Germany to buy 3 HIMARS for Ukraine
Germany will buy three HIMARS multiple rocket launchers for Ukraine, the country's defense minister announced on May 9.
Speaking during a trip to Washington, Boris Pistorius said they would be purchased from the U.S. and handed over to Kyiv.
"They will come from the US armed forces and will be paid for by us," he told reporters.
HIMARS, whose prowess became a popular motif of internet memes, was a game-changer for Ukraine when it first arrived in the summer of 2022, allowing Kyiv to target Russian forces behind the front lines far more accurately than they had previously.
The weapons system – its full name is M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System – is a multiple rocket launcher system mounted to a 6x6 FMTV truck chassis, providing devastating firepower launched from a highly mobile platform.
Its rockets are radar-guided, with a range of around 70 kilometers (over 40 miles). When combined with high mobility, it is the ideal "shoot and scoot" system to target enemy weapons dumps and command posts.
HIMARS success stories are too numerous to count, but most recently, they were used against a military training ground in occupied areas of Donetsk Oblast where Russian troops were stationed, killing at least 60, the BBC reported on Feb. 21.
