41st FAB Conducts Historic GMLRS LFX Raid in Poland

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — U.S. Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Field Artillery Brigade, conducted a field artillery raid from Germany into Poland alongside the 1st Polish Missile Brigade during Baltic Shield 26, in support of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, demonstrating V Corps’ ability to rapidly project, integrate, employ and sustain combat credible long-range fires formations along NATO’s eastern flank.

The operation confirmed the brigade’s capability to rapidly alert, marshal, deploy, occupy, integrate, employ and retrograde precision fires assets within a multinational environment under compressed timelines. Conducted in support of V Corps, U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO deterrence objectives, the exercise reinforced the Alliance’s ability to rapidly establish lethal and survivable combat power forward in support of collective defense.

During the operation, U.S. and Polish forces executed a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) live fire exercise, reinforcing NATO’s long-range precision strike capability and demonstrating seamless multinational fires integration. The exercise focused on tactical systems, survivability considerations and expeditionary sustainment capabilities required for distributed long-range precision fires operations in contested environments.

The operation began with Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) operations in Poland, where Soldiers established expeditionary firing positions, command and control architecture, sustainment nodes and tactical communications networks following movement from Germany.

U.S. and Polish forces then conducted leader integration and technical rehearsals focused on bilateral digital fire mission processing, fires synchronization, communications interoperability and command and control integration to ensure a unified operational framework prior to execution.

The multinational live fire exercise was conducted in two iterations between the 41st Field Artillery Brigade and the 1st Polish Missile Brigade utilizing the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Crews fired GMLRS munitions, GPS-guided rockets designed for long range engagements, to demonstrate accurate and responsive fires.

The operation marked the first GMLRS live fire execution from the M270A2 platform within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, representing a significant milestone in the Army’s long-range precision fires modernization efforts across the European theater.

Additionally, the exercise incorporated Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) communications, enhancing resilient beyond line-of-sight communications and enabling distributed command and control across geographically dispersed multinational fires formations operating in expeditionary environments.

Following completion of the live fire exercise, Soldiers conducted retrograde operations back to Germany, further proving the brigade’s ability to rapidly reposition and sustain combat power across dispersed operational environments.

Beyond the live fire exercise, the operation demonstrated NATO’s ability to rapidly establish, integrate and employ forward positioned combat power along the Alliance’s eastern flank. The exercise reinforced deterrence by showcasing the readiness, mobility, lethality and interoperability of U.S. and allied long-range precision fires formations operating together in support of collective defense across Europe.