'
Dan Rice is correct. Get the M26 cluster munition for HIMARS into the counter-fire fight to destroy Russian artillery and sever the "land bridge" as HIMARS get in range. And the US has huge amounts of these available.'
- Ben Hodges (
Source, August 26, 2023)
'But what Kyiv's military needs now are DPICMs for HIMARS in the form of M26 or M26A1 rockets, Rice said. These 227 mm rockets are packed with around 650 and 500 submunitions, respectively, which is a substantial increase over the nearly 90 submunitions that Ukraine's current cluster munitions contain.
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The US has a large stockpile of DPICM rockets for HIMARS that are otherwise going to be destroyed, and if even a fraction of those are given to Ukraine, "the war would be over," Rice predicted. From a political standpoint, he believes getting Ukraine the M26 rockets is achievable because they are not increasing the current range of the HIMARS, long an argument against providing long-range missiles like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), but rather just boosting its lethality and making it an area weapon.
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Like he first did with the 155 millimeter cluster munitions, Rice is currently lobbying for Washington to provide the M26 rockets to Ukraine. It remains to be seen if the US will do so. The Pentagon said it could not speculate on future security assistance packages before they are announced.
"That's the way that this will change the war," Rice said. The US has given Ukraine a chance at a certain degree of fire superiority with cluster munitions, "but now we have to give them the chance to win it."''When the US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) first arrived in Ukraine, the difference it could make for Kyiv's forces was immediately clear. It allowed them to strike Russian positions hard at ranges far beyond all other available artillery.
While it's still a formidable weapon, even as Russia's forces have somewhat adapted to it by pulling back their ammunition depots and command and control centers, a former US artillery officer says it's time to increase their destructive capacity.
He argues that what these rocket artillery systems need now is a firepower boost from M26 cluster rockets, which would allow Ukraine to increase the lethality of its HIMARS and turn them into an area weapon that could threaten Russian artillery, crippling a key capability in this fight. Cluster rockets would be a step up from the deadly 155 mm shells called dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) — commonly known as cluster munitions — that the US recently delivered to Ukraine.
Washington "should be providing DPICM for the HIMARS rockets," Dan Rice, who lobbied for the Pentagon to send cluster munitions as a special advisor to Ukraine's military leadership, told Insider. "It's the biggest thing of this war."
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But what Kyiv's military needs now are DPICMs for HIMARS in the form of M26 or M26A1 rockets, Rice said. These 227 mm rockets are packed with around 650 and 500 submunitions, respectively, which is a substantial increase over the nearly 90 submunitions that Ukraine's current cluster munitions contain.
Right now, Ukraine's HIMARS are consuming solid projectile rockets that are quite lethal. But Kyiv only has a limited number of them, and they're in high demand. For this reason, HIMARS rockets aren't used against individual Russian artillery pieces and are instead fired sporadically at higher-value targets, Rice said.
"What would happen if we gave them DPICM rockets would be that it would actually be used at a tactical level. So your HIMARS systems could now go after front-line battalions," he said.
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The US has a large stockpile of DPICM rockets for HIMARS that are otherwise going to be destroyed, and if even a fraction of those are given to Ukraine, "the war would be over," Rice predicted. From a political standpoint, he believes getting Ukraine the M26 rockets is achievable because they are not increasing the current range of the HIMARS, long an argument against providing long-range missiles like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), but rather just boosting its lethality and making it an area weapon.
..
Like he first did with the 155 millimeter cluster munitions, Rice is currently lobbying for Washington to provide the M26 rockets to Ukraine. It remains to be seen if the US will do so. The Pentagon said it could not speculate on future security assistance packages before they are announced.
"That's the way that this will change the war," Rice said. The US has given Ukraine a chance at a certain degree of fire superiority with cluster munitions, "but now we have to give them the chance to win it."
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HIMARS changed the game in Ukraine, but a former US artillery officer says what they need now is a firepower boost with M26 cluster rockets, August 25, 2023
Context(Ukraine needs ATACMs) - '..increase production capacity .. admitting Ukraine to NATO, depriving Russia of .. imperial fantasies..'(Ukraine needs ATACMs) - '..They haven't even asked Manufacturer to increase production.' - Ben Hodges(The Wall Street Journal) - Let Ukraine Direct Its Own Counteroffensive