M142 HIMARS of the UAE's 97th Heavy Artillery Regiment during a live-fire exercise with the US Army on 1 October 2013. (US Army)
The US has approved the sale of Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles worth an estimated USD1.2 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 11 October.
It said the proposed sale included 203 M57 ATACMS missiles and 1,554 M31A1 GMLRS missiles in six-round pods, as well as related items and support services. The M57 is a GPS-guided tactical ballistic missile with a maximum range of 300 km and a 221 kg warhead that can be launched either by the M270 MLRS or M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
This is the fourth time the US government has approved the sale of ATACMS missiles to the UAE, although it is unclear how many have been delivered. The first was in 2006 and covered 100 of the older and shorter range M39A1 ATACMS variant, in addition to 20 HIMARS launchers, which are also used to fire the smaller GMLRS and unguided 227 mm rockets.
The sale of another 100 ATACMS missiles was approved in November 2010 along with 60 practice rockets. The most recent approval was in September 2014, when 100 M57 Block 1A missiles, 12 HIMARS launchers, and 65 pods for M31A1 GMLRS missiles were approved.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
