U.S. looking into selling HIMARS to the Netherlands

The U.S. Department of State has authorized the possible sale of HIMARS systems and related equipment to the Netherlands.

This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to NOS.

"The U.S. State Department authorized the possible sale of HIMARS systems and related equipment to the Netherlands," the report reads.

According to the U.S. officials, if the deal takes place, it will be worth approximately $670 million (EUR 627 million). The Netherlands is interested in 20 HIMARS systems and other weaponry.

The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands states that no agreements have been signed yet. In the U.S., it is common for the government to announce major arms deals while they are being finalized.

In October last year, it became clear that the Netherlands would get access to jet artillery for the first time since 2004. State Secretary for Defense Van der Maat said he sought to buy weapons worth hundreds of millions of euros. He wrote to the parliament that the war in Ukraine demonstrated the need "to be able to act in all parts of the spectrum of violence." According to the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands, EUR 250 million to EUR 1 billion should be spent to this end.

The purchase agreement is expected to be signed early this year.

The deadline for delivery is until the end of 2023.

As reported by Ukrinform, the U.S. plans to open a training center in Europe to teach NATO allies how to operate HIMARS.