Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall are partnering to offer a European-made rocket launcher based on Lockheed’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) system to Germany and its neighbors.
The GMARS system is envisioned as a wheeled artillery system replacing Berlin’s aging MARS 2 multiple launch rocket systems, Howard Bromberg, vice president and deputy for strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin’s air and missile defense business line, said June 21 in an exclusive interview with Defense News. The weapon would integrate a Rheinmetall chassis and a Lockheed Martin loader component, he explained.
Germany specifically has been in discussions with Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin to find a replacement for its MARS 2 systems, a portion of which has been donated to Ukraine over the past year, and the rest of which are quickly aging. A memorandum of understanding between the two companies was signed in April.
As of June 21, Germany has provided five MARS 2 rocket launchers with associated ammunition to Ukraine, according to documents published by the Ministry of Defense.
Thirty-four systems remain in the Bundeswehr’s current inventory, a department spokesperson told Defense News in a June 22 email. However, the spokesperson could not comment upon the operational readiness of the rocket launchers.
“Preparations for the replacement are underway,” the spokesperson said.
The GMARS solution proposed by the two companies – with the G denoting Germany – would be similar to HIMARS, but with a much larger chassis, provided by Rheinmetall, and a double loadout capability with two rocket pods instead of one, Bromberg said.
The chassis would be based on Rheinmetall’s protected, off-the-shelf HX 8x8 to maximize both parts’ commonality and interoperability with the existing, and growing, HX fleet, a Rheinmetall spokesperson said in a June 23 email. It would be built in Vienna and measure about 12 meters long, although the dimensions are still being finalized, they said. A HIMARS truck measures about 7 meters long.
Lockheed’s launcher-loader component would then be integrated onto the back of the truck, with overall integration efforts taking place in Germany.
Some components of the system would have to be procured from the United States through so-called combined foreign military sales and direct commercial sales, he noted. The Rheinmetall truck would be procured via direct commercial sale, he added.
The industry pair is also in conversation with German weapons maker Diehl for additional elements to be made locally, per Bromberg.
Rheinmetall is interested in providing rocket motors, “which is a very viable option,” Bromberg said. Meanwhile, Diehl could provide some of the warheads along with Lockheed components.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... -launcher/Once under contract, the initial five GMARS systems could be delivered for testing and acceptance as early as 2025. “Then, if the Germans wanted to have additional capability in the interim, they could request from the U.S. government to buy straight HIMARS, and then use that for a stopgap,” Bromberg said.
Rheinmetall could have the chassis ready for integration within months of a contract signature, the company spokesperson said.
Should Germany choose to support its production, GMARS will feature about 80 percent commonality with the HIMARS munitions packages and logistics chain, Bromberg noted. It will require three personnel to operate, the same as HIMARS.
https://milmag.pl/gmars-od-lockheed-mar ... einmetall/
