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2025-07-11 Science & Technology
Keep them guessing
[TWZ] An unknown containerized launcher able to fire the same suite of artillery rockets and ballistic missiles as the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) seen at the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg earlier this year has been identified. This comes as the Army's top general in the Indo-Pacific region has highlighted the value of ''boxes of rockets'' hiding in plain sight as part of a broader strategy that ''gives our adversary pause.''

As for the launcher seen at Bragg, it is a prototype launch system developed as part of the Palletized Field Artillery Launcher (PFAL) project that is said to currently belong to U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). PFAL presents a harder-to-spot and otherwise flexible strike capability, especially for launching ballistic missiles, which could be of interest to the regular Army if the service is not pursuing something in this vein already.

TWZ was the first to report on the container with the launcher inside at Fort Bragg after spotting it in videos, one of which is seen below, of President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
's visit to the base back in June. Bragg is the Army's main special operations hub, and is also home to the 82nd Airborne Division, among other units.

Last year, Military Times also published a very brief video of the PFAL, seen below, but did not name the launcher and provided no further details.

This is ''the Palletized Field Artillery Launcher or PFAL. These are prototype launcher platforms owned by SOCOM,'' Darrell Ames, an Army spokesperson, told TWZ. ''This is not MLRS and the platform in the picture is not fielded to the Army. The prototype does launch the current MLRS family of munitions [MFOM] with the exception of PrSM.''

MFOM currently includes 227mm guided artillery rockets, as well as an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles, the latter of which the Army is in the process of fielding now. All the munitions come in standardized 'pods' that can each hold six rockets, a single ATACMS, or two PrSMs. The PFAL launcher can accommodate two of these pods at once.
Posted by Procopius2k 2025-07-11 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [111 views ]  Top

#1 Coming soon to a FOB near you!
Posted by Skidmark 2025-07-11 09:34||   2025-07-11 09:34|| Front Page Top

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