Lockheed Martin Wins $1.2 Billion Army PrSM Increment 2
Lockheed Martin secures a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to produce the U.S. Army's Precision Strike Missile Increment 2, following a second successful maritime-strike flight test.
Lockheed Martin has won a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to produce the U.S. Army's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 2. The award follows a second successful flight test of the missile's new maritime-strike capability in August.
The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract covers initial procurement, potential future orders, follow-on production, and continued development. According to the company, this marks a significant step for the Army's plan to add mobile anti-ship firepower to its long-range arsenal using existing HIMARS launchers.
Second Maritime Test Success
The second Increment 2 flight test occurred in August, after an initial test in March. Lockheed Martin stated the missile was fired from an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), deployed protective covers during flight, and successfully engaged its target. The company said the test generated critical flight data. Additional tests for Increment 2 are scheduled for 2027.
PrSM Increment 2 incorporates a multimode seeker designed to engage moving targets on both land and sea. This capability separates it from the baseline Increment 1 missile, which was developed primarily as a long-range surface-to-surface weapon. The Army and Lockheed Martin have previously indicated the anti-ship mission is a major focus for the expanding PrSM family.
"This award marks an important step in delivering PrSM Increment 2 to the warfighter," said Dave Griser, Lockheed Martin vice president for Precision Fires Launchers and Missiles. "We're ready to move from flight testing into production and provide the Army with an expanded long-range precision fires capability."
The Path to a Maritime Role
The program's maritime role has been developing for years. During Exercise Valiant Shield 2024, the U.S. Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force and the Tennessee National Guard fired two baseline PrSMs in a sinking exercise against the decommissioned USS Cleveland. That event represented the first Army employment of an anti-ship ballistic missile outside the United States.
Lockheed Martin outlined the planned evolution of the PrSM family. Increment 2 adds a seeker for maritime targets, while Increment 1 retains the surface-to-surface mission. Later variants are intended to broaden capabilities further.
| PrSM Increment | Key Capability Addition |
|---|---|
| Increment 1 | Baseline surface-to-surface missile |
| Increment 2 | Multimode seeker for moving land and maritime targets |
| Increment 3 | Lethality enhancement |
| Increment 4 | Extended range (1,000+ km) with anti-ship seeker for GPS-contested environments |
A Layered Approach to Maritime Strike
The new contract arrives as the Army pursues a layered approach to ground-based maritime strike. PrSM Increment 2 is designed to give HIMARS units the ability to threaten moving targets at distances beyond traditional guided rockets. It retains the launcher's signature mobility, which is key for dispersed operations.
That mobility is seen as particularly relevant in the Indo-Pacific region. HIMARS launchers can be transported by C-130 aircraft and deployed by ship to austere locations. This allows Army and Marine units to operate from islands and coastal areas near key maritime chokepoints. U.S. Forces have repeatedly exercised such concepts in the Philippines and Japan.
Increment 2 will not be the longest-range maritime PrSM. The Army is accelerating its Increment 4 effort, which seeks a weapon capable of engaging targets at ranges of 1,000 kilometers or greater. Program documents have identified the Indo-Pacific as a key operational environment for that future missile.
Still, Increment 2 could serve as a more immediate bridge between the Army's existing long-range fires and its desired maritime-strike mission. Its use of the HIMARS platform means the capability could be integrated into formations already trained for rapid deployment across littoral terrain.
Lockheed Martin stated it is expanding capacity to quadruple PrSM production while continuing work on future increments. The company will now begin producing the initial Increment 2 missiles in parallel with further flight testing and system maturation.
