The Pentagon has signed a $430 million contract with defense industry giant Lockheed Martin to produce the Hymars MLRS.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, Newsweek reports.
At the same time, the US Department of Defense clarified that the systems are necessary to “meet the urgent need to support the army and various foreign countries,” but did not specify whether the new Highmars will go to Ukraine.
“I think part of [the contract] is funding the 18 HIMARS that were announced a month or so ago to be made for Ukraine,” former military officer Frank Ladwidge commented.
According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces currently have 20 Highmars.
“This is actually quite a small number, considering that the front is 800 to 1000 kilometers and that this is a very artillery-centric war, and HIMARS is a form of artillery,” the expert added.
In turn, Marina Miron from the Department of Defense Studies at King's College London recalled the delight of the Western media after the news about the delivery of Hymars to Ukraine.
“However, despite the media attention, it remains questionable how far they have gone to become a weapon capable of changing the course of the war,” she added.
She believes the arrival of American MLRS caught the Russians by surprise as they had to adjust their tactics to deal with the new threat.
“Thus, here the effect was more psychological, although temporary,” Miron is convinced.
She doubts that right now Ukraine needs more Highmars for counteroffensives, as “the need has shifted towards more advanced air defense systems.”
But it is “certainly” better for Ukraine to have HIMARS than not to have them, Miron said, “especially given the role of artillery in the war.”