Canada’s first U.S. HIMARS rocket-launcher $1.75B deal brings long-range strike to NATO.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sale to Canada of 26 M142 HIMARS launchers, a wide package of GMLRS and ER-GMLRS pods, and 64 M57 ATACMS pods, an estimated $1.75 billion package. 

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency released on October 1, 2025, a congressional notification clearing a potential Foreign Military Sale for Canada covering 26 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems with a deep magazine of precision munitions and full support, an estimated package worth 1.75 billion dollars. The filing lists 132 pods of M31A2 GMLRS Unitary and 132 pods of M30A2 GMLRS Alternative Warhead, plus 32 pods each of the new Extended Range GMLRS M403 AW and M404 Unitary, and 64 pods of the M57 ATACMS missile. Radios, training, spares, and contractor logistics support are included, with Lockheed Martin identified as prime. For Canada, the package promises not just launchers but an immediately credible long-range fires ecosystem.
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The M142 HIMARS is a 6x6 wheeled launcher capable of firing six 227 mm GMLRS rockets or a single ATACMS missile, delivering precision strikes from 70 km to over 300 km with rapid shoot-and-scoot mobility and full integration into NATO digital fires networks (Picture source: U.S. DoW).

HIMARS is a 6x6 launcher mounted on the FMTV family truck that carries a single interchangeable pod: either six 227 mm GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS tactical missile. The launcher shares architecture with the tracked M270, enabling pod commonality across allied fleets. Combat weight remains light enough for C-130 transport, a feature that matters for Canada’s dispersed geography and Arctic basing. Crew operations emphasize speed and survivability. The fire control system supports rapid in-and-out firing, digital mission uploads, and pod swaps by organic resupply trucks, minimizing time under threat of counterbattery detection.

M31A2 Unitary delivers pinpoint high-explosive effects against point targets such as command posts or hardened positions, while M30A2 Alternative Warhead provides area effects without legacy cluster submunitions. The Extended Range GMLRS family, identified in the notification as M403 AW and M404 Unitary, stretches reach to roughly 150 kilometers, expanding the launcher’s deep interdiction envelope from defensible firing points. At the top end, the M57 ATACMS offers a 300-kilometer-class strike option for air defense sites, logistics hubs, bridges, and runway targets, giving commanders a step change in operational depth from the same vehicle.

The communications suite includes Type 1 secure radios such as the AN/PRC-160 and AN/PRC-167 and Simple Key Loaders for cryptographic management. That equipment points to seamless integration with NATO joint fires networks and sensor-to-shooter threads, enabling Canadian batteries to prosecute targets tipped by allied ISR, counter-battery radars, and maritime or air platforms. With palletized pods and a highly automated fire control, HIMARS batteries can salvo rockets, displace in minutes, and rearm rapidly, tactics that have proven effective in contested electromagnetic and drone-dense environments.

Standard GMLRS shapes the close and deep fight from 70 to 90 kilometers by collapsing enemy artillery, headquarters, and logistics choke points. ER-GMLRS at around 150 kilometers pushes interdiction against bridges, rail nodes, and medium-range air defenses, while ATACMS extends coercive pressure into operational rear areas out to approximately 300 kilometers. The platform’s road mobility and winter performance suit national defense tasks across long distances, from coastal approaches to Arctic corridors, and provide a deployable precision-fires option for Canada’s leadership role in Latvia’s enhanced forward presence brigade.

The timing aligns with Ottawa’s Our North, Strong and Free defense policy update and the broader North American modernization of continental defenses under NORAD. In NATO terms, the deal bolsters allied magazine depth at a moment when precision rockets and missiles are in high demand, and it diversifies the alliance’s long-range fires basing options from the Arctic to the Baltics. The DSCA notification is an authorization to negotiate rather than a contract, so final quantities and price will be set in a Letter of Offer and Acceptance. Yet the breadth of the request signals clear intent: field a full-spectrum, networked precision-fires capability that strengthens deterrence at home and increases Canada’s weight in allied operations abroad.