The US has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of M142 HIMARS to Latvia

25 October, 2023 M142 HIMARS and ATACMS missiles. Photo credits: Mariusz Burcz The United States has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and tactical ballistic missiles to the Government of Latvia.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency reported on this. The US government has approved a potential deal between Latvia and Lockheed Martin for the purchase of six M142 HIMARS rocket systems, as well as related equipment and training. The sale of rockets for MRL was also agreed upon, namely, 12 six-round containers with M30A2 rockets and another 12 containers with M31A2 rockets.

In addition to rockets, Latvia also received permission to purchase ten M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Pods.

Loading a container with M30A1 rockets into the M142 HIMARS launcher of the 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, June 2020. Photo credits: DVIDS

The estimated value of the potential deal is £220 million. The Ministry of Defense of Latvia expects that HIMARS will be available to the country's armed forces by 2025.

However, it is noted that due to the high demand for these weapons systems in Ukraine, their delivery to Latvia might be slowed down.

Rocket spear of Latvia

Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks first announced his intention to purchase HIMARS rocket systems in September last year. He shared that he would want to get ten of these systems but clarified that only six units are planned to be purchased in the next three years. Janis Garisons, State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Defense, has previously stated that the purchase of M142 HIMARS is a joint decision and a project of all the Baltic states.

With the acquisition of M57 ATACMS ballistic missiles, Latvia gains new capabilities to deliver deep strikes into the enemy's rear at a distance of up to 300 kilometers. Accordingly, the Russian Kaliningrad and Pskov regions, St. Petersburg, and the entire northern part of Belarus, including Minsk, are within the target area.

The ballistic missile with a 227 kg penetrating high explosive warhead is capable of hitting protected targets at a maximum distance with an error of up to 10 meters.