The Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program achieved a milestone in an October 13 test firing at Vandenburg AFB in California, when it exceeded the 499km range limitation set by the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia.

The test comes just two weeks after the program was awarded a US$62m (A$84.4m) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract on September 30.

Designed to replace the US Army’s Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS), The PrSM uses the same HIMARS launch system as the ATacMS. Australia signed on to the PrSM program in August 2021 as a cooperative development partner as it seeks to introduce a long-range strike capability for the Australian Army’s LAND 8113 long-range fires requirement.

“The Precision Strike Missile continues to validate range and performance requirements,” Lockheed Martin’s vice president of tactical missiles for the company’s missiles and fire control business, Paula Hartley said in a statement. “Achieving this long-range milestone for the baseline missile demonstrates PrSM’s capability to meet our customer’s modernisation priorities on a rapid timeline.”

PrSM test rounds had successfully flown out to ranges up to 400km in four previous test firings, and there are plans to extend that to as far as 1,000km as part of the Increment 2 and follow-on development programs. There are also plans to possibly integrate the Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile (LBASM) seeker for the anti-ship mission.