Lithuania signs $495 million deal to buy HIMARS, ATACMs

WASHINGTON ― Lithuania and the U.S. government have finalized a $495 million deal for as many as eight M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, the Lithuanian government announced Friday.

The deal includes Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which have a range of 300 kilometers, and other ammunition. A State Department notice last month said several dozen Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, and variants of them, would be included.

The deal was finalized as Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials in Washington this week. According to a U.S. readout, Austin hailed Lithuania’s “robust defense spending” and investments in new capabilities like HIMARS.

Anušauskas told Defense News in an interview that the system will be a division-level asset for Lithuania, and that it was important that its Baltic neighbors Latvia , Estonia will also be buying them. Still, because the three countries and Poland will all have placed orders, it’s expected to stretch Lockheed Martin’s ability to build them.

“As far as I know, industry has doubled its pace in producing HIMARS and ammunition,” Anušauskas said. “But in terms of orders, we’re also looking at Poland also ordering them, so the waiting list is rather long.”

Anušauskas said deliveries would begin in 2024 and conclude in 2025 for Estonia, and begin in 2025 and conclude in 2026 for Lithuania. A U.S-Latvia deal for the systems is expected to be finalized next year.

Future talks between the U.S. and Lithuania will focus on HIMARS integration, to include personnel training and maintenance.

As part of U.S. plans to enhance the military presence in the Baltics, defense officials are “transitioning the episodic deployments of an armored battalion-sized element and field artillery battery to a persistent rotational presence,” the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius announced earlier this month.

Lithuania earlier this year decided to expand its military budget by some €148 million ($157 million), paving the way for the purchase of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to replace M113 armored personnel carriers it sent to Ukraine.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——立陶宛政府周五宣布，立陶宛和美国政府已最终敲定一项价值 4.95 亿美元的交易，将向美国提供多达 8 套 M142 高机动性火箭炮系统。

该交易包括射程300公里的陆军战术导弹系统（ATACMS）及其他弹药。美国国务院上月发布的一份通知称，交易还将包括数十套制导多管火箭炮系统及其衍生型号。

本周，立陶宛国防部长阿尔维达斯·阿努绍斯卡斯在华盛顿与美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀及其他美国官员会晤，最终敲定了这项协议。据美方发布的消息，奥斯汀赞扬了立陶宛“强劲的国防开支”以及对HIMARS等新型军事能力的投资。

阿努绍斯卡斯在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，这套系统将成为立陶宛师级装备，而且其波罗的海邻国拉脱维亚和爱沙尼亚也将采购，这一点至关重要。不过，由于这三个国家以及波兰都将下订单，预计洛克希德·马丁公司的产能将面临巨大挑战。

“据我所知，工业界已经将HIMARS导弹系统和弹药的生产速度提高了一倍，”阿努绍斯卡斯说。“但就订单而言，我们也看到波兰也在订购，所以等待名单相当长。”

阿努绍斯卡斯表示，向爱沙尼亚交付该系统将于2024年开始，2025年完成；向立陶宛交付该系统将于2025年开始，2026年完成。美国和拉脱维亚之间的系统交易预计将于明年最终敲定。

美国和立陶宛未来的会谈将重点放在HIMARS一体化方面，包括人员培训和维护。

作为美国加强在波罗的海地区军事存在的计划的一部分，美国驻维尔纽斯大使馆本月早些时候宣布，国防官员正在“将装甲营规模的部队和野战炮兵连的间歇性部署过渡到持续轮换驻扎”。

立陶宛今年早些时候决定将其军费预算增加约 1.48 亿欧元（1.57 亿美元），为购买联合轻型战术车辆以取代其向乌克兰交付的 M113 装甲运兵车铺平了道路。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。