U.S. Oks Finland’s Request to Procure Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

Finland has been given the green light to buy Lockheed Martin-produced Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS).

As per a press release issued by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), Finland was seeking 150 M30A1 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) (Steel Case), or M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) Missile Pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion System (IMPS), or a combination of both; and 250 M31A1 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) Warhead (Steel Case), or M31A2 GMLRS-U IMPS, or a combination of both; as well as related support and equipment.

The total estimated cost is $535 million.

The principal contractors will be Lockheed Martin Corp, Missile and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, TX. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale. There is a request pending for diversion of 50% of this procurement from U.S. stock. That final decision will determine which version GMLRS could potentially be procured.

Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) is a surface-to-surface system used to attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets using indirect precision fires up to 70-plus km. GMLRS munitions have greater accuracy than ballistic rockets with a higher probability of kill and a reduced logistics footprint. The current GMLRS family of munitions consists of three fielded variants: Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) and the Alternative Warhead (AW) variants to service area targets; and the Unitary variant with a single 200-pound-class high-explosive charge to service point targets with low collateral damage. GMLRS is employed with the M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.