The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Norway of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $580 million.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reported on this.

The Government of Norway has requested to buy sixteen M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, training equipment and other related elements of logistics and program support.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally,” the statement said.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale. Lawmakers have a month to study it and decide whether to block it.

The Norwegian government has also ordered fifteen M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead (AW) pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion System (IMPS), fifteen M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) high explosive pods with IMPS and one hundred M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) pods.

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin, located in Grand Prairie, TX. The agreement should be signed in the near future.

The possible Foreign Military Sale will improve Norway’s ability to counter current and future threats and improve its interaction with U.S. and other allied forces.

“Norway will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its Armed Forces,” the DSCA said.

The fact is that the Norwegian military is familiar with a similar system. The country has long been armed with M270A1 MLRS, which are also capable of using GMLRS missiles and ATACMS missiles.

12 of these units have been in Norway’s stockpiles since 2005, and some of them were transferred to Ukraine in 2022.

In June, the U.S. Department of State approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles to Norway.