The Australian Army has entered a new era of rocket artillery, after its first two green-painted and kangaroo-emblazoned M142 HIMARS launchers touched down in Australia in time for the Avalon International Airshow 2025, which opened on 25 March.
Their delivery accorded with what Lockheed Martin told media last year, that the first units would be delivered in the first quarter of 2025. Less than two years after announcing the acquisition, Australia benefitted from early delivery because the US Army prioritised Australian requirements.
More HIMARS should arrive as part of this first batch, with further tranches to follow in 2026 and 2027. All 42 Australian HIMARS on order should arrive before the end of 2027.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy presented the new vehicles on the day preceding Avalon’s opening.
Conroy noted, “HIMARS is a world-leading capability, delivering accurate firepower at long ranges, resulting in a more than tenfold increase in the army’s striking range.”
He continued, “This is about equipping our Australian Defence Force right now with state-of-the-art capabilities that enables it to operate effectively on land, sea and in the air to deter aggression and safeguard Australians.”
The HIMARS is transportable by Australian C-130J (able to carry one HIMARS) and C-17A transport aircraft (three HIMARS), permitting the rocket launcher to be rapidly transported to strategic chokepoints to interdict hostile naval forces.
The HIMARS are operated by the recently established 10th Fires Brigade based in Adelaide. The launchers can fire the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
Australia will manufacture GMLRS rockets in country, with the first units to be delivered later this year. These are being produced under the banner of the Guided Weapons and Explosives Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.
According to a Department of Defence press release, the HIMARS will give a lethal range of “more than 500km,” which is a lot farther than the incumbent M777A2 towed howitzer and incoming AS9 Huntsman, both of which are 155mm tube artillery systems.
Wayne Harrison, International Business Development Principal at Lockheed Martin, said last year that the Australian Army “is making a generational leap in very short order”, requiring a mind shift from tens of kilometres to hundreds of kilometres.
Lockheed Martin is also advocating a regional HIMARS training and maintenance centre, which could serve nearby customers like Singapore. The latter announced recently in its 2025 budget that it would “upgrade” its HIMARS. This will allow Singapore to fire longer-range missiles, with the ATACMS perhaps being among them.
Interestingly, Hanwha Aerospace, which owns a vehicle manufacturing plant on the same precinct as the Avalon Airshow, was exhibiting a K239 Chunmoo rocket launcher. This suggests that it believes Canberra still has a requirement for further rocket launchers.
by Gordon Arthur / Melbourne
