It will be problematic to double the production of guided missiles of the GMLRS family of 227 mm caliber for universal launchers (combining the work of MLRS and OTRK) M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS. The American edition of Defense One writes about this, referring to the opinion of a senior official of a product developer and manufacturer, who spoke about the difficulties of implementing the Pentagon’s plans.
Becky Withrow, Lockheed Martin’s business development manager for tactical missiles, said in an interview that it takes time to get to that level. This business will need at least two years, if not more.
Yes, today the annual production of GMLRS is 10,000 units and this is the maximum the company can issue. At the same time, the company is working to increase this number by 40% by 2024 to 14,000 units.
he precised.
Withrow added that the biggest problem is machinery and testing equipment. It is also difficult for Lockheed Martin to find specialists for its production lines, and here one of the problems is that some of them are located very far from the settlements and people simply take a long time to get to at work. That is why, despite the fact that it is possible to manufacture products in two shifts, the work is carried out only in one.
Photos used: US Army
