By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Destroying enemy mechanized formations, weapons, launchers and command and control centers can now be accomplished with greater range and precision due to the arrival of the Army’s first Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a first-of-its kind high-speed long-range ground-fired missile able to pinpoint a wide range of targets from standoff ranges.
Following years of development, testing and engineering, the PrSM brings an as of yet unprecedented surface-to-surface attack capability
A published essay from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics & Technology describes the weapon in terms of “deep-strike” capability.
“The mission of the Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) Missile is to attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets using missile-delivered indirect precision fires. LRPF provides field artillery units with long-range and deep-strike capability,” the ASALT essay stated.
The ranges of the PrSM are arguably paradigm-changing. Standard Army artillery can travel roughly 30km, the Army’s fast-arriving Extended Range Cannon Artillery can travel more than 62km, and the Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) are precision-guided land-fired rockets able to travel at least 80km. The PrSM, however, is slated to travel at least 400km or longer to targets, bringing new stand-off ranges and tactical options for ground commanders.
“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,” Assistant Secretary of the Army – Acquisition, Logistics & Technology Mr. Douglas Bush said in an Army essay.
The most recent PrSM test, conducted by the Army and Lockheed Martin, placed the weapon in what developers explained as a stressful, dynamic environment during a short flight. A Lockheed Martin essay says the “qualification test” verified the missile’s “trajectory control.”
“The short-range flight (qualification test) represents the most stressful, dynamic environment for the missile as it maneuvers at hypersonic speeds to align to the target. This test verifies structural integrity of the missile and trajectory control,” the Lockheed essay said.
The PrSM, which developers say fired from a HIMARS launcher during the qualification test at White Sands Missile Range. N.M., is also engineered with cutting edge “seeker technology.” The particulars of this kind of seeker technology are not likely to be available for security reasons, yet the ASAALT essay does describe the missile as “all weather,” indicating it may use various types of guidance and targeting technologies capable of remaining on target through fog, rain, snow or other obscurants. Yet another key question would pertain to its ability to track and destroy moving targets. This may be yet clear, however it would certainly seem feasible given that the Army is also developing land-fired Tomahawk and SM-6 weapons, both of which can adjust in flight to hit moving targets. The technology exists and it would make sense if it were built into the fast-arriving PrSM.
The PrSM is the latest arrival of a strong Army effort to strengthen its mid-range land attack capability, an important priority which has re-emerged following the Russian violation of the INF Treaty. The Pentagon responded quickly to cultivate a mid-range land-attack capability and extend the range of its existing standard 155m artillery weapons.
Famous combat tested US Navy Tomahawk and SM-6 sea-based weapons are now being fired from land as part of an accelerated US Army effort to offer ground commanders expanded attack options.
Army leaders describe this as not “reinventing the wheel” but instead adapting successful weapons for land use as the service returns its mid-range land-fired missile capability following the collapse of the INF Treaty.
In June of this year, Army and Navy units collaborated to shoot of land-variant prototypes of US Navy Tomahawk Missiles and SM-6 interceptor weapons. The tests, at Joint Base Lewis McCord, were successful steps forward for an adapted land-weapon. The tests were a collaborative effort, combining the Army’s Mid-Range Capability Project Office with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and the US Navy’s PEO Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons Unit.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
