Live-fire drills, overhyped HIMARS 'Hits & Misses' six times to sink its target.

Antipolo Magazine 2020

The M142 HIMARS is a light multiple rocket launcher designed for the American Army in the late 1990s. It is placed on a conventional truck frame from the American Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. Six GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS missile are both carried by one pod on the HIMARS.

This year's Balikatan military drills included a live-fire exercise, which Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. watched from a tower while sitting next to US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson. The exercise's target—a decommissioned warship—was missed by the much-heralded High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.

The two HIMARS launchers attempted to sink the BRP Pangasinan, a former Philippine navy corvette, six times, but were unsuccessful each time. Eventually, the ship was sunk by a barrage of weapons from US and Philippine artillery and aircraft.

The Balikatan exercise, the biggest ever in terms of troop numbers with more than 17,000 US and Filipino forces, is believed to show more proof of the Philippines' clear inclination toward its longtime friend, the United States, under the leadership of Marcos.

Although the Philippines is one of several nations involved in a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea and China continues to assert control over maritime territory claimed by the Philippines, Manila appeared to be moving closer to Beijing under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

A combined intelligence fusion effects center (CIFEC) at Camp Aquino in Tarlac received the information about the target vessel's location from the Hermes 900 drone and other redundant sensors, which then sent instructions to the firing units.

The warship was invisible beyond the horizon while a narrator over a public address system detailed the incident down range.