Latvian defense willing to buy M142 HIMARS artillery rocket systems.

According to Gatis Kristovskis of the Latvian Information Agency on July 22, the Latvian Defense Ministry has received offers from potential suppliers of coastal defense missiles and inquired about purchasing U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
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M142 HIMARS firing during RED FLAG-Alaska 21-1 at Fort Greely, Alaska, Oct. 22, 2020 (Picture source: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)

Latvia has inquired about the availability and prices of the U.S –made M142 HIMARS system. This is a joint project of Baltic countries, and the Defense Ministry expects that the United States could co-finance the project.

Let’s recall that, according to information published by the United States Department of Defense on July 15, 2022, the U.S. State Department made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Estonia of M142 HIMARS and related equipment for an estimated cost of up to $500 million. The Government of Estonia has indeed requested to purchase up to six M142 HIMARS as well as up to thirty-six M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) Missile Pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion System (IMPS) and Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave – Directional Doppler Ranging (FMCW-DDR) Proximity Height-of-Burst (HOB) Sensor Capability.

The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army M1140 truck frame.

The M142 carries a canister with either six GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS missile on the U.S. Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-ton truck, and can launch the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). M142 ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS; however, it is able to carry only one pod rather than the standard two for the M270 and its variants.

The launcher can be transported by Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The chassis was initially produced by BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group Tactical Vehicle Systems Division), the original equipment manufacturer of the FMTV. It was produced by the Oshkosh Corporation from 2010 to 2017. Both chassis and launcher system are now produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control in Camden, Arkansas.