Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $160,480,077 modification (P00032) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0101 for production of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems M142 launchers and support requirements. Work is estimated completion date of April 30, 2023. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation, Army; procurement, Marine Corps; Foreign Military Sales (Taiwan); and missile procurement, Army funds in the amount of $160,480,077 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
The US Department of State has approved the potential sale M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers to Taiwan, In its first notification the DSCA said that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) – Taiwan’s principal representative office in the country – had requested the sale of 11 Lockheed Martin M142 HIMARS launchers, 64 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMSs) M57 unitary missiles, seven M1152Al Humvees, 11 M240B 7.62 MM machine guns, and 17 International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems (IFATDSs).
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the U.S. Army, mounted on a standard Army M1140 truck frame. The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is the light, wheeled version of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The launcher is C-130 transportable. The chassis was produced by BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division), the OEM of the FMTV; however, since 2010, the M1140 has been produced by the Oshkosh Corporation by their Defense division.
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). The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile (SSM) manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. HIMARS ammunition is interchangeable with the MLRS M270A1. The rocket launching system is produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control. The vehicle’s targeting software was reworked so it can better fire while on a constantly moving and maneuvering launch platform.
