Norway and the United Kingdom will cooperate on the donation of long-range rocket artillery (MLRS) to Ukraine. They need more weapons and the MLRS is a high priority. The donation is made possible by a close co-operation between Norway and the United Kingdom. The MLRS is a long-range precision strike system and is a substantial contribution to Ukraine. It is essential to ensure that Ukraine has ammunition for the M109 self-propelled howitzers that Norway already has donated to Ukraine,” says Norwegian Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram.
The Norwegian M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) are phased out and the donation will not affect national preparedness. Initially three units will be donated. The Norwegian systems will need upgraded, so the UK will receive and upgrade their pieces, to backfill upgraded British pieces sent to Ukraine. This is a great example of good co-operation between close allies. The Norwegian government has also decided to donate 5000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine, in addition to the 5000 already donated.
As part of efforts to arm the Ukrainian forces with more weapon support, Norway will transfer three units of MLRS to the United Kingdom. Norway has a total of 12 M270 MLRS that were retired from active service in 2005, and have been sitting in storage since then. This was largely a result of Norway signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as well as not being able to afford to upgrade the system to fire M31 GMLRS at the time. the Ukraine Armed Forces currently possess 12 M270 MLRS units.
The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher. Since the first M270s were delivered to the U.S. Army in 1983, the MLRS has been adopted by several NATO countries. Some 1,300 M270 systems have been manufactured in the United States and in Europe, along with more than 700,000 rockets. The production of the M270 ended in 2003, when a last batch was delivered to the Egyptian Army. The M270 system can fire MLRS Family Of Munition (MFOM) rockets and artillery missiles, which are manufactured and used by a number of platforms and countries.
