Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $492 million contract for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) M142 launchers for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, Poland and Romania, the company said on Tuesday, July 16.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Lockheed Martin a $492,108,514 fixed-price-incentive contract for HIMARS, including maintenance, training, support equipment and qualification testing, along with spares and repair parts and software.
Delivery of the HIMARS launchers and associated equipment is expected to be complete by 2022, Lockheed Martin said.
The contract marks Poland’s first acquisition of HIMARS launchers. In February, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland would spend €365 million on 18 HIMARS combat launchers and two training launchers, along with command and other vehicles, logistics, training and technical support.
The first squadron “will be acquired in a configuration as close as possible” to U.S. equipment, the defense ministry said at the time.
“Lockheed Martin is very pleased that Poland has procured its first HIMARS launchers,” Gaylia Campbell, vice president of Precision Fires/Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin, said on Tuesday. “These new HIMARS launchers will provide unparalleled mobile firepower to light and early entry forces, and our allies can count on Lockheed Martin’s ongoing support in maintaining these combat-proven capabilities.”
The sale of HIMARS to Romania was first 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. Lockheed was awarded a $218 million contract for 18 HIMARS launchers for Romania last August.
The M142 HIMARS mobile system can launch six guided rockets with a range of 70 km (37 miles), or a single MGM-140 ATACMS missile with up to 300 km range. The system is mounted on a truck and carries six rockets or one larger missile.
It has been deployed in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State, allowing U.S. troops a precision attack ability even in poor weather when air attacks are hindered.
Last month, Lockheed was awarded a $562 million contract for the production of MGM-140 ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles for Bahrain, Poland and Romania. The solid-fueled missiles feature GPS-aided inertial guidance, and carry a 160-247 kg payload, either a blast/fragmentation or hard-target penetration warhead, or anti-personnel, anti-materiel submunitions.