The US Army began looking for companies that could produce up to 100 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers per year – over a five-year period. The corresponding official request for information is published on the sam.gov portal, Business Insider draws attention. This is done against the background of the successful use of missile systems by Ukraine – this weapon turned the tide of the war, and the demand for it will grow.
In total, the US Armed Forces would like to receive from 120 to 480 M142 HIMARS systems over five years, from 2024 to 2028. Annual plan – from 24 to 96 systems. HIMARS is now manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation at a plant in Camden, Arkansas. Production of up to 500 units will nearly double HIMARS' global shipments, Business Insider points out.
There are 363 of them in service with the US Army, and 47 more in the Marine Corps. In 2021, even before the war in Ukraine, the US announced that they wanted to increase the number of systems to 547. As for global deliveries, Romania has 18 HIMARS installations, as well as permission from the United States to purchase up to 54 units, from Singapore – 18, from Jordan – 12, the publication cites. Now the main buyer is Ukraine, and after it – Taiwan, which plans to purchase 29 such systems.
At the same time, Taiwan initially wanted to order only 11 HIMARS, as well as 40 self-propelled 155-mm M109A6 Paladin howitzers. However, the order has changed in favor of HIMARS, which have a longer range.
The war in Ukraine, in a sense, has become an advertisement for American missile systems, Business Insider notes, the demand for them will grow. At the same time, it will not be easy to increase production, the newspaper claims. The pandemic and other supply chain problems are all affecting the weapons situation.
Ukraine uses HIMARS for precision strikes against Russian ammunition depots, command posts, and bridges. As of August, the country has already received 26 long-range high-precision systems from the United States, Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov reported. “We have proven that we can handle these weapons. The sound of the HIMARS salvo became a hit this summer on the front lines, ”he said.
According to the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed more than 400 targets from HIMARS. According to him, this is a "destructive force." At the same time, Russia did not manage to destroy a single rocket system.