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Video by Sgt. Melanye Martinez

Balikatan 22 - 3d MLR Employs HIMARS

Exercise Balikatan

April 4, 2022 | 0:41

U.S. Marines with 3d Battalion, 12 Marines, 3d Marine Division, deploy High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems during Balikatan 22 in northern Luzon, Philippines, April 4, 2022. During the training, the HIMARS platoon received real-time targeting data from the 3d Marine Littoral Regiment combat operations center to prosecute simulated fire missions. The HIMARS provided a ground-based precision fires capability in support of counter-landing operations and served as a surrogate for the future employment of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System. The coastal defense scenario enabled the MLR fires and intelligence sections to integrate with the joint network of sensors and develop a clear common operational picture while a small element of the 3d Littoral Anti-Air Battalion assisted with the de-confliction of land, air, and maritime traffic to ensure a safe flight path for the simulated missile. This combined interoperability event brought the U.S. Marine Corps and Philippine Marine Corps together with a common mission to bolster the collective defensive capabilities of the alliance. Balikatan is an annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences. Balikatan, Tagalog for ‘shoulder-to-shoulder,’ is a longstanding bilateral exercise between the Philippines and the United States highlighting the deep-rooted partnership between both countries. Balikatan 22 is the 37th iteration of the exercise and coincides with the 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippine security cooperation. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Melanye Martinez)