On February 14, U.S. company Lockheed Martin announced that, together with members of the U.S. Army, it had conducted new and successful tests of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), marking another step toward the system’s incorporation into the service’s arsenal. The tests, carried out at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, follow the awarding of a new contract worth over $120 million to ramp up production to 400 units per year.
Delving into some test details, reports indicate that the trials involved launching two PrSM missiles from an M142 HIMARS platform at a long-range target, validating the precision and reliability of the new weapon system. In recent months, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army have conducted additional tests to advance toward full operational capability, notably those in November, which marked the first salvo launch of the missile, and those in December, when user evaluations with Army artillery crews took place.
Commenting on the system’s recent evaluations, Lockheed Martin’s Vice President of Precision Fires Missiles and Launchers, Carolyn Orzechowski, stated: “We continue to validate production during qualification testing as we move toward a full-rate production decision by the Army (…) Recent tests verify operational capability and firing volume at various distances, demonstrating that the PrSM can be launched in rapid succession.”
At this point, it is worth noting that the future incorporation of the new PrSM will also mark the beginning of the replacement of the current MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles used by the U.S. Army. The new weapon system is designed to be compatible with both M142 HIMARS and M270 artillery systems. With an estimated range of 400 kilometers, the PrSM stands out for its extended strike capability and modular design, which will facilitate future upgrades.
In this regard, it is also noteworthy that even before full operational integration into the U.S. Army, efforts are already underway to develop a variant of the missile capable of engaging naval targets, further expanding its operational scope. By June of last year, reports indicated the deployment of two PrSM missiles during a SINKEX exercise as part of Valiant Shield 2024 in the Pacific. On that occasion, members of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force (3MDTF) and the 1-181 Field Artillery Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard successfully launched the missiles under the coordination of the All-Domain Operations Center (ADOC) in Hawaii.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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