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The US Army announced the delivery of the first Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), marking a significant step in modernizing its artillery capabilities. This delivery follows successful production qualification testing conducted in November at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Doug Bush, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, emphasized the importance of the Precision Strike Missile, saying, “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 allows us to move at much greater speed to get improved equipment to Soldiers.”
The PrSM, compatible with both the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System, is “vital” for the Army’s deep-strike capability to counter advanced Russian and Chinese technologies.
The PrSM program began as a competition between Lockheed Martin and RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies). However, RTX faced challenges in preparing the weapon for flight tests, leading to a mutual decision with the Army to terminate their participation in March 2020. Lockheed Martin continued solo development, resulting in the Army moving the PrSM program into the engineering and manufacturing development phase in September 2021 and awarding a $62 million contract for early operational capability production. Subsequently, Lockheed received an additional $158 million for more PrSMs.
Looking ahead, the Army plans enhancements for PrSM, including an advanced seeker, increased lethality, and extended range. A maritime, ship-killing capability is a near-term goal. Lockheed Martin and an RTX-Northrop Grumman team are set to compete for the next phase of the PrSM program.
