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    Thayer Australia To Acquire HIMARS

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    Carlyle Alan Thayer
    This Background Brief addresses two questions: (1) What kind of a boost will the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) give Australian military forces in a contingency? (2) Is HIMARS something that might be employed in the defence of Australia or deployed in Southeast Asia in a contingency?

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    Thayer Australia To Acquire HIMARS

    Uploaded by

    Carlyle Alan Thayer
    128 views2 pages
    This Background Brief addresses two questions: (1) What kind of a boost will the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) give Australian military forces in a contingency? (2) Is HIMARS something that might be employed in the defence of Australia or deployed in Southeast Asia in a contingency?

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    Thayer Australia to Acquire HIMARS

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    This Background Brief addresses two questions: (1) What kind of a boost will the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) give Australian military forces in a contingency? (2) Is HIMARS something that might be employed in the defence of Australia or deployed in Southeast Asia in a contingency?

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    128 views2 pages

    Thayer Australia To Acquire HIMARS

    Uploaded by

    Carlyle Alan Thayer
    This Background Brief addresses two questions: (1) What kind of a boost will the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) give Australian military forces in a contingency? (2) Is HIMARS something that might be employed in the defence of Australia or deployed in Southeast Asia in a contingency?

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Thayer Consultancy Background Brief:

    ABN # 65 648 097 123


    Australia to Acquire HIMARS
    January 5, 2023

    What kind of a boost the will High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) give
    Australian military forces in a contingency? Is HIMNARS something that might be
    employed in the defense of Australia or do you think it could be forward deployed into
    Southeast Asia in a contingency?
    ANSWER: At present, the longest range the Australian Army’s howitzers can fire is
    about 30 kilometres. The acquisition of the HIMARS extends that range to 300 km. The
    HIMARS package includes launchers, surface-to-surface missiles and a weapon
    locating radar to detect air, land and sea targets. The Australian government is
    considering the acquisition of HIMARS-compatible Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM)
    that would extend the range to 500 km.
    The official rationale for the acquisition of the HIMARS is deterrence. Defence Minister
    Richard Marles commented late last year, “We must invest in targeted capabilities
    that enable us to hold potential adversaries’ forces at risk at a distance, and increase
    the calculated cost of aggression against Australia and its interests.”
    According to Defence Industry Minister Pay Conroy, acquiring an extended strike
    capability is “important because obviously, the further you can keep potential
    adversaries at bay, [the] better… it’s important from a survivability point of view as
    well.”
    Minister for Defence Industry Conroy has flagged the possibility of producing HIMARS
    missiles domestically and opening a second supply line for U.S. forces.
    The Australian Department of Defence has stressed the success of Ukraine in using
    the HIMARS system against Russian ammunition depots, barracks and command
    posts. An official statement issued by the Department of Defence noted, “HIMARS
    launchers have been successfully deployed by the Ukrainian military over recent
    months and are a substantial new capability for the Army.”
    Minister Conroy was quoted in the media as stating, “the war in Ukraine had
    highlighted the need to have longer-range strike capability…” Minister Conroy also
    used the term “land strike capability.” This implies that the HIMARS surface to surface
    system will be used for the defence of Australia particularly along the coastline.
    The U.S. Marines demonstrated that HIMARS can be used at sea against other ships,
    while the U.S. and Rumania fired HIMARS at targets in the Black Sea. It is difficult to
    2

    imagine a conflict on Australian soil between opposing land forces operating at


    distances of 300 to 500 km apart.
    It is significant that HIMARS can be used for “shoot and scoot” operations because it
    is easily transported. Minister Conroy noted, “Static artillery has been increasingly
    vulnerable to counter battery fire, and these things [HIMARS] are incredibly mobile.
    You can transport them on a Hercules or a C-17, so their deployability is incredibly
    impressive.” That raises the possibility of overseas deployment to assist an ally or
    security partner, particularly those that have participated in training exercises with
    the U.S. using the HIMARS system, such as the Philippines and Indonesia. Singapore
    and Thailand also have exercised with the U.S. using the HIMARS system.

    Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Australia to Acquire HIMARS,” Thayer


    Consultancy Background Brief, January 5, 2023. All background briefs are posted on
    Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself from the mailing list type,
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    Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
    other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
    registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.

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