The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Morocco of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $524.2 million. The Government of Morocco has requested to buy eighteen (18) M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers; forty (40) M57 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS); thirty-six (36) M31A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) Unitary; thirty-six (36) M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead; nine (9) M1152A1 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV); and eighteen (18) International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems (IFATDS).
Also included are forty (40) M28A2 Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket Pods (LCRRPR); radios with similar “SINCGARS” capability; thirty-five (35) Vehicular Dual Long-Range Radio Systems w/GPS; twenty-four (24) Single Radio, Long Range Vehicular System w/GPS; eighteen (18) M1084A2 cargo truck, Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) Resupply Vehicles (RSV); three (3) M1089A2 wrecker truck, FMTV, RSV; eighteen (18) M1095 5-ton trailer, FMTV; twenty-three (23) Simple Key Loader (SKL), AN/PYQ-10; fifty (50) Defense Advanced Global Positioning System Receivers (DAGR); camouflage screen systems; support equipment; communications equipment; spare parts; test sets; laptop computers; training and other related elements of logistical and program support.
The proposed sale will improve Morocco’s capability to meet current and future threats. It will also enhance the interoperability of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), which routinely exercises with U.S. forces, focusing on countering terrorism and Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) in the Maghreb and Sahel region. Morocco will have no difficulty absorbing these articles into its armed forces. The principal contractors will be Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Camden, AK; L3 Harris Communications, Inc., Rochester, NY; Raytheon, Waltham, MA; COBHAM Aerospace Connectivity, Buckinghamshire, UK; Oshkosh Defense, LLC, Oshkosh, WI; AAR Corporation AAR Manufacturing, Inc., Cadillac, MI; and AM General LLC, South Bend, IN.
The M142 HIMARS (M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard United States Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) truck frame. The HIMARS carries one pod with either six GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS missile. It is based on the United States Army’s FMTV five-ton truck, and is capable of launching all rockets specified in the Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS; however, it is limited to a single pod as opposed to the standard two for the M270 and its variants. The launcher can be transported by Airbus A400M Atlas and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.
