Sweden buys American Himars robotic artillery for seven billion kroner

The government made the decision last week, which Aftonbladet was the first to report on.

Today, the deal was presented at a press conference at F16 in Uppsala.

- This strengthens our defense capability and makes an attack on Sweden more difficult, says Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) to TT.

It is about ten fire units of the American system Mk142 Himars. Rocket artillery has a much longer range than the Swedish Archer system, and the purchase includes the Precision strike missile, PRSM, which should be able to reach 50 miles, according to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

- It gives us the opportunity to hit targets at significantly greater distances than with older artillery, says Pål Jonson to TT.

The Defense Decision 2024 meant that the Swedish Armed Forces would establish a rocket artillery unit, and the selection of the US-made Himars has been in competition with the South Korean K239 Chunmoo. Norway opted for the South Korean system earlier this year.

Himars are used, among other things, in Ukraine's defensive war against Russia, and reports have spoken that the US is withholding supplies of certain Himars ammunition due to its own needs.

Lockheed Martin has agreed to sign a letter of intent that munitions manufacturing can take place in a factory in Sweden in order to supply the Swedish system.

Finland already has a similar US rocket artillery, the track-propelled MLRS system, with a maintenance center in Tampere. Sweden and Finland have reached an agreement on cooperation regarding rocket artillery, where Finland can, among other things, support with maintenance of the Swedish Himars.

In March, the US State Department approved the sale of up to 20 Himars units with a total price of approximately 930 million dollars, i.e. close to nine billion Swedish kronor.

But the deal that is being presented now is worth approximately seven billion kroner. The number of fire units corresponds to half a battalion.