American defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin has secured a $224 million contract to continue recapitalization efforts on a portable automatic system for launching surface-to-surface missiles.
According to the US Department of Defense, the company will reconfigure the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) on the M270A2 family of launcher platforms.
As part of the initiative, the launchers will have new engines, improved armored cabs, and a common fire control system.
The system will also feature enhanced transmissions and modernized system components.
The reconfiguration of the MLRS from M270 into M270A2 will be performed at Lockheed facilities in Arizona and Texas, with work expected to be complete by April 2026.
The MLRS M270
Lockheed’s MLRS M270 is a “highly mobile” automatic system that fires 12 surface-to-surface rockets in less than one minute with a three-man crew.
Mounted on a stretched Bradley chassis, the launcher features automated self-loading and self-aiming. It also has a fire control computer that integrates the vehicle and rocket-launching operations.
The system can also maintain precision strikes in all firing modes as the computer re-aims the launcher between rounds.
