Taiwan orders 18 additional M142 HIMARS systems from Lockheed-Martin

Taiwan will order 18 additional M142 HIMARS in order to increase its medium-range firepower in the face of the growing threat of Chinese military intervention on the island.

Like the Mirages during the Arab-Israeli wars and the laser-guided bombs of the Gulf War, the war in Ukraine has brought to the fore certain stars of the international arms market, such as the Turkish TB2 drone and the French Caesar cannon. as well as the M142 HIMARS long-range artillery system from the American Lockheed-Martin.

The success of the M142 HIMARS in Ukraine and on the international scene

The system had only been ordered, outside the United States, by 5 armed forces for less than 80 units before February 24, 2022. It has since been ordered by 6 new armies around the world, for more than 70 units, not counting the potential Polish order which will be 200 to 500 units.

Taiwan was among the first international customers of the HIMARS, with an order for 11 examples announced in October 2020. The success of the HIMARS may have influenced Taipei to face a possible Chinese offensive. In fact, the country's authorities have just made public their intention to order 18 additional units to be delivered from 2026.

Very mobile thanks to its 6×6 configuration for a combat weight of less than 19 tonnes, the M142 HIMARS can treat targets 15 to 500 km away depending on the ammunition used.

ATACMS and PrSM, extended range ammunition

Armed with 227 mm GMLRS rockets, the system can carry 2×6 munitions with a range of 15 to 92 km (150 km for ER-GMLRS) with GPS guidance carrying a warhead of 91 kg, capable of dealing with large surfaces against weakly hardened targets.

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