed during the exercise.

By Tamilla Hasanova