The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $23.9 million Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) system contract, Military Aerospace revealed, citing Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
The PrSM engineering and manufacturing development and early operational capability contract follows up on a similar $62 million contract the command awarded the company in September. The agreement marks the last stage of the missile’s development process before full-scale production.
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According to the outlet, the M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System-fired missile are expected to enter service in 2023. The system is expected to replace the Army Tactical Missile System, which was inducted in the 1980s.
The long-range surface-to-surface missile, which struck a target 500 km (310 miles) away during a recent test, is also being developed to hit sea-based targets. According to the outlet, the developers expect the missile to strike moving sea-based platforms by 2025. The army has configured the system to make a launcher fire two missiles simultaneously instead of one, doubling the rate of fire.
$166 Million Request for 110 Missiles
In a related development, the US Army has requested $166 million during fiscal year 2022 for 110 PrSMs for initial operational test and evaluation.
According to 2022 Department of Defense budget estimates, the “PrSM will provide Joint Force Commanders with a 24/7, all-weather capability to attack critical and time sensitive area and point targets including threat air defense, missile launchers, command and control centers, assembly/staging areas and high payoff targets at all depths of the multi-domain battlefield.”