On December 8, 2023, the U.S. Army announced today the initial delivery of its next-generation Long Range Precision Fires missile. The delivery of Precision Strike Missile Increment 1 Early Operational Capability missiles follows successful production qualification testing in November at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The PrSM is the Army’s next-generation Long Range Precision Fires weapon to replace the MGM-140 ATACMS. Launched from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, it is capable of neutralizing targets at standoffs greater than 400 kilometers. The PrSM features an open-systems architecture design to accommodate future growth.
“The Precision Strike Missile will provide Joint Force commanders with a 24/7, all-weather capability that will counter the enemy’s ability to conduct combat maneuver and air defense operations. The rapid development and delivery of this capability is a prime example of the Army’s aggressive use of new acquisition authorities from Congress that allow us to move at much greater speed to get improved equipment to Soldiers,” said Doug Bush, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
In March 2016, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon announced they would offer a missile to meet the U.S. Army’s Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) requirement to replace the ATACMS. The PrSM will use advanced propulsion to fly faster and farther (originally out to 310 miles (500 km)) while also being thinner and sleeker, increasing loadout to two per pod, doubling the number carried by M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers. Boeing and Raytheon were involved in the competitive effort, but the latter left the competition in early 2020, leaving Lockheed Martin as the missile developer. The weapon is planned to achieve initial operational capability in 2023; the initial PrSM will only be able to hit stationary targets on land, but later versions will track moving targets on land and sea.
In June 2020, the Army had begun testing a new multi-mode seeker – an upgrade for the Precision Strike Missile – even though the missile would not enter service until 2023, the upgraded seeker is expected to be part of a major program improvement planned for 2025. Advancements in designing and a potential ramjet could extend the weapon’s range up to 1,000 kilometers. In July 2021, the US announced that Australia had become a partner in the PrSM Program with the Australian Army signing a memorandum of understanding for Increment 2 of the program with the US Army’s Defense Exports and Cooperation and had contributed US$54 million. The United Kingdom, as part of an upgrade to the British Army’s M270 MLRS to the M270A2 standard, has hinted that it may possibly acquire PrSM.
