On September 30, 2025, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned upcoming sale to Australia through the US Intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales Program (FMS), at the request of the Australian government, of an additional 48 combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation. This delivery has been approved by the U.S. Department of State. The total cost of the proposed delivery will be US$ 705 million, including additional equipment and training and technical support packages.
A Lockheed Martin M142 HIMARS missile system combat vehicle from the 14th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery of the 10th Fire Support Brigade of the Australian Army during the joint US-Australian Talisman Sabre 2025 exercises, 07/25/2025 (c) US Army
According to the notification, this delivery will not include combat missiles for the HIMARS complexes. In addition to 48 HIMARS combat vehicles, the delivery should include transport vehicles for M1084A2 HIMARS RSV missiles, M1095 trailers, containers with Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket (LCRRPR) practical missiles, communications equipment, and other related equipment, as well as spare parts. Lockheed Martin will act as the general contractor for the delivery.
The implementation of this delivery will bring the total number of combat vehicles of the HIMARS missile system purchased by Australia to 90 units, which will make Australia the third largest operator of this complex after the United States and Poland.
In 2022, Australia entered into its first agreement with the United States to purchase 20 M142 HIMARS combat vehicles through FMS. According to the relevant DSCA notification of May 2022, the first delivery with an estimated cost of 385 million US dollars was to include 30 six-shot GMLRS M30A1 Alternative Warhead (AW) guided missile transport modules with a fragmentation warhead (180 missiles), 30 six-shot GMLRS M31A2 guided missile transport and launch modules with a monoblock warhead (180 missiles), 30 six-shot transport and launch modules with adjustable extended-range missiles ER GMLRS XM403 (M30A2) Alternative Warhead (AW) with fragmentation warhead (180 missiles in total), 30 six-shot transport and launch modules with adjustable extended-range missiles ER GMLRS XM404 (M31A2) with monoblock warhead (180 missiles in total), and 10 ATACMS M57 tactical missiles, as well as practical RRPRP missiles, fire control and communications systems, and other related equipment. Deliveries of this first batch of HIMARS complexes to Australia began in March 2025, and by September, the Australian Army had received eight HIMARS combat vehicles, which joined the 14th Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery as part of the newly formed 10th Fire Support Brigade in Adelaide.
In August 2023, a new DSCA notification was released about the upcoming sale of 22 more M142 HIMARS combat vehicles to Australia through FMS. According to the notification, this delivery, with an estimated cost of 975 million US dollars, should also include 40 six-shot GMLRS M31A1 guided missile transport and launch modules with monoblock warheads (a total of 240 missiles), 60 six-shot GMLRS M30A1 Alternative Warhead (AW) guided missile transport and launch modules with fragmentation warhead (a total of 360 missiles), 24 six-shot transport and launch modules with ER GMLRS M31A2 guided missiles with monoblock warheads and extended range (a total of 144 missiles), 66 six-shot transport and launch modules with ER GMLRS M30A2 Alternative Warhead (AW) guided missiles with fragmentation warhead and extended range (a total of 396 missiles), as well as practical RRPRP missiles, fire control and communication systems, M1084A2 HIMARS RSV transport vehicles. and other related equipment. The implementation of both supply agreements (including 42 combat vehicles) should be completed by the end of 2027.
Australia's purchase of HIMARS complexes is carried out as part of the Australian Army's Project LAND 8113 Phase 1 program, which provides for the acquisition of a high-precision missile and artillery system with a range of up to 300 km. This requirement was first formulated in the Australian Defense White Paper of 2016, for which it was planned to allocate from 750 million to 1 billion Australian dollars (from 540 to 720 million US dollars) in the period from 2023 to 2030.
In 2024 and March 2025, the Australian government signed agreements with the United States on the organization of joint production of GMLRS and ER GMLRS missiles for HIMARS complexes in Australia. As part of these agreements, Lockheed Martin is establishing the Australian Weapons Manufacturing Complex (AMWC) missile manufacturing facility in Australia at Avalon Airport near Melbourne, which will begin operating as early as the end of 2025. In 2025, an FMS agreement worth $147 million was signed to supply Australia with more than 300 GMLRS missiles, which should be the first to be assembled at this facility. In the future, it is expected to significantly localize the production of GMLRS and ER GMLRS missiles in Australia, including the production of their solid-fuel engines in Australia, with an output of 4,000 missiles per year at AMWC by 2029.
In August 2021, the US and Australian Ministries of Defense also signed a memorandum on Australia's joining the Australian Army's Project LAND 8113 Phase 2 program to develop and purchase a new American Lockheed Martin PrSM missile with a range of more than 500 km, which should also be used from M142 HIMARS launchers. Australia became the first overseas recipient of the PrSM missile, and in July 2025, the first practical launch of the PrSM missile in Australia was carried out from the Australian M142 HIMARS combat vehicle. In June 2025, Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on the organization of the production of PrSM missiles in Australia at AMWC. Australia is also co-financing the development of a variant of the PrSM Increment 2 missile with anti-ship capabilities.
