FORT SILL, Okla., – Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team conducted the third test firing of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), April 30, at White Sands Missile Range, NM. This testing marked the end of the PrSM Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) flight test phase, and the program will now begin the Enhanced-TMRR phase with Lockheed Martin as the sole competitor.
“We’re all very proud of our government-industry team that’s gotten to our third successful flight test for the PrSM program,” said Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, director of the LRPF CFT. “A critical part of the army’s number one modernization priority against a pacing threat, eventually incremental improvements to existing capabilities will be outmatched […] So this is very encouraging to our program and we’re on course for delivering the UMR (urgent materiel release) capability to the field in 2023.”
The objectives for the test were obtaining aerodynamics, guidance and control, and warhead functionality and lethality. The flight test was executed using an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher with current system software. Preliminary data indicates the launcher performed nominally, the missile flew the predicted 85 kilometer trajectory, with 91 seconds of flight time, and the warhead successfully detonated in the target area.
The LRPF CFT, in partnership with the Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) Project Office, White Sands Missile Range, and Lockheed Martin, successfully completed all three mission during this initial phase of development. The next phase will push the PrSM program toward the end goal of delivering an initial capability of the base missile in an urgent materiel release to the Army in fiscal year 2023.
“Most of you realize this is light speed compared to some previous programs, and it’s really the partnership between the Army, our industry partners, and really the partnership between the acquisition community and the requirements community represented on the CFT, that’s really enabled this,” said Gen. John M. Murray, commander of Army Futures Command. “We’re very proud of everybody that’s been involved in this program, not only to get it on track but to keep it on track, and there are bright days to come in terms of this program.”
The Precision Strike Missile is the Army's next generation long range surface-to-surface solution for defeating threat air defense, missile launchers, command and control centers, assembly/staging areas and high payoff targets at all depths of the multi-domain battlefield. The missile is designed to exceed a range of more than 500km and double the volume of fire over currently fielded systems.
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