{"id":60283,"date":"2020-11-23T18:42:16","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T18:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/23\/us-romanian-forces-launch-rockets-into-black-sea-for-the-first-time\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:07:12","slug":"us-romanian-forces-launch-rockets-into-black-sea-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/11\/23\/us-romanian-forces-launch-rockets-into-black-sea-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"US, Romanian forces launch rockets into Black Sea for the first time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. forces fired two M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems at targets during Exercise Rapid Falcon last week from Romania into the Black Sea \u2014 marking the first time U.S. troops had done so with Romanian counterparts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the service, troops from the Army\u2019s 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Field Artillery Brigade deployed the HIMARS systems using an MC-130J Commando II with the U.S. Air Force\u2019s 352nd Special Operations Wing and a C-130 Hercules with U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two launcher crews of six personnel departed Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Nov. 19 for Romania to complete the exercise before returning to Germany immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday we performed a HIRAIN, which is a HIMARS Rapid Infiltration,\u201d Capt. Justin Bland, Alpha Battery Commander, 1-77 FAR, said in a recent Army news release<\/a>. \u201cThis allows us to load up into a C-17, C-130, or a C-5 and go anywhere in the world and provide these timely fires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t