Precision Strike Missile Moves Forward

Picture: U.S. Army

The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the United States’ newest conventional ballistic missile capability, recently reached key testing milestones.

On 2 July 2025, PrSM Increment 1 received Milestone C approval, which authorizes the program to enter the production and deployment phase. On 25 July 2025, Australia conducted its first PrSM live fire during Exercise Talisman Sabre. Together, these developments mark a significant step toward full-rate production and broader fielding.

This post examines the current status of the missile program, potential exports and deployment among U.S. allies, and its implications in the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

Precision Strike Missile

The missile is the successor to the MGM-140 ATACMS short-range ballistic missile, which can be launched from the M142A1 HIMARS or the M270 MLRS rocket artillery system. ATACMS has been used by Ukrainian forces against Russian targets with several successful strikes, though Russian air defenses have claimed – and in some cases shown – intercepts of ATACMS.

In addition, ATACMS appears to have limited resilience to Russian electronic warfare. This is not entirely surprising, as Russian electronic warfare is known to have disrupted several GPS-aided or guided Western munitions, including some that are more modern than ATACMS and equipped with more robust electronics.

However, this has also not always posed a problem, since many of the ATACMS supplied to Ukraine are of the M39/M39A1-type, which are equipped with cluster munition warheads that do not rely on accuracy beyond what the missile’s inertial navigation system can provide.

The Precision Strike Missile offers an extended range of 500 kilometers compared to ATACMS’ 165 to 300 kilometers (100 to 180 miles). In addition, the U.S. Army procurement specification for the missile have required electromagnetic-spectrum survivability, suggesting the incorporation of upgraded electronics, including a hardened GPS receiver to improve resistance to Russian electronic countermeasures. However, specific anti-jamming or spoofing features have not been publicly disclosed.

According to the manufacturer, the Precision Strike Missile will initially be equipped with a unitary blast‑fragmentation warhead optimized for area and point targets. However, restrictions on warhead weight will constrain the quantity of fragmentable casing and preformed fragments, thereby limiting the missile’s area effects, especially when compared to cluster munitions, which disperse submunitions over a significantly broader footprint.

The new missile is also significantly smaller than its predecessor, allowing operators to load two Precision Strike Missiles per launcher pod instead of just one, as with ATACMS. The missile therefore not