The new Israel Defense Forces “Romach” guided artillery rockets within the IDF Artillery Corps’s Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems. Photo: IDF GOC Army Headquarters.

JNS.org – One year after commencing field testing, the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday declared that a new guided artillery rocket called the Romach (“Spear”) is now operational.

The Israeli military’s Artillery Corps completed integrating the new system in recent weeks, the IDF said. The GPS-guided rocket is made by Israel Military Industries (IMI) and will be used with the Artillery Corps’s M270 Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which have already been modified so that they can launch the new munition.

The Romach has a reported range of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a 20-kilogram (44-pound) warhead, and is accurate to within 10 meters (33 feet) of its target. One officer involved in the Romach project said, “In contrast to the MLRS, with the Romach we increased the number of rockets in each launcher from 12 to 18, and all the rockets can be fired within a minute.”

Eli Reiter, head of IMI’s Rocket Systems Division, told IHS Jane’s 360 in January that the Romach, which can be launched at pre-programmed coordinates within seconds of an order being given, would provide the IDF with the ability to rapidly and accurately strike enemy targets.

“If a sector experiences a security escalation, this firepower can be called upon more rapidly compared with scrambling combat helicopters and they are more accurate than artillery cannons,” Reiter said.