White House approves procurement of 5,064 GMLRS missiles for HIMARS and 110 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors worth over $2.2bn

The Directorate of Administration and Budget has authorised the multi-year procurement of GMLRS precision-guided missiles and PAC-3 MSE missiles. The decision was taken after a slight delay due to the need to gather additional information.

Here's What We Know

In March this year, the White House sent a budget request to the US Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2024. The Joe Biden administration requested funding for five multi-year ammunition deals for the US Navy and Air Force:

• 103 NSM missiles - $249.9 million;
• 125 SM-6 missiles - $1.6 billion;
• 831 AMRAAM missiles, $1.2 billion;
• 118 LRASM missiles, $1 billion;
• 550 JASSM-ER missiles - $1.8bn.

The request was expected to be for the PAC-3 MSE and GMLRS. However, the Office of Management and Budget paused and asked Lockheed Martin for more data on the munitions.

This week, Congress received notification of edits to the budget request. Among other things, it included a request to add PAC-3 MSE interceptors and GMLRS precision-guided munitions to the list for multi-year contracts.

There is no information in the document on plans to adjust the ammunition request. The White House is requesting more than $1 billion for the purchase of 5,064 GMLRS precision-guided missiles, $1.2 billion for the purchase of 110 PAC-3 MSE anti-missile missiles and $36 million for Patriot missile modifications.

Source: Breaking Defense