The German MLRS MARS II is an analog of the American MLRS
The Bundeswehr is armed with the Mars II rocket launcher system. This tracked launcher is actually an analogue of the American M270 MLRS, albeit with minor modifications. The KMW (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) concern integrated the overseas "brother" at the request of the German army, in particular by increasing its size and mass.
The MARS II anti-aircraft missile system is designed to destroy concentrations of enemy manpower and equipment, artillery batteries, air defense equipment, command posts and communication nodes, as well as for remote mining of terrain. It consists of a launcher mounted on the tracked chassis of the American infantry fighting vehicle M2 Bradley, unguided missiles of caliber 240 mm, fire control equipment and a transport vehicle.
The artillery part of the German MLRS has two disposable containers of six fiberglass guide tubes each, mounted in a box-shaped armored case. The containers are mounted on a crawler chassis on a rotary platform. Charging mechanisms are assembled on the same chassis. Moreover, the installation and sealing of transport and launch containers is carried out at the manufacturing plant. Containers are reloaded in a horizontal position of the artillery unit.
The cabin of the crew of the MARS II anti-aircraft missile system, consisting of three people - the commander, driver and gunner - has a system of collective protection against weapons of mass destruction with a filter ventilation unit. Fire control equipment is also located in the cabin.
The MARS II multiple rocket launcher system uses unguided missiles with cluster warheads or cluster warheads. The cluster warhead consists of AT-2 anti-tank mines for remote mining of terrain. The weight of the rocket is 107 kg, the flight range is 40 km. The cumulative combat element penetrates homogeneous armor up to 140 mm thick.
Instead, unguided missiles with a cumulative warhead have a flight range of 32 km and a weight of 159 kg. The warhead is equipped with 644 M77 cumulative fragmentation elements, which have an armor penetration of up to 40 mm of homogeneous armor. In turn, the TGW anti-tank unguided missile is equipped with homing warheads and is designed for a flight range of up to 45 km. Her weight is 107 kg. By the way, 60 seconds are enough for MARS II to launch all 12 missiles.
This MLRS is equipped with a new European fire control system, which allows firing GMLRS guided missiles, which are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 70 km. Missiles manage to deliver accurate strikes due to the presence of an improved global positioning system (GPS guidance) with an antenna that is more resistant to interference.
