Europe getting next-gen artillery system based on HIMARS

The U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, is proving to be one of

the best modern artillery systems. Ukrainians love it so much, they made a folk song about it

And other U.S. allies are lining up to buy the thing, because besides being highly mobile

it's also highly versatile, able to fire several different types of munitions

So HIMARS enthusiasts should be happy to hear the system just got swole

This is the European Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System, or GMARS, and it just proved its capability with the first successful test fire at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico

The GMARS is the product of a partnership between U.S.-based Lockheed Martin, maker of the HIMARS system, and Germany's Rheinmetall, which is providing its expertise in large, militarized trucks for the project

Let's start with the business end of the system, the launcher itself

It's based on the same basic principles of the HIMARS pod launch system, but it's twice as big

That means a single GMARS can fire either two ATACAMS missiles, four of the US Army's new precision strike missiles, or 12 227mm guided rockets

But wait, there's more. Since many European rocket launchers use 122mm rockets, the GMARS will eventually be able to fire those as well

Here's something else that's pretty interesting. Lockheed Martin says it working on a ground version of its long anti missile the L And Lockheed wants to be able to fire it from the HIMARS

The L-RASM is shaping up to be an amazing missile. Stealthy, long-range, able to operate in swarms in denied environments

truly a monster in the form of a munition. At the same time, Ryan Mattal says future GMARS munitions options include a surface-launched cruise missile

So while neither company is openly saying the GMARS will eventually fire the L-Rasm

if the HIMARS can do it, the GMARS can do it too. Neither system would be what it is, though, without the ability to move

To accomplish that critical task, the GMARS is based on Reinmattal's HX Vehicle Series

Reinmattal is Europe's number one manufacturer of wheeled and tracked tactical vehicles

and they brought all of that experience to bear in the design of the GMARS

It has an automated load handling system, armored cab, and what's being called a future-proof electronic architecture that enables things like autonomous operations

And for as big as it is, the 8x8 GMARS is still pretty mobile, making shoot and scoot operations more than manageable

The GMARS vehicle came together and proved capable pretty quickly. Lockheed Martin and Ryan Mattel only announced their partnership in 2023

which was, of course, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was the impetus for the greatest surge in European defensive spending in decades

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