Germany To Purchase Three M142 HIMARS Systems From US Stocks For Ukraine
On May 9, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited Washington to meet with his counterpart at the Pentagon, Lloyd J. Austin, and announced plans to purchase three M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) systems from US Army stocks to support Ukraine against Russian aggression. A day after Pistorius’ announcement, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that the US State Department had decided to approve an emergency Foreign Military Sale to Ukraine of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, as well as related logistics and program support elements, for an estimated $30 million.
According to the DSCA statement, the systems that will be delivered jointly by the US and Germany will be financed by the Berlin government on behalf of Ukraine. The Agency also stated that because there is an emergency requiring immediate sale to the Government of Ukraine, the defense products and services mentioned above are exempt from congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act.
On the same day that Germany approved the HIMARS sale, the United States announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine. The package includes equipment such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and ammunition required by Ukraine, as well as munitions for NASAMS and Patriot missile systems, Stinger air defense missiles, FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank systems, BGM-71 TOW anti-tank systems, 155mm artillery shells, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs).
Since the beginning of the war, the Pentagon has delivered 39 HIMARS systems to Ukrainian Ground Forces artillery units. So far, Ukraine’s artillery brigades have benefited greatly from GMLRS, GLSDB, and MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles, as well as the HIMARS systems, which have demonstrated great success in hitting Russia’s rear positions, such as command centers, ammunition depots, bridges, and air bases. During the two-year war, the Russian army was largely unsuccessful against HIMARS, destroying only one of the American-made Artillery Rocket System batteries. A Russian drone detected the system in Donetsk Oblast, which was neutralized by a short-range Iskander ballistic missile.
Aside from HIMARS, Ukraine has four additional artillery rocket systems. These include LRU (Lance Roquette Unitaire) MLRS from France, M270 systems from England and Norway, modernized MARS II systems from Germany, and TRLG-230 systems from Turkey. These MLRSs also play an important role in shaping the overall battlefield in Ukraine, though not as much as HIMARS.