General Dynamics Joins HIMARS Rockets production

Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics will cooperate in the production of GMLRS projectiles for HIMARS.

The U.S. corporation Lockheed Martin stated that General Dynamics will help with the manufacture of solid rocket engines.

According to Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, ensuring a reliable and diversified supply chain for solid rocket engines is critical for building a more sustainable defense industrial base.

This agreement will allow Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics to ramp up production of in-demand solutions more quickly in the future.

Initially, the work will focus on the production of solid rocket engines for GMLRS guided rockets.

They will be performed at the General Dynamics facility in Camden, Arkansas, starting in 2025. This project will be followed by a phased transition to other products.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) will expand its operations in Camden, leveraging advanced manufacturing capabilities to deliver affordable and reliable solid rocket engines on an industrial scale.

The agreement follows Lockheed Martin’s recent establishment of the Solid Rocket Propulsion Center, designed to improve the reliability of the supply of cost-effective propulsion systems.

The GMLRS family of American 227mm guided rockets has been manufactured at Lockheed Martin facilities for many years.

The rockets are used in the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launch systems. Both systems are also in service with Ukraine.

In January, it became known that Australia would launch the production of guided rockets for the M142 HIMARS MLRS. The contract includes the transfer of important technologies from the United States that are necessary for the production of GMLRS.

Lockheed Martin also offers the Polish defense industry to set up the production of HIMARS projectiles.