American defense company Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new upgrade for the undeniably legendary HIMARS rocket system. The upgrade is designated FLEX and is based on the FLEXFires technological ecosystem. The modernised system offers customers, new munitions and autonomy options, expanding mission capabilities while preserving the precision and proven deterrence power that HIMARS provides, the company’s press release states.
Through this upgrade, HIMARS gains the ability to carry twice as many munitions equivalent to the M270 MLRS load on the standard M1140 chassis. Most notably, beyond the standard munitions suite of GMLRS (ER), ATACMS, and PrSM (and it is worth recalling that HIMARS will also be able to launch the hypersonic Blackbeard), integration of new types of armament has also been announced.
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The dual-pod configuration doubles firepower and also allows easy arming with air defense and anti-missile munitions, Lockheed Martin states, including, among others, the Patriot PAC-3.
In other words, HIMARS will be able to engage not only ground targets but also function as a surface-to-air missile system. The imagery released by Lockheed Martin shows the upgraded HIMARS in two configurations: two pods for GMLRS (ER) rockets with six rockets each (12 total), and two pods with surface-to-air missile launchers carrying four missiles each (8 total).
It has not been confirmed whether launchers with different missile types can be mixed, but even if not, the FLEX upgrade makes HIMARS a highly versatile system across multiple mission types, capable of shifting from ground strike to air defense and back again as the situation demands.
HIMARS FLEX is stated to be integrable into joint fire control networks. On the matter of target designation, it is worth recalling that as far back as 2022 the Patriot PAC-3 MSE missile was successfully decoupled from its organic radar, meaning targeting data can now be provided by any other station or sensor rather than the system's own radar. All of this can be tied together through the IBCS network.
Alongside this news, it is worth recalling that two years ago, in 2024, Lockheed Martin showed a prototype of a new universal launcher based on the MKR18 Logistics Vehicle System Replacement, which can launch four times as many GMLRS rounds compared to a standard HIMARS.
Defense Express previously reported that the U.S. has completed a key development milestone for the PrSM Inc. 4 missile motor.
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