- Canada finalized a deal in January 2026 to purchase 26 HIMARS launchers from the U.S. for approximately $1.9 billion, with deliveries starting 2029.
- The systems will carry munitions capable of engaging targets beyond 300 km, and are designed to integrate future land-based anti-ship missiles for Arctic coastal defense.
Canada announced on June 2 that it finalized a deal in January 2026 to purchase 26 HIMARS rocket artillery systems from the United States for approximately $1.9 billion, giving the Canadian Army its first long-range precision strike capability and a weapon that Ukraine has used to devastating effect against Russian logistics, ammunition depots, and command posts across hundreds of kilometers of contested territory.
The government-to-government agreement under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program covers launchers, an initial stock of munitions, spare parts, training, and support services, with deliveries expected to begin in 2029.
HIMARS, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is a wheeled rocket launcher that fires GPS-guided munitions with precision that conventional artillery cannot match at ranges that conventional artillery cannot reach. The system mounts on a standard five-ton military truck chassis, making it air-transportable by C-130 Hercules aircraft, deployable across Canada’s vast territory including the Arctic, and mobile enough to fire and relocate before counter-battery radar can direct return fire. Each launcher carries a single pod of six guided rockets or one longer-range missile, reloads in minutes from a resupply vehicle, and can engage targets at distances exceeding 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) with standard GPS-guided munitions. Paired with the longer-range munitions that Canada specifically describes in its announcement, the systems can engage targets at distances of more than 300 kilometers (186 miles), a range that reaches well beyond any artillery system previously operated by the Canadian Army and that covers strategic targets including enemy logistics nodes, airfields, and naval vessels.
The 300-kilometer (186-mile) range figure points toward the Precision Strike Missile, known as PrSM, which Lockheed Martin has developed for the HIMARS platform and which represents a generational leap beyond the Army Tactical Missile System that earlier HIMARS units could fire. At that range, a Canadian HIMARS battery positioned in southern Ontario could engage targets in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Positioned in the Canadian Arctic, the system could threaten shipping lanes and military infrastructure across a vast maritime domain that Canada has long struggled to monitor and defend with the assets at its disposal. The press release explicitly notes that the systems are designed to integrate future land-based anti-ship missile capabilities, pointing toward exactly that coastal and Arctic defense application as a core requirement alongside the land attack mission.
Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, Commander of the Canadian Army, described what HIMARS delivers for ground forces: “High Mobility Artillery Rocket System will give the Army a mobile, long-range precision strike capability that can be deployed across Canada, including the Arctic, and abroad using existing Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft. When integrated with other modern capabilities such as self-propelled artillery systems, sensors, and command and control, it will strengthen Canada’s ability to deter aggression, safeguard our sovereignty, and protect Canadians.”
Ukraine’s use of HIMARS since mid-2022 has provided the most comprehensive real-world demonstration of what the system can do in a high-intensity conflict against a sophisticated adversary. Ukrainian forces used a small number of HIMARS launchers, never more than a few dozen at any one time, to systematically destroy Russian ammunition storage facilities, command posts, logistics bridges, and headquarters across occupied territory, degrading Russia’s ability to sustain offensive operations across hundreds of kilometers of front. The system’s precision, combined with its range advantage over Russian rocket artillery at the time of its introduction, made it arguably the single most consequential Western weapon system in the conflict’s first two years. Canada is purchasing 26 launchers, a fleet that would represent one of the larger HIMARS deployments outside the United States itself.
The total acquisition cost of $2.6 billion Canadian dollars, approximately $1.9 billion at current exchange rates, covers not just the launchers but the complete system including project management, infrastructure, training, and contingency funds. That comprehensive cost accounting reflects how Canada structures large defense procurements: the headline number represents the full program cost rather than just the hardware, which makes the figure look larger than a simple launcher-only comparison would suggest but also makes it a more honest representation of what fielding the capability actually requires. The Congressional notification process completed in fall 2025 was a prerequisite for the FMS agreement, representing the formal U.S. legislative oversight step that all major defense sales to allied nations require before the contract can be finalized.
Defence Minister David McGuinty framed the acquisition as a response to the changed security environment: “Canada’s Armed Forces must have the capabilities required to meet today’s threats and tomorrow’s challenges. The long-range missile capability is a critical step in supporting our military so it remains ready and equipped to protect Canadians and support our allies and partners when needed.”
Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, which applies to all major defense procurements above a threshold value, requires Lockheed Martin to invest in Canadian industry as a condition of the contract, integrating Canadian companies into global supply chains, funding research and development in Canada, and supporting small and medium-sized businesses. That industrial offset requirement does not change what Canada buys but shapes how the economic benefits of the procurement flow back into the Canadian economy rather than transferring entirely to American manufacturing.
The 2029 delivery timeline means the Canadian Army will wait three years from the public announcement before the first launchers arrive, a timeline that reflects both the production scheduling of existing HIMARS orders from multiple allied nations and the infrastructure preparation that receiving a new system class requires. Training pipelines must be established, maintenance facilities built, munitions storage capacity constructed, and doctrine developed before a new system can be fielded operationally rather than simply received.