Lockheed completes first flight test for PrSM Inc 2 aimed at hitting moving maritime targets

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has announced it carried out the first flight test for the Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 2 program, the service’s initiative at developing a multimode seeker capable of hitting maritime targets on the move. 

The seeker, also referred to as the Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile seeker, was successfully launched 350 kilometers (217.5 miles) from a M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and can also launch from a M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System, according to a company release, The seeker is designed to travel up to 500 km (310.7 miles) in combat. 

“By leveraging modular design, agile processes and close collaboration with the Army and our supplier network, we’re moving quickly to deliver this enhanced capability to the warfighter faster without compromising performance or reliability,” Gaylia Campbell, vice president and general manager of  Lockheed Martin Tactical Missiles, said in the release Thursday. 

The release added that the seeker involved in PrSM Increment 2 has a new guidance system that allows it to “lock on to moving, time-sensitive threats.” The company said its PrSM Increment 2 program is currently moving through the “technology-maturation phase” and the preliminary design review is underway. 

“With Increment 2, PrSM delivers the long-range capability the Army asked for to defeat moving land and maritime threats,” Carolyn Orzechowski, vice president of Lockheed’s Precision Fires Launchers and Missiles portfolio, said in the release. “Our focused investment and accelerated delivery demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the Army customer.” 

The company has additional flight tests planned for Increment 2 later this year, signaling that the company is “pushing the system from flight test to operational capability at an unprecedented pace,” per the release.

The release did not say when Lockheed plans for the system to reach operational capability, but Defense Daily previously reported that Program Acquisition Executive of Fires Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano said he hopes to purchase the first 10 Increment 2 seekers in June or July of this year.

Lockheed’s announcement comes shortly after the Army announced its PrSM Increment 1 capabilities, also developed by Lockheed Martin, were used for the first time in combat during the ongoing conflict in Iran. 

Though Increment 2 has yet to be delivered to the service, the Army has already started drawing up plans for future PrSM programs. As Breaking Defense previously reported, Increment 3 will seek to add in enhanced lethality payloads while Increment 4, for which the Army trapped a Lockheed team and a Raytheon-Northrop Grumman team, will fly over 1,000 km (621.4 miles). The Army is also looking for an Increment 5 solution that can fly more than 1,000 km and fire from an autonomous launcher.