Page 25 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec-Jan 2023

DECEMBER 2022-JANUARY 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE BUSINESS
HIMARS 25
RIGHT: US Marine Corps HIMARS conduct a simulated fire mission during a HIMARS Rapid Infiltration event as a part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021
BELOW LEFT: Lockheed Martin is ramping up HIMARS production in its facility in Arkansas to 96
units per year
BOTTOM LEFT: HIMARS has demonstrated its ability to receive targeting data in mid flight
ATACMS & PRSM
Inevitably pronounced ‘a-tackums”, one Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missile can be fired from a HI- MARS launcher at a time. Each missile boasts a 500 lb blast fragmentation warhead, with a range of around 300 km (M57 TACMS 2000 Unitary version).
A future HIMARS weapon will be the US Army’s Preci- sion Guided Strike Missile (PrSM – again inevitably pro- nounced ‘prism’), which Lockheed Martin describes as a ‘499+ km’ range weapon. The US-Russian
HIMARS FOR AUSTRALIA
In May the DSCA announced Congressional approval for Australia to purchase 20 M142 HIMARS launchers and weapons under a $US385 million deal.
Also included under the approval are 30 M30A2 GMLRS, 30 Alternative Warhead (AW) pods with Insen- sitive Munitions Propulsion Systems (IMPS), 30 M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) High Explosive Pods with IMPS, 30 XN403 Extend Range GMLRS AW pods, 30
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty had prohibited the development of strike weapons with ranges between 500 and 5,000 km, but the Trump administra- tion withdrew from the treaty in 2019.
Two PrSM missiles can be carried in each HIMARS pod.
“IN MAY THE DSCA ANNOUNCED CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FOR AUSTRALIA TO PURCHASE 20 M142 HIMARS LAUNCHERS AND WEAPONS UNDER A $US385 MILLION DEAL”
EM404 ER GMLRS Unitary Pods and 10 M57 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).
HIMARS has been demonstrated to Army on several occasions, notably during the recent Talisman Sabre ex- ercise, where its air transportability was also showcased. The trial, under- taken by an RAAF C-17A Globemaster, also demonstrated the C-17’s ability to pass target coordinates to the launcher while in flight.
“PrSM is clearly the next generation,
as we look to its contribution to the larger
fight, from an A2AD (Anti-Access/Area
Denial) and JADO perspective,” Stanton
explained. “PrSM has two weapons in a
pod, so we doubled the firepower (over ATACMS), extended the range and enhanced lethality – and that will certainly help when we consider time critical targeting, especially as it relates to interoperability with other platforms and sensors.”
If the HIMARS proposal does get the green light in the forthcoming Defence Strategic Review, they will be acquired under the $0.6 to 0.9 billion Land
8113 Phase 1 (Long Range Fires) program.
While the anecdotal feedback from HIMARS’ use in
Ukraine has been overwhelmingly positive, Tom Stanton says Lockheed Martin itself has received very little direct information.
“The Ukrainians did come by (the Lockheed Martin stand) at the recent AUSA (Associated of the United States Army) conference in Washington DC, to share how grate- ful they are for HIMARS,” he said. ■
Disclaimer: The writer travelled to the US as a guest of Lockheed Martin
Australia signed an MoU with the US Department of De- fense to partner with the US Army in the PrSM development program in August 2021. Under the agreement, Canberra will contribute $907 million to develop an ‘Increment 2’ weapon, which is understood to include an enhanced seeker to allow surface ships and air defence systems to be targeted, as well as increasing the lethality and range of the weapon.
Lockheed Martin is under contract to the US Army to develop the missile and is expected to begin deliveries in 2023.
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