(FreedomBeacon.com)- With the United States providing Ukraine with Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems or GMLRS, the US Army has awarded multiple contract options to Lockheed Martin to help replenish military stockpiles and to provide support to US allies and international partners.
The GMLRS, which has been vital in helping Ukraine drive back Russian forces in recent months, is a surface-to-surface platform that can attack, neutralize, suppress, and destroy targets up to 70 kilometers away using indirect precision fire.
The munitions for GMLRS have greater accuracy than ballistic rockets, a higher kill probability, and a reduced logistics footprint.
Between October 21 and November 2, the US Army awarded Lockheed Martin over $520 million in contracts for GMLRS.
In a statement last week, William LaPlante, the undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said the contracts with Lockheed Martin “demonstrate the significant impact GMLRS are having on the battlefield as a vital combat capability for our international partners.”
The procurement of GMLRS is part of the Ukraine supplemental appropriations and is led by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space in partnership with other components of the Department of Defense.
According to Douglas Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics, and technology, by awarding these contracts, the Army will be able to “replenish our own inventory” while continuing to provide “critical capabilities” to the United States’ allies and international partners.
Bush added that the Army remains committed to award contracts “as quickly as possible to ensure our stocks are rapidly replenished.”
Previously, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $179 million contract to replace the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that were also sent to Ukraine.
The Guided Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems, which can be used with the M142 HIMARS, were used extensively in Iraq and continue to provide artillery support in overseas contingency operations.
