Lockheed Martin delivers the 100,000th GMLRS rocket as production reaches nearly 14,000 a year, ahead of schedule

Lockheed Martin delivered the 100,000th Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rocket, the main precision munition of the HIMARS and M270 launchers. The US company announced the milestone on Tuesday, November 10, at a ceremony in Camden, Arkansas, where more than 200 employees work on the rocket’s line. A second figure it gave may matter more: production now reaches almost 14,000 rockets a year, a rate achieved ahead of schedule.

The company links the acceleration to demand for weapons proven in combat. GMLRS has been used in real fighting and Lockheed Martin presents it as a low-cost, low-risk munition that limits collateral damage and gives units flexibility in the field. The US Army is the main customer, but the rockets are also intended for allies operating the two launchers.

In the manufacturer’s official description, the Unitary version carries a warhead of about 90 kilograms (200 pounds) for point targets and has a range of over 70 kilometres. The Alternative Warhead version, with a fragmentation warhead of the same class, was the first munition designed for area targets without leaving unexploded submunitions behind, so as to comply with US cluster munitions policy. The newer ER GMLRS, with a larger motor and tail fins, reaches 150 kilometres. In October a GMLRS changed target in flight and destroyed a moving target, as we reported in our report on the White Sands test.

A third motor source and 200 suppliers

With the milestone, Lockheed Martin announced the first test of a new solid rocket motor for GMLRS, which it is developing with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS). More tests follow and certification of the motor is planned for 2027, when the programme would gain a third US source for one of its most critical components. GDOTS already supplies warheads, motor casings and launch pods. In October there was already the agreement with Italy’s Avio for ER GMLRS and PrSM motors.

“These production milestones confirm that Lockheed Martin is delivering with urgency, investing in the supply chain and making sure American forces have what they need before they need it,” said Gayle Campbell, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Tactical Missiles unit, speaking of close coordination with the Department of War. The programme relies on more than 200 suppliers in 35 states, over 50 of them small businesses. The Camden site is hiring 50% more workers for more munitions programmes, among them the PAC-3 MSE and PrSM missiles, and more than 40 local high-school graduates took full-time positions this year.

The M270 is also in the Hellenic Army’s arsenal. As we examined in our analysis of the M270 and its modernisation, the launcher carries two pods of six 227 mm rockets each, and newer munitions in the family require an upgrade to the M270A2 standard.