The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Norway of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $580 million. The Government of Norway has requested to buy 16 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 15 M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion System (IMPS); 15 M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) high explosive pods with IMPS; 100 M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) pods; Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket (LCRRPR) pods; interactive electronic technical manuals; integration support services; spare parts; tool kits; test equipment; contractor logistics support; and other related elements of logistics. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin, located in Grand Prairie, TX.
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck frame. The HIMARS carries one pod with either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets or one ATACMS missile. It is based on the U.S. Army’s FMTV five-ton truck, and is capable of launching all rockets in the Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions. HIMARS ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS. It has a single pod, as opposed to the standard two for the M270 and its variants. The launcher can be transported by C-17 Globemaster, C-5 Galaxy, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The FMTV truck that transports the HIMARS was initially produced by Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division, the original equipment manufacturer of the FMTV. It was produced by the Oshkosh Corporation from 2010 to 2017.
The M31 GMLRS Unitary rocket transformed the HIMARS into a point target artillery system for the first time. Due to Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance and a single 200 lb (91 kg) high-explosive warhead, the M31 could hit targets accurately with less chance of collateral damage while needing fewer rockets to be fired, reducing logistical requirements. The unitary warhead also made the MLRS able to be used in urban environments. The M31 had a dual-mode fuse with point detonation and delay options to defeat soft targets and lightly fortified bunkers respectively, with the upgraded M31A1 equipped with a multi-mode fuse adding a proximity airburst mode for use against personnel in the open; proximity mode can be set for 3 or 10 meters (9.8 or 32.8 ft) Height of Burst (HOB). The GMLRS has a minimum engagement range of 15 km (9.3 mi) and can hit a target out to 70 km (43 mi), impacting at a speed of Mach 2.5.
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a tactical ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions. It uses solid propellant and is 13 feet (4.0 m) long and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter, and the longest-range variants can fly up to 190 miles (300 km). The missiles can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). An ATACMS launch container has one rocket but a lid patterned with six circles like a standard MLRS rocket lid to prevent an enemy from discerning what type of missile is loaded. The first modernized Tactical Missile System (TACMS) was delivered in September 2016 with updated guidance electronics and added capability to defeat area targets using a unitary warhead, without leaving behind unexploded ordnance. Lockheed was awarded a production contract for launch assemblies as part of the SLEP in August 2017.
