By Chelsea Robin | 2026-04-15

US soldiers and aircrews practiced rapidly deploying the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) by air during Exercise Cobra Gold 2026 in Thailand, highlighting how the weapon can extend precision strike reach across the Indo-Pacific.

The drill included a HIMARS Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) mission carried out by US Army and Air Force personnel in early March. The concept allows rocket artillery units to deploy to forward locations, conduct precision strikes and relocate before adversaries can respond.

Cobra Gold, the largest and longest-running multinational military exercise in mainland Asia, has been hosted in Thailand annually since 1982.

This year's exercise, held from February 24 to March 6, was co-hosted by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the US Indo-Pacific Command. It focused on modern warfare challenges and technological advances while fostering multinational cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Multiple priorities

Cobra Gold annually "integrates field training events, humanitarian assistance activities and disaster response scenarios to enhance operational familiarity and strengthen regional partnerships," the Bangkok Post reported.

This year's drills emphasize combined joint operations across multiple domains, integrating land, sea, air, space and cyber capabilities.

The HIRAIN concept enables HIMARS, a truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher, to be transported by a US Air Force C-130 Hercules or C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from a staging base to a forward location. Doing so cuts reliance on traditional ground convoys.

HIMARS can rapidly establish a firing position, execute a precision strike and quickly reload and redeploy.

During the training mission, US Army soldiers and US Air Force crews coordinated closely to prepare the launcher for airlift.

To meet aircraft clearance requirements, the HIMARS launcher lowers its suspension before backing onto the aircraft. Upon landing, crews offload the launcher, reposition it and prepare it to fire before rapidly reloading and extracting the system.

"It allows us to move forward of the front line and extend our reach," said US Army Staff Sgt. Tino Saucedo, launcher chief with the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade.

"If we need to reach deeper targets or extend our presence as a show of force, HIRAIN lets us do that quickly," he said.

The training focused on synchronization between air and ground units and on the ability to move artillery quickly into and out of position, said military officials.

"It builds flexibility across multiple services and allows us to utilize each other's assets to increase lethality and readiness," said Lt. Col. Travis Hertlein, commander of the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment.

Shifting to mobile long-range fires

HIMARS has played an increasingly prominent role in US exercises across the Indo-Pacific in recent years, reflecting a broader shift toward mobile long-range fires designed for distributed operations. Such systems allow dispersed forces to deliver precision strikes across island chains, a capability widely seen as part of Washington's strategy to deter China in the region, say US officials.

Defense planners have increasingly emphasized mobile long-range fires in the Indo-Pacific, which island chains and limited infrastructure characterize. Rapidly deployable systems such as HIMARS allow forces to disperse across austere locations while maintaining precision strike capability.

Cobra Gold is adapting to evolving security challenges, with this year’s drills adding cyber training and civilian evacuation scenarios aimed at improving responses to emerging threats, according to Gen. Ukris Boontanondha, chief of Defense Forces Thailand.

Space operations included

Preparations for the exercise expanded to include space operations and other emerging security domains as participating forces tested new technologies and operational concepts.

During the exercise, US Army personnel protecting multinational training operations conducted defensive space control missions designed to monitor satellite communications and to detect potential interference.

Gen. Xavier T. Brunson, commander of US Forces Korea, traveled to Thailand in early March to observe maritime strike operations as part of the multinational drills. The exercise showed how capabilities developed on the Korean peninsula can be integrated into multinational operations, he said.

"Cobra Gold is a powerful demonstration of what happens when like-minded nations commit to a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Brunson added.

The drills highlight Thailand's effort to balance its security partnerships while maintaining regional stability.

Thailand a potential exercise hub

Thailand must carefully manage its position as host of the multinational exercise, international relations scholar Panitan Wattanayagorn told the Bangkok Post.

"The key issue is how Thailand can use Cobra Gold to secure strategic benefits and strengthen ties with key allies such as the US, Singapore and Japan, while avoiding actions that could be perceived as a threat to China," he said.

"If handled well, Thailand can serve as a hub for major military exercises in the region."

Core participants in the 45th Cobra Gold exercise included Thailand, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, while China, India and Australia joined selected activities.

More than 8,000 service members from about 30 countries joined the exercise, including more than 3,200 from the United States.