20 July 2025
Sitting in the cab of a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) on the range at Shoalwater Bay in Queensland, Gunner Zachary Clarke was buzzing with nervous energy.
Six months of training had led up to him sitting in front of a fire control panel, triple-checking data and waiting for the order to fire.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“Seagull, this is Hardrock one-zero, verify HIMARS ready, over,” the call came over the radio.
“Hardrock one-zero this is Seagull, I verify HIMARS ready, over,” the reply bounced back.
“This is Hardrock one-zero, HIMARS ready. HIMARS fire, over.”
Gunner Clarke armed his launchers and flicked the switch to fire.
With a thunderous roar and a blast of exhaust that rocked the launcher, six rockets fired in sequence, tearing into the sky to strike targets on Townshend Island.
It was the first time Gunner Clarke had fired the HIMARS, and the first time the long-range strike systems had been fired on Australian soil by Australian soldiers.
“It was a bit nerve wracking to begin with, but I hit the arm switch and then the fire switch and rockets started flying. It was a weight off the shoulders once that last rocket left the tube,” Gunner Clarke said.
“It almost felt like a once in a lifetime experience, but then you settle down and realise that’s my job now. I’ll get to do that all the time. It’s really exciting.”
Gunner Clarke joined the Army in 2020 and was posted to 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, before transferring to HIMARS in January.
'We are the first, we are making history. This hasn’t been done by Australians before.'
An expression of interest was floated last year for artillery operators to transfer to Adelaide’s 10 Brigade. There, they would raise a HIMARS battery as part of the new 14th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery.
The role appealed to Gunner Clarke; not just because he was originally from Adelaide, but after researching the new equipment, he was excited to be at the forefront of an emerging capability.
The operators conducted their initial training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma at the Fires Centre of Excellence, undertaking the US initial employment training for HIMARS operators.
Once the battery received launchers in March, it was straight onto driver training and dry-fire exercises to reach a ready-to-shoot standard before deploying on Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
Sitting in the cab while the rockets fired was just as impressive as it looked on the outside, according to Gunner Clarke.
“The boys were getting thrown left and right a bit, which is something we’ve never experienced before because we’ve only ever done dry-fire,” he said.
“It was an exciting, visceral experience; the truck is moving and you can feel that you are shooting rockets, it was pretty fun.”
Each system is operated by a driver, gunner and crew commander.
The crew commander, a bombardier, is the tactical lead, scouting for hides and superior firing locations while assisting the driver in navigating terrain and positioning the vehicle for firing.
The gunner is responsible for the fire control of the system. They receive firing data, enter it into the fire control panel, lay the launcher on target and fire the rockets.
Talisman Sabre is the first exercise for the newly raised battery.
After starting with a joint live-fire activity alongside United States and Singapore Army launchers, Gunner Clarke is excited to get after the fight.
“We are the first, we are making history. This hasn’t been done by Australians before,” he said.
“We’ve also done it in a relatively short timeframe. I don’t know of any other piece of equipment that’s been raised, delivered and fired within six months.”
