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🇸🇪 Sweden /Conflict & Security

Sweden buys Himars rocket artillery from the United States

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Sweden has decided to buy about ten U.S.-made Himars launch units, including Precision Strike Missiles with a stated range of up to 500 kilometers.
  • Defense Minister Pål Jonson said the system would strengthen Sweden’s defense capability and make an attack more difficult.
  • The deal is worth about 7 billion kronor and may include Swedish ammunition production, while Finland will support maintenance under a bilateral agreement.

Sweden is buying U.S.-made Himars rocket artillery in a deal worth about 7 billion kronor, giving its armed forces access to missiles that can reach more than 500 kilometers.

The purchase covers about ten launch units of the Mk142 Himars system. It includes the Precision Strike Missile, or PRSM, which manufacturer Lockheed Martin says can reach 500 kilometers. The system has a considerably longer range than Sweden’s Archer artillery, according to the report.

The government made the decision the previous week and presented the deal at a press conference at F16 in Uppsala. Defense Minister Pål Jonson said the purchase would strengthen Sweden’s defense capability and make an attack on the country more difficult. He said it would also allow Sweden to strike targets at considerably greater distances than older artillery systems.

This strengthens our defense capability and makes an attack on Sweden more difficult.

· Pål JonsonSweden’s defense minister described the security purpose of the Himars purchase.

The 2024 defense decision called for the armed forces to establish a rocket artillery unit. Sweden selected Himars after competition with South Korea’s K239 Chunmoo, which Norway chose earlier in the year. Himars is also used in Ukraine’s defense war against Russia, while reports have said the United States has limited deliveries of some Himars ammunition because of its own needs.

Lockheed Martin has agreed to sign a declaration of intent allowing ammunition production at a factory in Sweden to supply the Swedish system. Sweden and Finland have also agreed to cooperate on rocket artillery. Finland, which already operates similar U.S.-made tracked MLRS artillery, could provide maintenance support through a center in Tampere.

The U.S. State Department approved a sale of up to 20 Himars units in March, with a total value of about $930 million, or nearly 9 billion Swedish kronor. The deal now presented is smaller, worth about 7 billion kronor, and covers enough launch units for half a battalion. Dagens Nyheter corrected an earlier report that had put the price at 5 billion kronor.

It gives us the ability to strike targets at considerably greater distances than with older artillery.

· Pål JonsonJonson explained the operational advantage of the new rocket artillery.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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