Germany to launch production of ATACMS missiles
The US and Germany are launching a new project in the field rocket weapons. In the near future, they plan to establish joint production of ATACMS tactical missiles. The new series of ammunition is expected to be supplied to the Bundeswehr and other European armies to replenish their arsenals and enhance the strike capabilities of their missile forces.
At the memorandum stage
On July 7, 2026, at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, a document defining the future of the ATACMS program was signed. American company Lockheed Martin and German company Rheinmetall (more precisely, its defense division, Rheinmetall Defence) signed a memorandum of intent to jointly produce the ATACMS series of tactical ballistic missiles. While these are only general plans for now, a contract outlining the specific terms of the cooperation is expected to be signed in the future.
Under current agreements, Lockheed Martin will provide design and manufacturing documentation and undertake the production of some components. Other components will be assembled by Rheinmetall. A final missile assembly line is planned for one of its sites.
The project will receive organizational and financial support from the governments of both countries. The specific forms and amounts of this assistance, according to the participants, have not yet been agreed upon and will be determined through further consultations.
The project's participants are open about its goals. They point out that European armies have faced shortages of weapons and ammunition in recent years, and that replenishing their arsenals requires organizing, restoring, or expanding production. They estimate that the joint project will partially or fully meet the needs of the Bundeswehr and other armies for ballistic missiles, and the new ATACMS will significantly impact the combat capabilities of European forces.
Moreover, they're not localizing a new development. The direct successor to the ATACMS, the PrSM (Precision Strike Missile), is longer-range and more modern. Why the outdated ATACMS was chosen for production in Europe, rather than the more modern PrSM, will be discussed below.
Production and its curtailment
The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is a line of American-developed tactical and operational-tactical ballistic missiles. It includes several munitions with different characteristics. All are launched from the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers.
Key Features:
- class - tactical ballistic missile "surface-to-surface";
- Maximum range: about 130 km for early Block I and up to 300 km for Block IA and later variants (for a unitary warhead, about 270 km); Lockheed Martin marketing materials usually state "up to 300 km";
- warheads - cluster (hundreds of M74 submunitions) for area targets or unitary high-explosive fragmentation of about 500 pounds (≈ 230 kg) for pinpoint destruction of fortifications, command posts, warehouses;
- Guidance: inertial with GPS correction.
ATACMS missiles are in service with the United States and several foreign militaries. In Europe, Greece, Romania, and Turkey are reliably listed as users. Ukraine will receive ATACMS from the United States starting in 2023–2024, and this is a relatively new status, not a long-term operational status. For Poland and Estonia, open sources provide no reliable confirmation of ATACMS operation: this likely reflects interest in long-range missiles rather than confirmed operational use. The total number of operators varies across sources, ranging from around ten or more, depending on whether potential customers and secondary deliveries are included. Germany has so far been absent from the actual customer list.
Serial production of ATACMS began in the mid-1980s. Initially, they were manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought, but production was later transferred to Lockheed Martin.
Massive ATACMS procurement peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s. Subsequently, new orders for the US Army declined, due to large accumulated stockpiles, the high cost of new products, and the lack of expectations for significant performance improvements. According to various sources, over 3,700–3,800 missiles of various modifications were manufactured.
Production wasn't shut down overnight, however. Production of the upgraded ATACMS continued later: separate contracts are scheduled for 2019 for the US Army and 2024 for international orders. The program was phased out gradually, as the transition to PrSM progressed, but never completely halted.
At the same time, projects to extend the missile's lifespan were being developed: replacing components to increase shelf life and improve performance. Actual work on modernizing the ATACMS in the arsenals began around the mid-2010s. More ambitious projects involving fundamentally new components and the idea of resuming widespread production were considered, but they never materialized: the ATACMS remained in service as is, with a focus on a new generation of munitions.
In the interests of the buyer
Most European buyers were relatively late to adopt ATACMS, and these countries received the system in the late 2010s or early 2020s. Negotiations with a number of countries are still ongoing.
For a long time, sales were made from the US's own arsenals: the missiles were removed from storage, repaired, and upgraded according to one of the current designs, and then shipped to the customer. This approach suited both parties, but in recent years, as tensions and local armed conflicts have risen, demand for American missiles has grown. Meeting this demand using the previous method without further depleting the US's own stockpiles is now difficult.
The US has no plans to resume domestic ATACMS production. Lockheed Martin's facilities are gradually being reoriented toward modern PrSMs, and returning them to ATACMS production for US domestic needs appears pointless. This isn't a technical impossibility—production of modernized ATACMS systems continues under separate contracts—but a shift in priorities.
The solution was to establish a new production facility abroad. Rheinmetall, with its capabilities and experience in missile weapons, will undertake the bulk of the work, albeit with significant support from Lockheed Martin.
Now let's talk about why the old ATACMS was chosen for localization, rather than its successor, the PrSM. They differ primarily in range, configuration, and program maturity. ATACMS has a range of approximately 300 km. The PrSM's stated range exceeds 400 km, with launches at approximately 500 km recorded during tests, and two missiles fit in a single transport and launch container instead of one. It is the PrSM that the US Army is now relying on as the foundation of long-range firepower. Significantly higher ranges are being proposed for future versions—up to approximately 1000 km—but these are more stated benchmarks than confirmed specifications.
Hence the logic of the choice. A combination of factors is at work:
- ATACMS has been in operation since the early 1990s, and its production, upgrades, and repairs have been well-established for decades. Transferring part of this base to a European site is significantly easier than establishing production of the still-developing PrSM;
- PrSM is an ongoing US Army program, and its range exceeds 300 km, making it subject to increased export control scrutiny. NATO countries already have ATACMS, and it has been used in export deals for many years, making it easier to negotiate.
- The transfer of a new long-range system abroad carries a greater technological and political risk for the United States than the release of an outdated product, which will be replaced by PrSM anyway;
- ATACMS's R&D has long since paid for itself, and its cost and demand are clear, while PrSM is still in the active development phase.
There's also a purely bureaucratic aspect. Transferring the documentation and establishing production of an American missile abroad is impossible through a single corporate decision. A system of this class is subject to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which restricts the transfer of delivery systems with a range exceeding 300 km, and to the US National Export Control Regime (ITAR). This means the project is only possible with the coordinated decisions of the US and German governments, hence the declared participation of both parties.
The time and resources required to launch production are still unknown. Choosing ATACMS can either simplify or complicate production preparation.
On the one hand, the system is not particularly new, and the latest fundamentally new modernization projects have been around for a while, although production of previously developed versions is still ongoing. On the other hand, the age of the design does not mean simplicity. Rheinmetall has never produced tactical missiles of the ATACMS class. It has missile experience, but ballistic missiles are a fundamentally different class: there is no development work on solid-propellant motors with the required characteristics or on the corresponding electronics. Whether it will be able to quickly and efficiently master these components or find a contractor remains unclear.
Hence the cautious view on the timeline. Similar to other missile projects, the deployment of a full-fledged missile integration site typically takes 2-4 years from the initial decision to stable production. Added to this are a series of qualification launches, quality control fine-tuning, and export licensing procedures, which take several more years, often in parallel. Therefore, expectations of a "quick" launch within a year or two seem optimistic, assuming deep localization rather than a simple assembly site. A more realistic target is the mid-2030s, and only if work begins now and approvals proceed without delay.
Commercial prospects also raise questions. German-made missiles are expected to be sold to European countries, with Germany expected to be the first to place an order. Currently, the Bundeswehr operates its own version of the M270 multiple launch rocket system, which carries rockets but lacks tactical missiles; the acquisition of ATACMS would significantly improve the capabilities of this system and increase its maximum range against ground targets. Other European countries also operate similar systems, such as the M270 or HIMARS, without long-range missiles, and may also order ATACMS.
However, large orders on a European scale are difficult to expect: in the recent past, buyers have limited themselves to dozens of missiles, and it is unlikely that Germany, Greece, or other countries will quickly reach significantly larger volumes.
But the money here apparently needs to be calculated more broadly than just for Europe. Official language regarding joint production also speaks of "expanding the global supply chain" for American missiles. There's also European demand: NATO countries need a source of supply independent of US arsenals. There are also buyers of American missiles outside Europe, who find it more convenient to purchase them from Germany than directly from the US. And there's the repair and modernization of existing missiles, which also brings in revenue.
It appears that Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall assessed the market within this broad framework and deemed the project cost-effective, after which they signed a memorandum. The current stage of negotiating the terms will likely not take long: an actual contract could be signed in the coming months, followed by supply contracts. This is, of course, provided that potential customers find the funds and decide to purchase these munitions.
Information