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Will US Rocket Launchers Really Be a 'Game Changer' in Ukraine?

The transfer of HIMARS rocket launchers to Ukraine is being described as “game changer” in Ukraine’s war against Russia, just as so many of the earlier weapons sent to Kiev were, but the Ukrainian armed forces already have rocket launchers, of the Soviet-era Grad and Uragan types, and they have been using them heavily. The HIMARS will add greater range and better precision, but it otherwise seems that they are in principle the same capability. Proponents of the HIMARS argue that they’ll outrange Russian artillery, but the Russians have more than one way to strike a target, including air-launched cruise and ground-launched Iskander missiles, both of which can be launched from much greater ranges than the HIMARS can shoot.

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