The Army is finding ways to accelerate its new Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) as it begins to field it more widely to the force while sunsetting its 40-year-old tactical missile system, Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space, told Defense News.
The service is expecting a production contract for the first increment of PrSM by the end of the month, with Lozano noting, “We will put Lockheed Martin under contract for 400 missiles.”
The Army has been working with Lockheed Martin, the missile’s producer, to increase production capacity in the lead up to the major production deal.
The first set of PrSMs was delivered in December 2023, as the Army began to replace the legacy Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
The missile — which can launch from both the HIMARS and the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System — will be critical to the service as it seeks a deep-strike capability that can counter Russian and Chinese technologies. Both European- and Indo-Pacific-based U.S. commanders have been eager to receive the capability that can hit targets at standoff locations greater than 400 kilometers (249 miles).
Lockheed delivered the first 26 missiles throughout 2024 and the Army is set to receive another 54 this year, totaling 100 missiles.
The PrSM production line will significantly ramp up and the Army expects to see production increase to 400 by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027 and into 2028, according to Lozano.
“We’ve been very deliberate and aggressive in increasing that capacity very steadily,” Lozano said.
To be able to do that, the Army is focused on phasing out the ATACMs production.
The ATACMS and PrSM production line share the same facility, noted Lozano. “I want to create enough PrSM capacity to be able to address both [foreign military sales] requirements as well as U.S. requirements, so I need to sunset ATACM sales,” he added.
The service is rapidly finalizing plans to implement an exportable version of PrSM Increment 1 to sell on the international market instead of ATACMS.
Lockheed’s current production line for ATACMS is building missiles for Taiwan.
Once ATACMS production closes out in roughly the next 24 months, “I can take over the entirety of the PrSM production facility and we can continue to increase capacity,” Lozano said.
The Army is planning capability improvements in subsequent increments, including an enhanced seeker to better defeat moving targets at sea as well as technology to provide increased lethality and extended range. The priority for the PrSM in the near term is to pursue a maritime, ship-killing capability.
Lockheed, RTX and a Northrop Grumman team will compete to develop a subsequent increment called the Long-Range Maneuverable Fires program, which focuses on dramatically extending the range of the missile, possibly from its planned 499 kilometers (310 miles) to more than double that distance.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
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