Tampere (southern Finland) will become home to Europe's first maintenance and lifecycle support centre for the Common Fire Control System (CFCS) used in the M270A2 and HIMARS rocket artillery systems. This was announced by the Finnish Ministry of Defence, Lockheed Martin, and Finnish technology company Insta.
According to a press release from the Finnish Ministry of Defence (Puolustusministeriö), the Finnish Defence Forces (Puolustusvoimat), Insta, and Lockheed Martin signed an agreement on 25 June to establish the service and maintenance centre at Insta's facility in Tampere. The CFCS is used in the M270A2, the tracked rocket artillery system operated by the Finnish Army.
"It is a testament to the high level of competence within our defence industry that Finland is becoming the first European country with a service and maintenance centre for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Common Fire Control System. The industrial cooperation linked to the F-35 programme will create new jobs and further strengthen the high-technology capabilities of the Finnish defence industry," said Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.
According to Lockheed Martin and Insta, the centre will be Europe's first facility for maintenance and lifecycle support of the MLRS fire control system. The aim is to strengthen supply security, improve system availability, and build capacity to support both Finland's own systems and other European operators of the M270A2 and HIMARS.
"This is an important milestone for Insta and a major step forward in lifecycle support for critical defence systems. The centre will support maintenance of Finland's MLRS fleet, strengthen supply security, and create readiness to deliver maintenance services to other European users," said Petri Reiman, Chief Executive Officer of Insta Advance, in a joint press release.
"Our partnership with Insta establishes Europe's first dedicated CFCS centre in Finland and strengthens support for M270A2 and HIMARS operators across Europe. The facility reinforces the supply chain, improves logistics and technical support, and ensures the availability of fire control systems for Finnish and NATO users," said Gaylia Campbell, Vice President and General Manager of Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin.