Scoop: Rocket launchers, missiles to be featured in Trump's Army parade

Zoom in: Such a display of military equipment is rare in the United States, and critics of the event have expressed concerns about that imagery as well as the damage that heavy military vehicles could pose to the city's streets.

• But officials are eager to showcase U.S. weaponry such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which is used to launch rockets.
• The launchers have been used in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

There also will be a static display of precision-guided missiles, the officials said, and a flyover by F-22 fighter jets.

• About 7,000 military personnel will be involved in the parade, which will run along Constitution Avenue NW. It's projected to cost about $45 million — roughly one-third of that for post-parade street repairs.

Zoom out: The parade is set to begin at 6:30 pm, and will start at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW and end at 15th and Constitution Avenue NW.

• Trump will have a review stand on the Ellipse.

What they're saying: "When the president came into office on Jan. 20, he made it clear that he wanted to ... feature the United States Army as the first branch of the United States military to be constituted of the American republic, and he wanted to give the U.S. Army a very special birthday parade," Ambassador Monica Crowley, chief of protocol of the United States, told Axios.

By the numbers: The parade will include 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks, 28 M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and four Paladin Howitzers.

• There will be eight CH-47 Chinook helicopters, 16 AH-64 Apache helicopters, and 16 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, officials said.
• Flyovers by World War II- and Vietnam-era planes also are planned.