Okinawa, Japan. (July 28, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Say Ford, Marines with Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing evaluate a prototype loading system designed to allow the M142 High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS) to be transported by the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. This modern design was the handiwork of Gunnery Sergeant Rodrigo Hernandez-Polindara, an active-duty Marine whose invention could lead to a more efficient way to transport the vital HIMARS system to the battlefield.

The devastating impact of HIMARS has been demonstrated recently by Ukraine which has used the system effectively to push back against numerically superior Russian forces. HIMARS was originally developed in the 1990s for the Army as a mobile artillery system but has since been used for anti-aircraft protection and long-range precision strikes. For infantry forces. HMARS is mounted onto a five-ton truck and it carries either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System missile.

This highly mobile weapon allows Marines to shower the enemy with high precision munitions from up to forty-five miles away and in all-weather conditions.

The system is currently transported by either an Airbus A400 Atlas or the Lockheed C-130 aircraft which require an extensive runway to land and takeoff. The Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft capable of landing like a helicopter to deliver troops and equipment to the battlefield. This modern design will allow the Osprey to bring this devastating weapon directly to the Marines when they need it the most.