The US-based defense giant Lockheed Martin was awarded an $828 millions foreign military sales contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, the US Department of Defense announced on April 27 on its website.

A US Army M270A1 MLRS firing the Lockheed Martin's Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System
(Credit: Lockheed Martin)

”Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020,” the US DoD says, adding that the ”U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity”.

This major foreign military sale involves delivery of GMLRS to Finland, Republic of Korea, and Romania.

Finland currently deploys 22 M270 MLRS, called 298 RsRakH 06. They were upgraded to enable GMLRS and ATACMS capabilities. The South Korean army acquired 48 M270s and 10 M270A1 systems, all being ATACMS operational.

In August 2017, the US State Department cleared a $1.25 billion FMS to Romania for M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and GMLRS rockets. Romania requested 54 HIMARS launchers and 81 unitary Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) and 81 alternative warhead GMLRS.

GMLRS is an all-weather rocket designed for fast deployment that delivers precision strike beyond the reach of most conventional weapons. The new GMLRS Alternative Warhead was the first munition developed to service area targets without the effects of unexploded ordinance, complying with DoD cluster munitions policy. GMLRS Unitary rockets greatly exceed the required combat reliability rate and have established a reputation for affordability. The RRPR allows users to train with realistic, full-motored rockets with limited flight range, making them ideal for smaller testing ranges.

In combat operations, each GMLRS rocket is packaged in an MLRS launch pod and is fired from the Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket System HIMARS or M270 family of launchers. GMLRS was established as an international cooperative program among the U.S. and allied nations.

Lockheed Martin has produced more than 30,000 GMLRS rockets at its facility in Camden. The company's Camden Operations has received more than 60 awards over the last decade, including the 2012 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the Shingo Silver Medallion Award for Operation Excellence.