Sweden to buy HIMARS rocket artillery for around $730 million

PARIS — Sweden signed off on the purchase of Lockheed Martin’s M142 HIMARS rocket-artillery system for around 7 billion Swedish kronor (US$733 million), with the government saying the security situation is such that it needs rapidly available capabilities to complement its Archer self-propelled howitzers.

The first deliveries of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System are scheduled for 2027, the Swedish Ministry of Defence said on Monday . Buying the American-produced rocket artillery will allow the Swedish Armed Forces to operate over larger areas and with greater long-range capacity than with the current artillery systems, the ministry said.

“The introduction of rocket artillery clearly demonstrates that Sweden is taking responsibility for security in Europe,” Defense Minister Pål Jonson said.

While Estonia in April expressed concern about possibly delivery delays for HIMARS ammunition due to the Iran war, the Swedish calendar indicates potential bottlenecks may not affect launcher production.

Sweden’s neighboring Norway in January picked Hanwha to supply its Chunmoo rocket artillery system, preferring the South Korean system over HIMARS due to the availability of longer-range munitions.

“The fact that we are now procuring HIMARS and getting long-range precision combat capability on the ground is important not only for the Army but for the Armed Forces as a whole and for our allies,” said Swedish Army chief Maj. Gen. Johan Pekkari in a separate statement .

With Europe currently lacking a home-made equivalent to HIMARS, the Swedish purchase of the U.S. system and Norway acquiring Chunmoo reduces the commercial space for a French rocket artillery system being developed by MBDA and Safran.

The HIMARS systems will be organized in a rocket artillery unit in accordance with plans announced in 2024, Pekkari said. Sweden’s defense bill for the 2025-2030 period , published in 2024, set plans for a rocket artillery unit alongside two Archer battalions.

In parallel with the purchase, Lockheed Martin and Saab are signing a joint declaration on potential integration of Saab’s Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb and production of munitions for HIMARS, as well as other systems such as the Patriot air-defense system, the ministry said.

Additionally, Sweden and Finland signed a declaration to cooperate on rocket artillery, including on training, security of supply and production, with Finland’s Multiple Launch Rocket System using the same munitions and components as HIMARS, according to the Swedish ministry.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——瑞典政府批准购买洛克希德·马丁公司的M142 HIMARS火箭炮系统，价值约70亿瑞典克朗（7.33亿美元）。瑞典政府表示，鉴于当前的安全形势，需要快速获得相应的能力来补充其“弓箭手”自行榴弹炮。

瑞典国防部周一表示，首批高机动性火箭炮系统计划于2027年交付。该部称，采购这款美国制造的火箭炮将使瑞典武装部队能够在比现有火炮系统更大的区域内作战，并拥有更远的射程。

“引进火箭炮清楚地表明，瑞典正在承担起维护欧洲安全的责任，”国防部长帕尔·约翰逊表示。

尽管爱沙尼亚在 4 月份曾表示，由于伊朗战争，HIMARS 弹药的交付可能会延迟，但瑞典的日程安排表明，潜在的瓶颈可能不会影响发射器的生产。

今年 1 月，瑞典的邻国挪威选择韩华公司为其提供“天武”火箭炮系统，因为韩华公司拥有射程更远的弹药，所以挪威更倾向于韩国的“天武”系统而不是 HIMARS 系统。

瑞典陆军总司令约翰·佩卡里少将在另一份声明中表示：“我们现在采购HIMARS导弹系统，并在地面上获得远程精确作战能力，这不仅对陆军，而且对整个武装部队和我们的盟友都非常重要。”

由于欧洲目前还没有国产的与HIMARS相当的产品，瑞典购买了美国的该系统，挪威收购了Chunmoo，这减少了MBDA和Safran正在开发的法国火箭炮系统的商业空间。

佩卡里表示，HIMARS系统将按照2024年公布的计划，编入一个火箭炮部队。瑞典2024年公布的2025-2030年国防法案中，制定了组建一个火箭炮部队以及两个“弓箭手”火箭炮营的计划。

该部表示，在购买的同时，洛克希德·马丁公司和萨博公司正在签署一份联合声明，探讨萨博公司的陆基小直径炸弹的潜在整合，以及为HIMARS系统和其他系统（如爱国者防空系统）生产弹药的可能性。

此外，瑞典国防部表示，瑞典和芬兰签署了一项关于在火箭炮领域开展合作的宣言，合作内容包括培训、供应安全和生产，芬兰的多管火箭炮系统将使用与瑞典HIMARS相同的弹药和部件。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。