SAN ANTONIO, Zambales, Philippines – 1st Multi-Domain Task Force soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (Long Range Fires Battalion) conducted mobility and live-fire training of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) on April 28, 2025, as part of a Joint Integrated Counter Landing Live-Fire exercise on the island of Palawan.
HIMARS is a highly mobile multiple launch rocket system that delivers precise, long-range fire while quickly maneuvering in and out of operational environments, making it a difficult and elusive target.
Through a coordinated joint effort and precise planning, the battery successfully executed a 24-hour movement of HIMARS launchers across multiple domains and over hundreds of miles to a firing point, showcasing the system's exceptional mobility and lethal capability.
The HIMARS live-fire was the culminating event of the Joint Live-Fire Exercise. This dynamic exercise brought together U.S. Army Soldiers, U.S. Marines, Australian Marines, and the Philippine Armed Forces.
The journey began with the launchers, armed with live training munitions, being loaded onto a C-130J Hercules aircraft in Subic. From there, they were flown to a waiting Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessel. Upon landing, the launchers were swiftly driven onto the vessel and transported over 100 miles by sea across Palawan. Once in Bataraza, southern Palawan, the HIMARS were offloaded and driven over 50 miles across the island, navigating both urban and jungle terrain to reach the final shoreline firing site near Rizal. At the site, they successfully fired six training rounds at a notional target at sea.
“This was the U.S. Army’s opportunity to demonstrate the capability of landpower by placing land-based fires into relevant positions to support territorial defense in support of a mutual defense ally,” said Lt. Col. Ben Blane, commander of 5th Battalion 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (LRFB).
As a theater-level unit and joint force enabler, assigned to the Indo-Pacific, the 1st MDTF plays a vital role in synchronizing long-range precision fires layered with long-range precision effects to create multiple dilemmas and neutralize adversary anti-access and area denial networks. The MDTF’s proven innovation, agility, and lethality have led the Army to direct five full MDTFs in strategically significant locations worldwide.
Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces designed to strengthen the alliance, showcase the capable combined force, and demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability.