Europe’s renewed focus on rocket artillery amidst rising tensions

This shift has resulted in procurement programs, especially as some European countries supported Kyiv with their own resources.

The war in Ukraine has led to an unexpected success for the Israeli Elbit PULS system, featuring various types of missiles. These include Accular 4.8-inch rockets (18 rockets per package with a range of up to 22 miles), Accular 6.3-inch missiles (10 per package with a range of up to 25 miles), EXTRA 12-inch missiles (four per package with a range of up to 93 miles), and Predator Hawk ballistic missiles (two per package with a range of up to 186 miles, or 230 miles in the Israeli version).

In May 2023, the Netherlands purchased 20 launchers of this system on a Scania Gryphus XT 8x8 truck chassis. This move aims to restore their rocket artillery capabilities, as the Netherlands retired its American M270 tracked vehicles in 2004. The Israeli PULS system outcompeted Lockheed Martin's GMLRS/ATACMS system and M142 HIMARS launcher in the tender. In Denmark, a more intriguing situation unfolded, where PULS systems (two batteries, around 12 units) were bought along with ATMOS howitzers. These were intended to replace recently acquired French CAESARs, which were handed over to Ukraine.

This complex situation has led to quite a scandal over time, with the delivery program to Denmark delayed by about a year and costs expected to rise by about $144 million (from $252 million). Currently, an investigation is underway, set to conclude in July. One reason for this is that the Danish Ministry of Defense found that, when the contract was signed, the information regarding the purchase conditions was incomplete.

PULS also serves as the basis for the development of the Spanish SILAM (Sistema Lanzacohetes de Alta Movilidad - high mobility rocket launcher system). In the fall of 2023, Madrid chose the Israeli offer, involving cooperation with companies like Expal, Escribano, GMV, and Iveco. This cooperation is necessary to meet the requirement for Spanish companies to provide at least 75% of the launchers and 90% of the ammunition.

This requirement aims to secure local research, production, and economic potential to maintain independent capabilities in developing key ammunition. The Bundeswehr also chose the PULS system in a specific program. Five Israeli launchers will replace the MARS II systems (the local version of M270) that were handed over to Ukraine. This purchase will be carried out in cooperation with the Netherlands, with the contract expected to be signed later this year.

However, the plan stipulates that the launchers will not arrive in Germany until 2028. A consolation for Berlin is the addition of an anti-ship missile capability with the NSM (or its land version), produced under the Euro-PULS system (the German version of PULS) in cooperation with Kongsberg and KNDS Deutschland. This would complement the system with a hard-to-detect cruise missile. The 3SM Tyrfing missile, developed with Diehl Defence and MBDA Deutschland, might also arm the land-based rocket system. However, it's unlikely that the Euro-PULS launcher will accommodate it.

This modest purchase could be the prelude to a much broader Long-Range Indirect Fire System program (Zukünftige System Indirektes Feuer großer Reichweite, ZukSysIndFgRw).

The French traditionally choose their path. From 2024 to 2030, they intend to acquire 13 new rocket systems, and by 2035 - at least 13 more, considering two options: off-the-shelf purchase of M142 HIMARS or a national solution.

The French Army General Staff prefers the second solution. KNDS France and Arquus, along with Safran and MBDA France, have been collaborating. The latter proposed a solution similar to the American GLSDB missile (guided glide bomb with an added propulsion system) based on the AASM Hammer guided bomb family. On May 13, Thales (responsible for developing command and control system elements, as well as ammunition guidance systems) and ArianeGroup (responsible for developing a ballistic or quasi-ballistic missile) joined them. Ultimately, the French army expects a system capable of striking targets over 310 miles away. It is not yet known when a decision on the program will be made in France.

The GMLRS/ATACMS system with the M142 HIMARS launcher is also quite popular in Europe. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, for example, have procured it, collaborating with each other. Vilnius purchased eight launchers with ammunition (the contract was signed in December 2022) and is considering buying more. Latvia bought six launchers with ammunition, while Estonia did the same, benefiting from US government support covering 70% of the transaction value ($140.5 million from $200 million).

Italy has also expressed interest in the HIMARS system, though the purchase of up to 21 launchers with ammunition has not yet been approved. Interestingly, Hungary attempted to buy it but did not initially receive approval for the sale. When the US announced it would approve, Budapest declared it had changed its mind. The related M270A2 system is held by the UK. This launcher carries two transport-launch containers for rockets on one tracked chassis. Recently, London announced that instead of just 44 launchers, it will modernize up to 85, indicating it plans to buy more.

Many types of missiles are used with M142 and M270 launchers, with the GMLRS family being the most common. GMLRS rockets guided by GPS have a range of about 56 miles (GMLRS-ER up to 93 miles) and are offered with various warheads (high explosive, fragmentation, and programmable fuse). Also available is the GLSDB rocket bomb (notorious for its poor effectiveness in Ukraine due to Russian GPS jamming) and the MGM-140 ATACMS semi-ballistic (aeroballistic) missiles with a range of 103-186 miles and various warheads. They will be replaced by the PrSM with a range of up to 435 miles (PrSM-ER up to 621 miles) with a lighter warhead, allowing two missiles to fit in one transport-launch container instead of one ATACMS.

Poland and Romania have pursued their own paths. After temporarily suspending its domestic HOMAR system program in favor of purchasing 20 off-the-shelf HIMARS in 2020, Warsaw returned to it in an extraordinary form after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Concurrently, Poland decided to buy an astonishing 290 Korean Hanwha K239 Chunmoo systems (on a wheeled chassis with a pair of transport-launch containers) and thousands of missiles under two execution contracts (from fall 2022 and spring 2024). Despite political changes and the shifting situation in Ukraine, only 60 launchers were decided to be produced in Poland. There is also no visible interest in producing ammunition, a priority for Spain and France.

The K239PL (one of the designations of the Polish version) may replace the domestic WR-40 Langusta, as there is an option to develop a container for 4.8-inch rockets. Concurrently, in September 2023, a framework contract was signed for the delivery of 486 HIMARS launchers, this time partially localized (as with the K239, the chassis would be supplied by the Polish company Jelcz, and the fire control system by WB). Again, localization of ammunition is mentioned, though due to the lack of execution contracts, it's difficult to assess the actual willingness in this regard. These systems will be known as HOMAR-K and HOMAR-A.

Romania bought 54 HIMARS systems with ammunition in February 2018. The first launchers reached the user in 2021, making Bucharest the first European user of HIMARS. Additionally, Romania is considering purchasing over a hundred K239s to replace old APR-40 systems. As with other potential purchases from Korea, Romania expresses a willingness to produce the systems and ammunition locally.