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The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System missiles, better known by the acronym ATACMS, are short-range tactical ballistic missiles with a maximum range of 300 km. They are weapons of not very recent conception: the first models in fact entered service during the “Desert Storm” operation in 1991, the air campaign of the Gulf War, launched by the United States to overthrow the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, while the design of this weapon began in the early 80’s.
They are “surface-to-surface” missiles, therefore launched from the ground and destined for terrestrial targets. The propulsion system is solid fuel, and the guidance can be ballistic, and in this case the missile is directed towards the target simply by calculating inclination and range like a common cannon projectile, or via GPS, exploiting geostationary positioning satellites . The weapon is 4 meters long and has a variable weight from approximately 1300 kg to over 1660 depending on the versions. In the warhead it can carry both fragmentation devices, capable of hitting “soft” targets such as living beings in a relatively large area, and a single device capable of doing greater damage in a smaller area.
Himars or MLRS M270 self-propelled missile launchers are used for the launch; each self-propelled vehicle can carry a single Atacms. The company that currently produces them is Lockeed Martin, while the cluster of companies that originally designed them is Ling-Temco-Vought. The cost per unit varies, depending on the type, from over 800,000 dollars to over 1,700,000 dollars. The Atacms are not supplied to the Italian Army, but other NATO States have them in their arsenals, as do the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Australia. (fs)