The defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin has announced that it has successfully carried out the first flight test of the Precision Strike Missile Increment 2 from a launcher M142 HIMARS. This is the second version of the PrSM. The first, the Increment 1entered service at the end of 2023 and has been used in combat for the first time in the current Iran war.
The main new features with respect to its predecessor are that it incorporates a multimode seeker that allows attacking mobile targets instead of fixed coordinates and which can reach maritime as well as land targets.
During the test, the missile flew about 350 km and deployed protective covers while onboard systems recorded information about its performance for later validation. The system remains compatible with HIMARS launchers and M270A2 existing, which allows maintain current launcher architecture and logistics structure. The PrSM Inc. 2 is currently in the technological maturation phase and a preliminary design review is underway, while further flight testing is planned for later this year.
The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed for the US Army. in order to replace the inventory of MGM-140 ATACMS missiles, used since the 1990s. Lockheed Martin began designing it in 2016, within the modernization program Long Range Precision Fires (‘Long Range Precision Fire’), to extend the range and flexibility of ground artillery attack systems.
It measures about 4 meters long, 430 millimeters in diameter and uses a solid fuel rocket motor for propulsion. Its smaller diameter, compared to the 610 millimeters of the ATACMS, allows two missiles to be loaded into a single launcher capsule instead of one. In this way, the PrSM doubles missile load which can fire an M142 HIMARS or M270 MLRS launcher.
The missile uses an inertial navigation system supported by GPS signals to head towards the target area and the basic configuration, Increment 1, carries a high-explosive and fragmentation warhead of about 91 kilogramsdesigned for military infrastructures such as radars, missile batteries, command posts, airfields and logistics facilities. The Increment 1 variant is intended for attack stationary, non-mobile targetssince it depends on the designation by coordinates and not on terminal guidance using a finder. It has a maximum range of at least 500 kmexceeding the effective range of the ATACMS, which was normally located between 165 km and 300 km depending on the variant.
The PrSM Increment 2 introduces an important change by incorporating a multimode seeker designed to allow attacking mobile targets on land or at sea. The search engine combines a passive radio frequency sensor capable of detecting radar emissions with an infrared image sensor used for terminal identification of the target.
During flight, the missile navigates to the general target area using inertial navigation and GPS before switching to seeker-based guidance in the terminal phase. This allows the PrSM Increment 2 missile Identify and lock on to moving vessels or moving ground targets instead of relying on pre-programmed coordinates.
Therefore, this variant is also known as PrSM Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile and is intended to provide the Army with a ground-based anti-ship attack capability. The missile is expected to reach distances close to or greater than 1,000 kmalmost double the range of the PrSM Increment 1. In addition, integration with external target acquisition sources, such as aircraft, drones, satellites or naval sensors, allows attack targets beyond the caster’s line of sight.