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Australia fires first GMLRS rounds made locally under Lockheed Martin licence for HIMARS

Lockheed Martin Australia says Australia has assembled its first GMLRS guided rocket artillery locally, positioning the program as a pillar of the country’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) enterprise. The Australian Defence Department reported initial live firings from M142 HIMARS using domestically produced GMLRS munitions, while Lockheed and Rheinmetall are exploring sustainment options for Australia’s growing HIMARS fleet.

Discovered 2026-04-13T07:56:32.984531-07:00 | 2026-04-13T07:56:32.984531-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Demonstrates a concrete step toward sovereign strike-weapon capacity: the GWEO enterprise is moving from assembly/industrial work to live firings of domestically produced GMLRS munitions for HIMARS.
Highlights how HIMARS sustainment is becoming a local industrial topic—Lockheed Martin Australia and Rheinmetall Defence Australia are exploring a sustainment model aligned to a “growing HIMARS fleet,” affecting lifecycle cost and availability.
Fits the broader European and allied shift toward domestic mass production of advanced rocket artillery and strike munitions, echoing recent initiatives such as the Rheinmetall-Destinus JV to mass-produce missile and rocket artillery.

Reported By

APAC Defence Reporter defence-industry.eu Janes Shephard Media spaceanddefense.io DefenseNews.com