Lockheed Martin to sell HIMARS to Norway; Hanwha to be passed over

Norway snubs Hanwha and has made a proposal to purchase 16 of Lockheed Martin's M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, together with related gear and ammunition, for a possible total of $580 million, said the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The proposal is for the procurement of 100 M57 Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, long-range missiles and 15 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) pods, each of which has six rockets with fragmentation warheads; additionally, there are 15 GMLRS pods with high-explosive warheads.

Norway's military equipment acquisition is a setback for Hanwha Aerospace, which was previously eyeing contracts for its K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system for both Norway and nearby Sweden. In June, a partnership was signed by the South Korean corporation and the Norwegian company Kongsberg to sell military equipment, which includes the Chunmoo system, in their respective home markets.

According to the DSCA announcement, the planned sale will strengthen Norway's interoperability with the US and other partner forces and increase its capacity to counter present and emerging threats. Furthermore, it stated that Norway will have better artillery and mid-range fire capabilities thanks to the Lockheed Martin HIMARS acquisition.

Based on the initial needs, the sale and dollar value are the highest estimates; the real value is anticipated to be lower. According to the statement, discussions between Lockheed Martin and Norway will specify any offset arrangement.

European interest in rocket artillery systems has been piqued by Ukraine's successful employment of HIMARS to target invading Russian forces beyond the reach of tube artillery, leading various defense firms to collaborate on offerings.

In 2023, Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall cooperated to provide Germany with a European-made launcher based on HIMARS, and KNDS and Elbit Systems collaborated to create the next-generation rocket-artillery system known as EuroPULS.

HIMARS is currently in use in Romania and Poland, and orders for the system have been placed by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, three Baltic nations. The United States authorized the potential transfer of 21 HIMARS launchers to Italy in December.