The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a $219 million Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) early operational capability contract.
Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, through September 2026.
The fourth PrSM production contract will help increase production capacity to meet army demand.
Operation Testing This year
This follows the US Army’s initial delivery of the surface-to-surface missile in December 2023, following a series of developmental trials.
Operational testing is expected in 2024, with low-rate initial production, full-rate production, and initial capability testing expected in 2025, according to the Government Accountability Office’s 2023 Weapons Systems Annual Assessment.
A total of 110 PrSMs are expected to be procured in fiscal 2024 and 190 in fiscal 2025, Inside Defense wrote, citing the Department of Defense documents.
Precision Strike Missile
Slated to replace the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), the PrSM will have an initial range of over 400 kilometers (248 miles), outranging its predecessor by at least 100 kilometers (62 miles).
The missiles share the same launchers: M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
However, the PrSM’s narrower girth doubles the launcher’s payload.
It is also expected to feature an open systems architecture design and superior accuracy, jamming resistance, and warheads.