Lockheed wins $160 million HIMARS contract

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control won a $160 million contract to supply the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps and Taiwan, the Pentagon announced July 14.

Lockheed will build 23 HIMARS launchers under the contract, according to a July 19 press release from the company.

The HIMARS, a rocket launcher built on top of a 5-ton truck, can fire the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Army Tactical Missile System and the upcoming Precision Strike Missile. Lockheed won a $214 million contract in April to modernize M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System vehicles, tracked vehicles that fire the same rockets as HIMARS.

The Army currently has 363 HIMARS launchers but plans to increase the Army Acquisition Objective to 547, according to the service’s fiscal year 2022 budget request. Long-range fires programs, including the Precision Strike Missile, are the first of the Army’s modernization priorities.