Precision Strike Missile
Prototype test flight of the PrSM on 10 December 2019, at the White Sands Missile Range[1]
Type	Rocket artillery Short-range ballistic missile Medium-range ballistic missile Anti-ship ballistic missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States Australia
Wars	2026 Iran war
Production history
Designer	Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
Unit cost	< $3.5 million (Increment One)[2]
Specifications
Mass	unknown
Length	13 ft (4.0 m)
Diameter	17 in (430 mm)
Maximum firing range	≥ 310 mi (500 km)
Warhead	HE fragmentation blast[3] Unknown number of submunitions Future iterations will possibly include Coyote drones and Hatchet miniature glide bombs from Northrop Grumman.[4]
Warhead weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Propellant	Solid-propellant rocket
Guidance system	Base: INS + GPS Land-based anti-ship missile: Base + anti-radiation seeker + Imaging Infrared (IIR)[5]
Launch platform	M270 MLRS, M142 HIMARS, GMARS

The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM; PRI-zim) is a series of ballistic missiles, both short- and later medium-range, developed by Lockheed Martin to replace the MGM-140 ATACMS. The early variant of this missile, Increment One, is currently in service with both the United States Army and Australian Army, with Australia being a partner in the program. Increment Two will have an anti-ship targeting capability and later Increment variants will have modular payloads capabilities and an increased range out to 1,000 km (620 mi).^[6][7]

The Precision Strike Missile is currently only capable of being fired from the M142 HIMARS launcher; plans are being explored to make the missile capable of being fired from surface ships through the Mark 41 vertical launching system. Australia and the United States are currently the only nations that possess the missile. Norway's request for export being denied, while the United Kingdom is considering purchasing it.

The PrSM, along with other American and Australian missiles, is planned to be manufactured at a complex in Australia, augmenting domestic production in the United States. The missile was first used in combat by the United States during the 2026 Iran war.^[8][9]

Development

In March 2016, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon announced they would bid on a missile to meet the US Army's Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) requirement to replace the ATACMS. The PrSM will use advanced propulsion technology to fly faster and farther (originally out to 310 mi or 500 km).^[10] It is also designed to be thinner and sleeker, increasing the number of missiles per pod to two, and doubling the capacity of the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS launchers.^[11] Boeing and Raytheon were involved in the competitive effort, but both left the competition in early 2020, leaving Lockheed Martin to develop the missile.^[12] The weapon was 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.^[13] With the United States withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the range of the PrSM is to be increased beyond the 310 mi (500 km) limitation imposed by the treaty.^[14]

In June 2020, the Army had begun testing a new multi-mode seeker, an upgrade for the Precision Strike Missile. The upgraded seeker is expected^[when?] to be part of a major program improvement planned for 2025.^[15] Technological advancements including the potential application of ramjet technology could extend the weapon's range up to 620 mi (1,000 km).^[16]

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 (Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile) of the program with the US Army's Defense Exports and Cooperation and had contributed US$54 million.^[17][18] In January 2024, Australia committed to continue the partnership with the United States and will subsequently also purchase PrSM Increments 3 and 4.^[19] This will extend the range of Australia's PrSM missiles beyond 1,000 km (620 mi) and will potentially rival Australia's longest range missile, the BGM-109 Tomahawk.^[20] In June 2025, the country signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to jointly develop the missile.^[21]

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.^[22]

On 8 December 2023, the US Army announced that the first PrSM batch had been delivered.^[23]

On 17 June 2024, the decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland was sunk as a target ship in the North Pacific Ocean's Mariana Island Range Complex, apparently in the first test of the PrSM on a moving target.^[24]

On 26 August 2024, it was announced that the US has turned down a request from Norway to acquire the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).^[25]

On 23 January 2025, the Baltic Defence Cooperation Ministerial Committee expressed the common interest of the Baltic States in the acquisition of the HIMARS Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) by signing the Joint Statement.^[26]

Usage

In March 2026, the U.S. Central Command released images of an M142 HIMARS employing the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) in strikes on Iranian military targets during Operation Epic Fury, marking PrSM's first confirmed combat use.^[27]

Iran's state news agency, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), reported 21 people killed, in a missile strike on a sports hall and an adjacent elementary school in the Iranian city of Lamerd on 28 February 2026. The New York Times and BBC both reported that PrSMs were the weapon used.^[28][29]

In April 2026, the US Central Command requested that the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile be sent to the Middle East for potential deployment against Iran in the war, marking the first time Washington would deploy the technology, according to Bloomberg. According to a person with direct knowledge of the issue, US CENTCOM made the request after Iran moved its missile launchers out of range of the US Army's PrSMs, the current technology it has deployed.^[30]

Variants

The PrSM has four "increments" either in development or to be developed.

Increment Three

Increment Three of the missile will include most of the same technology of Increments One and Two. Its main addition is to be the extension of the variety of armaments for the missile can carry, with it likely carrying more explosive munitions.^[39] For Increment Three it is to be designed for use as an anti-fortification weapon, likely being able to destroy more structures.^[39] There is no information available as to when Increment Three is to be procured by the United States Armed Forces or the Australian Army. However it is believed they will be made available following Increments one, two and four.^[40] According to Lockheed Martin, a new warhead will be included in Increment Three, and the Army is looking at including submunition capabilities, including the Raytheon Coyote drone family and the Orbital ATK Hatchet miniature glide bomb.^[4]

Operators

See also

• OpFires – DARPA's experimental hypersonic glide vehicle medium-range ballistic missile program
• Nightfall (missile)

Notes

References

External links

• Lockheed Martin PrSM webpage
• Lockheed Martin PrsM Product Card
• Lockheed Martin PrSM Fast Fact

Media related to Precision Strike Missile at Wikimedia Commons