Lockheed Martin was awarded a $218 million contract for the procurement of 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers for Romania, a U.S. Department of Defense release said.
The $218,058,001 modification includes 18 M142 HIMARS launchers, training, spares and planned enhancement and product improvement modifications, the Thursday, August 9 release said.
Work is expected to be completed by December 30, 2020.
The M142 HIMARS light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a truck and carries six rockets or one larger missile.
The sale of HIMARS to Romania was approved by the State Department in August 2017. The proposed $1.25 billion program includes up to 54 HIMARS launchers and a raft of associated equipment.
“The proposed sale of the HIMARS system will support Romania’s needs for its own self-defense and support NATO defense goals,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said at the time.
In October 2017, NATO launched Multinational Division Southeast, a Romanian brigade of up to 4,000 soldiers, supported by troops from nine other countries, alongside a separate deployment of 900 U.S. troops already in place.
