Lockheed Martin Missile Fire Controls, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $23,067,054 modification to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0101 for the purchase of production parts for the production of M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launchers. Work will be performed in Camden, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 missile procurement (U.S. Army) funds; 2020 United States Marine Corp funds; and 2020 Foreign Military Sales (Romania, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Finland) funds in the amount of $23,067,054 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army, mounted on a standard Army M1140 truck frame. The HIMARS carries six rockets or one MGM-140 ATACMS missile on the U.S. Army’s new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS ammunition is interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1, however it is only able to carry one pod rather than the standard two for the M270 and A1 variants. It was designed as a small, mobile, MLRS, with the ability to ‘shoot-and-scoot’.
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is the light, wheeled version of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The HIMARS utilizes the same pod as the M270 MLRS uses. A pod can hold six rockets or a single missile. The windows are made of glass and layers of sapphire. The launcher is C-130 transportable. The chassis is produced by BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division), the OEM of the FMTV. The M142 HIMARS is now in service with the United States, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Poland, Finland, and Romania. Other countries including Canada, Qatar, and the Philippines has requested the United States to acquire M142 HIMARS.