Production of ATACMS Missiles Will Be Localized at the Rheinmetall Plant in Germany

Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall announced a partnership to locally manufacture ATACMS ballistic missiles in Europe during the Defense Industrial Forum at the NATO summit.

The press office of the American company announced this. The report notes that the agreement has received official support from the U.S. and German governments.

This agreement is the next step toward establishing a joint venture. It will become the first European center for the production, integration, and supply of this missile in Europe.

Production facilities will be set up at Rheinmetall’s plant in Unterlüs.

Production of rocket engines and guided missile components at the German facility is scheduled to begin as early as 2027.

Development of the operational-tactical system began in the late 1970s in the United States to engage the enemy’s second echelon of troops. The program was launched in 1982 under the name ATACMS.

The first successful launch of the ballistic missile took place in 1988. The system was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1990 under the designation MGM-140.

It saw its first combat use in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, when 32 missiles were fired.

The weapon saw widespread use in 2003 in Iraq, when the military fired more than 450 missiles. Production of the system is currently being phased out as the U.S. transitions to the new PrSM missiles with a range of over 500 km.

The missile is approximately 4 meters long and has a diameter of 610 millimeters. Its solid-fuel engine allows the missile to accelerate along its trajectory to speeds exceeding Mach 3. Launches are conducted from M270 MLRS tracked launchers or M142 HIMARS wheeled systems.

The first version, the MGM-140A Block I, had a range of 128 km and a cluster warhead containing 950 submunitions. The MGM-140B Block IA version features GPS satellite navigation, a smaller cluster warhead with 275 submunitions, and a range of up to 300 km.

The current version, the MGM-168A Block IA QRU, is equipped with a 230-kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead and has a range of up to 300 km.