New munition for HIMARS: the US successfully tested a Precision Strike Missile
The PrSM rocket was launched at a distance of about 85 km. The developers report that at this range, the missile demonstrates constant accuracy of the system from launch to target engagement.
The U.S. Army is one step closer to the adoption of a new precision missile for the M142 (HIMARS) system, the Precision Strike Missile Increment 1 or PrSM. On November 16, Breaking Defense reported, citing military officials, that successful short-range weapons tests were conducted this week at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The publication says that Lockheed Martin has been developing PrSM Increment 1 for several years, and a successful test using the HIMARS installation as a platform was conducted on Monday, November 13.
“Preliminary test results indicate that the Precision Strike Missile Increment 1 missile has shown nominal results in terms of predicted flight path, lethality, angle of impact, and burst height. The final flight test report is expected in December 2023,” the US military emphasized.
Test details
As of today, it is known that the PrSM missile was launched at a distance of about 85 km. This is the shortest flight range at which the sample demonstrates constant accuracy of the system from launch to target engagement.
“While short-range flight is not the primary mission of the PrSM, it is the most stressful and dynamic environment for the missile as it maneuvers at supersonic speeds to close in on the target,” Lockheed Martin said.
Thus, if the final test report is also positively assessed, the service will be able to start accepting missiles into service by early 2024. Observers said that the initial version of the PrSM will replace the Army’s MGM-140 tactical missile (ATACMS) and will hit targets at a distance of at least 500 km, and the platform will be HIMARS and M270A2 multiple launch rocket systems.
As for the future prospects of the PrSM, American weapon makers are working on a version of the PrSM Inc 4 missile that will be able to fly over 1,000 km, possibly twice as far as the Inc 1 version.
In March of this year, it was reported that the Pentagon plans to replace ATACMS small ballistic missiles with more modern and long-range PrSMs. It was reported that the designers are developing the munition from scratch, and the missile’s range should be 1000 km.
