Norway to purchase HIMARS from Lockheed Martin, snubbing Hanwha

PARIS – Norway has requested to buy 16 of Lockheed Martin’s M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS — as well as associated equipment and ammunition — in a deal worth as much as $580 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Friday .

The request includes 15 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System pods, or GMLRS, with each pod containing six rockets featuring fragmentation warheads; 15 GMLRS pods with high-explosive warheads; and 100 M57 Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, long-range missiles.

Norway’s pick of HIMARS is a setback for Hanwha Aerospace, which had been eyeing orders for its K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system in Norway and neighboring Sweden. The South Korean company in June signed an agreement with Norwegian firm Kongsberg to jointly offer defense equipment, such as the Chunmoo system, in the home markets of both firms.

“The proposed sale will improve Norway’s capability to meet current and future threats and enhance its interoperability with U.S. and other allied forces,” the DSCA release said. “It will also enhance Norway’s artillery and mid-range fire capability.”

The sale and dollar value are the highest estimate based on the initial requirements, with the actual value expected to be lower. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between Norway and Lockheed Martin, according to the release.

Ukraine’s effective use of HIMARS to target invading Russian forces beyond the range of tube artillery has kindled European interest in rocket artillery systems, prompting several defense firms to team up on offers.

Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall partnered in 2023 to offer a European-made launcher — based on HIMARS — to Germany, while KNDS and Elbit Systems have teamed up to develop the EuroPULS next-generation rocket-artillery system.

Romania and Poland already operate HIMARS, while the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have placed orders for the system. The U.S. in December approved a possible sale of 21 HIMARS launchers to Italy.

For now, Poland is the only European operator of Hanwha’s Chunmoo rocket artillery. The Netherlands in May 2023 picked Elbit for its PULS rocket artillery platform.

Denmark and Spain have also bought the PULS, and Germany has said it plans to order the Israeli system.

Meanwhile, French firms Safran and Thales are developing competing proposals in response to a French demand for a rocket-artillery system.