Exercise Highball has successfully concluded in Lancelin, Western Australia with the live fire of long-range land-based rocket artillery against a maritime target. A combined Australian Joint Operations Command and United States Indo-Pacific Command initiative, the exercise used a range of air, land, space and maritime capabilities to test United States Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) long-range fires concepts.
Flown across Australia by a Royal Australian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, a United States HIMARS platoon deployed to Lancelin for the live-fire component of the exercise. Once in position the launcher was fed targeting data that resulted in a direct hit on a small offshore target positioned beyond visual range in the Western Australia Exercise Area. The exercise follows the Australian Government announcement in January 2023 of the purchase of HIMARS launchers and associated munitions, which will be accelerated into service in accordance with Defence Strategic Review 2023 direction.
Air Vice-Marshal Michael Kitcher, Acting Chief of Joint Operations, said Exercise Highball demonstrated how the operational integration of new strike assets was being urgently developed and expanded upon. “Highball has shown the Australian Defence Force and our US partners how we can employ new capabilities like HIMARS at the operational-level. The Defence Strategic Review emphasised how Australia’s land forces must provide Defence with long-range strike capability. Exercise Highball has clearly demonstrated how the ADF is pursuing this need. Our region’s strategic environment is rapidly evolving, and we look forward to further cooperation with the United States as we continue to invest in capabilities to support the ADF.”
The United States HIMARS were also demonstrated at the combined live firepower demonstration in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.
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A few points of interest from the article that seem off kilter to me. One being, was the target stationary or moving, there is a big difference between hitting a ship trying to avoid being hit and one just sitting at anchor. Two, Why was a C17 used to transport the HIMARS, surely it would have been the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that it was deployable by a C130 (as advertised). Just asking..
I thought the whole thing was profoundly silly and a waste of time and money. Nothing was achieved other than showing once again that a GMLRS will fly to the GPS location programmed into it – no more, no less. I have no idea why it was necessary to fly the launcher across the entire continent – and I assume a C-17 was selected because even though it’s far more expensive it at least could have carried out this pointless mission in a single day whereas with a much slower C-130J it would have taken a lot longer than that.
Why was a US unit allowed to fire it? When are our people going to get experience on the Himars.
The entire thing looked like an expensive and meaningless publicity stunt. I assume that the deal has a training element to it but I don’t know when that will kick in.