Spain finalizes acquisition of Israeli PULS MLRS.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense has completed a contract worth nearly 700 million euros with a temporary business consortium including Escribano Mechanical & Engineering and Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, to supply the Army with the High Mobility Rocket Launcher System (Silam). Spain's chosen system is the PULS.
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Israeli Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) MLRS. (Picture source: Elbit Systems)

The selected system is PULS, a rocket launcher developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems. The agreement includes a technology transfer for the production of rocket launchers and ammunition in Spain. The award, announced on December 15, was expected, as the army had previously expressed its preference for this offer.

The program initially plans to supply twelve launchers, equivalent to an artillery group. Additionally, the package includes a range of support vehicles and systems, such as a demonstrator launch vehicle, 12 munition vehicles with cranes, two recovery vehicles, six high mobility reconnaissance vehicles, ten different types of command post vehicles, initial logistical support, training and simulation resources, and a rocket launcher platform for testing and validating the ammunition.

In terms of ammunition, the Spanish Ministry of Defense plans to purchase an initial batch of 680 rockets. This includes 288 guided rockets with a 35 km range (split between fragmentation and penetration types), 16 launch pods; 112 guided rockets with a range of up to 150 km (again split between fragmentation and penetration types), 28 pods; 64 rockets with a range of up to 300 km, and 32 pods; plus 216 training rockets with a range of 7 to 15 km.

The purchase also includes multifunction radars and high-performance tactical drones for target location and identification, as well as loitering ammunition.

The delivery of launchers and training rockets will begin in 2024, and live munitions are expected from 2025. The final batches of rockets are scheduled to be delivered to the army by 2028.

As part of the industrial plan, Escribano will manufacture mechanical components, hydraulic systems, and electronics for the launcher, pods, and stabilizers, and integrate armored systems, remote weapon stations, and guided munition kits. Meanwhile, Expal will lead the rocket development. Other Spanish companies involved include GMV for integrating the new launcher system into the Army's Talos artillery command and control system, and Iveco Spain for providing the platform, initially an 8x8 truck. Additionally, the SMS missile consortium will be involved.

The contract, with a budget of nearly 700 million euros, was managed by the Directorate-General of Armaments and Materials (DGAM) through a negotiated procurement process. Spain specifies that the Escribano-Expal alliance was the only technically qualified entity for the project and negotiated improvements of interest to the administration.