The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than two dozen High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to Canada, according to an announcement from the Pentagon on Wednesday. The estimated US$1.75-billion deal includes 26 of the mobile launchers and hundreds of rocket pods, including dozens of Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) units. The approval by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency comes after Canada requested the U.S.-made rocket artillery systems and munitions for the Canadian Army. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of Canada, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally,” the agency said in a statement announcing the deal. The statement described Canada as “an important force for ensuring political stability and economic progress” and “a contributor to military, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations around the world.” The sale of the HIMARS technology would improve Canada’s contributions to “collective hemispheric defense and to defense and deterrence in Europe” under NATO, the statement added. The Defense Security Co-operation Agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Defense, says the deal will require up to 20 U.S. government officials and up to 15 defence contractor representatives to make “multiple trips to Canada” to conclude the agreement. “Travel is expected to occur approximately twice per year as needed to support equipment fielding and training,” the agency added. “There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”
