HIMARS first entered service in June 2005 with the 27th Field Artillery, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina.
Afghanistan and the Middle East Three prototype HIMARS launchers were successfully used during the
Iraq War. A British officer later said that the rockets were on target, that the target was in use by the
Taliban, and that use of the system had been reinstated. Reports indicated that the civilian deaths were due to the Taliban's use of
human shields. The presence of civilians at that location had not been known to the ISAF forces. A report in the
New York Times in October 2010 credited the HIMARS with aiding the
NATO offensive in
Kandahar by targeting Taliban commanders' hideouts, forcing many to flee to Pakistan, at least temporarily. In November 2015, the U.S. Army revealed that it had deployed the HIMARS to Iraq, firing at least 400 rockets at
Islamic State (ISIL) targets since the beginning of that summer. HIMARS detachments were sent to
Al Asad Airbase and
Al-Taqaddum Air Base in
Al Anbar Governorate. In March 2016, a U.S. Army HIMARS fired rockets into Syria for the first time in support of Syrian rebels fighting ISIL, from launchers based in neighboring Jordan. In January 2016, Lockheed announced that the HIMARS had reached 1 million operational hours with U.S. forces, achieving a 99 percent operational readiness rate. In April 2016, it was announced that the U.S. would be deploying the HIMARS in Turkey near the border with Syria as part of the battle with ISIL. In early September, international media and the
U.S. State Department reported a newly deployed HIMARS had engaged ISIL targets in Syria near the Turkish border. In October 2016, HIMARS were stationed at
Qayyarah Airfield West, some south of Mosul, taking part in the
Battle of Mosul. In June 2017, a HIMARS was deployed at
Al-Tanf, Syria, to support U.S.-backed rebels in the area. On 24 May 2018, a HIMARS strike killed 50 Taliban fighters and leaders in
Musa Qala, Afghanistan. Three rockets struck the building within a 14-second timespan. In September 2018, US support forces coordinated with
Syrian Democratic Forces fighting to defeat ISIS in east Syria in the
Deir ez-Zor campaign, sometimes striking ISIS positions with GMLRS rockets 30 times per day. The HIMARS used in this support operation were located in the Omar oilfields, some north of the ISIS-controlled targets. In March 2026, a pair of HIMARS launchers were observed in Bahrain launching missiles towards Iran during the
Iran war. This was the first instance of attacks against Iran originating from other Gulf countries being observed. It is unclear who was operating the weapons systems, as HIMARS are used by both the United States and Bahrain (having acquired the launchers in 2025).
Ukraine , July 2022 On 1 June 2022, the US announced that it would be supplying four HIMARS to Ukraine with M31 GMLRS unitary rockets. On 23 June, the first HIMARS arrived in Ukraine, according to
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. On 25 June 2022, Ukraine started deploying the system against Russian forces during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, "Artillerymen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit ... military targets of the enemy on our, Ukrainian, territory". The Ukrainian military stated that this first strike, on a Russian base in Izyum, killed over 40 soldiers. The day before, a second batch of four was announced to be delivered in mid-July. On 1 July, a US defense official told reporters that Ukraine had been using the system to destroy Russian command posts: "selecting targets and then accurately hitting them ... degrading Russian capability". On 18 July, Zaluzhnyi said: "An important factor contributing to our retention of defensive lines and positions is the timely arrival of M142 HIMARS, which deliver surgical strikes on enemy control posts, ammunition and fuel storage depots." Another four HIMARS were announced for delivery on 8 July, the delivery spacing driven by the weeks-long process to train Ukrainian troops on how to use the platform. To avoid escalating the conflict, the US restricted Ukraine from using HIMARS to attack targets on Russian territory. For the same reason, the US had not provided Ukraine with the longer-range
ATACMS missile, which could easily engage targets inside of Russia. A fourth batch of four was announced on 20 July, bringing the total number of HIMARS committed to Ukraine to 16. Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov stated that the country needed "at least 100" of the system and that by that point, eight systems had destroyed 30 command stations and ammunition storage facilities, decreasing the intensity of Russian shelling and slowing their advance. In that announcement, it was revealed that the number delivered had reached 12 launchers. That number had increased to 16 by 1 August. On 30 August 2022,
The Washington Post reported on Ukrainian claims to have successfully used decoy HIMARS units made out of wood to draw at least 10 Russian
3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles. One US diplomat stated that Russian sources had claimed more HIMARS destroyed than the US had sent. A
Pentagon official had earlier in the month asserted that no HIMARS had been destroyed at that time. On 8 September, US General
Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters: "We are seeing real and measurable gains from Ukraine in the use of these systems. For example, the Ukrainians have struck over 400 targets with the HIMARS and they've had devastating effect". A further 18 HIMARS were announced on 28 September, as part of an aid package aimed at meeting Ukraine's mid- and long-term needs, so deliveries are to begin in six months at the earliest. Ukraine had previously been provided with only M31 Unitary Warhead missiles, which are "not ideal against targets spread over large areas, as the deadly chunks are not designed to fly far." As of early October they have been granted the M30A1 which uses the Alternative Warhead that can cover up to "half a square mile of land in a single salvo" with 180,000
tungsten steel
BB sized balls. The US announced on 4 October that four more HIMARS launchers would be provided from US military stockpiles, to increase the total to 20 HIMARS in Ukrainian service. HIMARS attacks by Ukraine have been credited with "destroy Russian command nodes, tens of thousands of howitzer artillery rounds and a staggering 20 million small-arms rounds." As of 11 November 2022, a senior U.S. official stated no HIMARS systems have been destroyed after five months in operational use. As of February 2023, CNN reported that Ukraine had expended approximately 9,500 GMLRS rockets. In response to the effects of HIMARS,
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the HIMARS system as a high priority target for Russian troops. Ukrainian officials identified Russia's
loitering munitions as the biggest threat to the HIMARS. HIMARS has also been used to strike Russian troop concentrations in hard cover, with a HIMARS strike on a Russian base in Makiivka killing 89 Russian soldiers on the admission of the Russian government, although BBC News Russian claimed at least 139 dead Russian soldiers. On 5 May 2023, it was reported that Russia was able to
jam GMLRS rockets' GPS guidance system, making strikes less precise. In addition to GPS guidance, GMLRS rockets have an
inertial navigation system which, by definition, cannot be jammed, but it is less precise alone than when it is coupled with GPS guidance. On 5 March 2024, a Ukrainian HIMARS system was destroyed for the first confirmed time, after being tracked by a Russian drone and targeted with a missile near
Nykanorivka, Donetsk Oblast. On 15 August 2024, the second confirmed loss of a HIMARS system occurred in the Sumy region, making the total loss to two destroyed and two damaged. In June 2024, after Ukraine was given permission to use GMLRS on internationally recognized Russian territory, HIMARS strikes destroyed and damaged launchers along with other components of the Russian long-range S-300/S-400 surface-to-air missile system in Belgorod region of Russia. On 9 August 2024, HIMARS
destroyed a convoy of Russian troops in the
Kursk Oblast of Russia, with Russian milbloggers acknowledging the attack and calling for punishment of Russian commanders. Drone video of the HIMARS strike subsequently emerged, showing the Russian convoy being struck with GMLRS, numerous Russian vehicles being destroyed, and Russian troops fleeing the convoy. In May 2025, a HIMARS system was destroyed by an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attack. The Polish publication notes that unlike the other confirmed cases of the HIMARS system being hit by missiles, this is the first documented case of destruction by a
first-person view (FPV) drone. On 21 May 2025, it was reported that a Ukrainian HIMARS rocket launcher had recently been destroyed just 10 kilometers from the frontline near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast by a Russian drone operated by
Rubicon—an elite unmanned aerial unit. On 28 September 2025, Ukraine's HIMARS
struck the Belgorod thermal power plant, causing a "complete power outage" in
Belgorod and surrounding areas. As of March 2026, four HIMARS system have been destroyed and another four damaged.
Exercises HIMARS is regularly deployed within Australia during
Exercise Talisman Sabre, and in 2025, a U.S. Army system was deployed to
Christmas Island. == Armament ==