The U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) worked in a British M270B1 launcher, Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] announced.

That test launch was conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

Observers included members of the British military and U.K. Defence Equipment & Support delegation. They are considering their artillery system requirements.

M270B1 is the designation for the U.K. Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launcher, which has been in use with U.K. torces since the early 1990s.

The current M270B1 accepts firing all MLRS rocket munitions, but not ATACMS, which is not fielded by the U.K.

This test proved that with a simple system upgrade, the M270B1 can broaden its MLRS-based capabilities to include ATACMS.

The test used an ATACMS Unitary variant to destroy a target 130 kilometers away. The operation met all mission objectives, which included:

• Demonstrating the missile-U.K. launcher interface
• Validating missile performance and accuracy
• Proving performance of system software
• Obtaining performance, technical and reliability data.

In addition to the U.S., ATACMS is fielded in Bahrain, Greece, South Korea and Turkey.

During Operation Desert Storm, ATACMS became the first tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army.