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 Artillery Corps completed integrating the new system In recent weeks, the IDF said. The GPS-guided rocket is made by Israel Military Industries. The rocket will be used with the Artillery Corps' M270 Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems, which have already been modified so 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 the target. According to one officer involved in the Romach project: "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." In January, Eli Reiter, head of IMI's Rocket Systems Division, told IHS Jane's 360 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 told Jane's.
