Canada's military leadership is pushing for a sole source deal for the U.S.-built High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS but the country has other non-American alternatives. (U.S. Dept. of Defense photo).
By David Pugliese
In mid-March I wrote an article for the Ottawa Citizen about how Canada’s military leadership was pushing for yet another sole source deal for American equipment. This initiative was underway despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to economically damage Canada and eventually annex it as the 51st state.
The Canadian Forces wants the Liberal government to purchase the U.S.-built High Mobility Artillery Rocket System or HIMARS, prompting concern from defence industry officials representing domestic as well as non-U.S. companies.
Ukraine has been using HIMARS in combat against Russian forces but Trump was recently able to reduce the effectiveness of the weapon system by limiting the flow of data and intelligence needed for its operations. (that situation has now been reversed).
The plan being proposed by the Canadian Forces senior leadership would see the purchase of a number of HIMARS built by Lockheed Martin. The sole source deal could be handled through a Foreign Military Sale in which Canada would receive the equipment direct from the U.S. government.
Asked why it was considering a HIMARS purchase from a country that was threatening to annex Canada, Department of National Defence spokesman Kened Sadiku responded in an email that “the Long-Range Precision Strike (Land) project will significantly enhance Canada’s defence capabilities, both domestically and abroad.”
“This project is progressing well and we are expecting to share additional details in the coming months,” Sadiku added in his email.
A 2024 Canadian Forces briefing on the Long Range Precision Fires project noted that the acquisition of the equipment could be worth up to $4.99 billion. The project would involve purchasing launchers, fire control software, munitions and spare parts.
Canadian defence suppliers have warned that the push by the Canadian Forces to buy American equipment has provided little benefit for domestic firms. One industry representative stated that the Canadian Forces efforts to acquire yet another piece of U.S. equipment shows just how “tone deaf” the military leadership is to the growing anger among Canadians who are disgusted by the U.S. attempts to take over our country.
Defence analyst Steffan Watkins took to the X social media platform to point out that he thinks the HIMARS sale is a done deal. He noted that the Royal Canadian Air Force has been practicing moving U.S. Marines HIMARS around since November 2024.
But are there non-U.S. alternatives to HIMARS? Of course there are.
Here are two of those:
PULS (Precise and Universal Launching System)
The multiple rocket launcher was developed by Israel’s ELBIT systems.
Elbit has also joined forces with Germany’s KNDS to develop a variant of the system for the European market. One of the ideas was to use U.S. HIMARs and GMLRS weapons for the system but Defense News reported last year that Lockheed Martin blocked that initiative. (The company would prefer customers simply order its HIMARS).
Variants of PULS are in service or on order by Thailand, Spain, the Royal Danish Army, and the Royal Netherlands Army. In cases like Spain, the systems are being built domestically.
In January 2025, Israeli news media reported that Serbia had purchased the PULS. On Feb. 6, 2025, Elbit Systems Ltd. announced it had been awarded a contract valued at approximately $57 million to supply its PULS Rocket Launcher Artillery Systems to the German Armed Forces.
Under the contract, Elbit Systems, in collaboration with KNDS Deutschland, will deliver rocket artillery systems, including the development of associated adaptations and the integration of German C4I equipment (such as command and weapons control systems). These rocket launcher systems will undergo test procedures performed by the German procurement agency BAAINBw and associated technical test centers to achieve approval for in-service use in the German Armed Forces. The systems will also be supported through in-service support, according to Elbit.
K239 Chunmoo
This South Korean rocket artillery system developed in 2013 and is in service with militaries in South Korea, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It is self-propelled wheeled and is capable of launching various calibres of rockets.
South Korea has specialized in quickly delivering the systems. Poland was to have bought 212 of the systems but it upped the number to 290. The first 18 were delivered two years ago. The rest are to be delivered by 2027.
K239 Chunmoo combines mobility of M142 HIMARS and firepower of the M270 MLRS, according to GlobalSecurity.org. Depending on the type of missiles the range varies from 80 kilometres to 290 kilometres.
Estonia is considering K239 Chunmoo, built by Hanwha Aerospace, because of ongoing delays with HIMARS, South Korean news media reported Feb. 25, 2025. While Estonia continues negotiations with Lockheed Martin over delivery timelines, the possibility of turning to Hanwha Aerospace could materialize, given that Poland and other nations have opted for Chunmoo due to its delivery speed and after-sales support, the Chosun Daily reported.
“I would like to speak [with the U.S. government] to ask, are they ready to speed up the production, or are they ready to give us earlier [production] slots?” Estonia’s defense minister Hanno Pevkur said in an interview with Breaking Defense at a conference in Munich on Feb. 15. “Because the information we’ve gathered today clearly shows that delivery time is very long and we don’t have so much time.”
That is where the K239 Chunmoo comes in but whether the order materializes remains to be seen.
