A potent capability: Expert issues verdict on Army's new Precision Strike Missile

The UK is joining the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) ballistic missile programme, a Lockheed Martin system capable of taking out stationary enemy targets up to 500km away.

Procurement for the programme is backed by £190m from the Government's £298bn Defence Investment Plan, with the UK potentially receiving the first deliveries in 2027, subject to agreement from the US and Australia, who are already part of the programme.

BFBS Forces News spoke to defence and geopolitics analyst Dr James Bosbotinis about what the PrSM can do. 

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Army's new deep strike capability

"PrSM will be providing the British Army with a potent deep strike capability designed to prosecute high-value targets in the rear of the enemy," Dr Bosbotinis said. 

"So, for example, air defence facilities, command and control facilities, air bases you want to hold at risk with a high-speed precision strike system.

"The PrSM is designed to be compatible with the existing M270 multiple launch rocket system and the M142 HIMARS. It's a 500km-plus range tactical ballistic missile with various warhead options, various effects.

"PrSM has, in fact, also been used operationally. The Americans have employed it in Operation Epic Fury, the war against Iran.

"Briefly, it is the successor to the US Army's ATACMS, a 300km range tactical ballistic missile which has been used in various conflicts, including a limited number being provided to Ukraine."

The missile on the battlefield 

The expert explained how the incoming capability works with others on the battlefield.

"You're trying to disrupt the enemy's integrated air defence system to enable your deep strike systems to get through," Dr Bosbotinis added. 

"So you see this push for a comprehensive range of strike capabilities to cover from 300 to 2,000-plus kilometres, providing a basket of deep strike capabilities that will enter service in due course and provide a broad range of options and reinforce deterrence against Russia – because, ultimately, these systems will hold at risk a great deal of targets across Western Russia."

The UK says PrSM will complement, rather than replace, longer-term multinational programmes, including the Deep Precision Strike programme and the European Long Range Strike Approach being developed with European partners such as Germany.

"So, for example, you could have a much larger number of relatively cheaper one-way effectors that provide mass and complicate the adversary's air defence task to create the space in which your more expensive higher-end deep strike weapons such as PrSM can be brought into play," Dr Bosbotinis said. 

"The new investment into a precision strike missile will help to strengthen our Army and our security at this increasingly dangerous time," Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said. 

The announcement about the Royal Artillery's new missile was made alongside the news that the UK is set to lead a multi-billion pound European drive to build the next generation of long-range missiles at the Nato Summit in Ankara, Turkey.  

Additional reporting by Jonathan Moynihan.