Australia to produce 4000 HIMARS shells per year

2 November, 2024 Production of GMLRS missiles. Photo credits: Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin Australia plans to produce 4,000 GMLRS missiles per year for HIMARS launchers.

In a report for the Australian government, it was stated that this would be more than a quarter of the current global production. The first batch of GMLRS missiles will be produced in Australia in 2025. This was made possible by a £37.4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia.

According to this agreement, the first batch of GMLRS missiles will be manufactured in Australia, which will be an important step towards creating a domestic capability to produce the high-precision missiles.

GMLRS rocket launch from the HIMARS MRL. Photo credits: U.S. Army

The contract includes the transfer of important technologies from the United States that are necessary for the production of GMLRS.

Lockheed Martin Australia and Thales Australia have also agreed to develop the solid rocket engines for the GMLRS projectiles. The cooperation will also assess the possibility of designing, developing and manufacturing various GMLRS components. In addition, the agreement will lay the basis for the engineer certification processes and the development of the technical skills for Australian workers.

Australia will also acquire Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), which are capable of hitting targets up to 500 kilometers away.

Lockheed Martin's ER GMLRS and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) for the M142 HIMARS and the M270 MLRS at the AUSA 2022 exhibition.

October 2022.

Photo credits: overtdefense

The PrSM and GMLRS rounds can be fired from the HIMARS launchers, which the Australian government has approved for procurement in 2023.

This effort is part of the government's £4.1 billion investment to acquire long-range weapons systems and promote domestic production of long-range munitions in Australia.