The US Army will test a promising hypersonic tactical missile PrSM firing at maximum range. As reported by Breaking Defense, it is expected to be launched later on Wednesday from the Vandenberg base. The target will be located at a distance of 499 kilometers.
The American company Lockheed Martin is developing a PrSM (Precision Strike Missile, high-precision missile) to replace missiles with cluster warheads of ATACMS operational and tactical complexes. The latter are capable of flying at about three times the speed of sound, and hitting targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers.
PrSM will be able to reach a speed five times higher than sound, and its range will reach 499 kilometers. Tests of the rocket began in 2019. It has already been tested for accuracy and tested by shooting at a short distance — 83 kilometers.
Now the US Army is going to test the PrSM by shooting at the maximum distance, that is, 499 kilometers. It is assumed that it will be launched on Wednesday from the Vandenberg base. It is planned to adopt the ammunition in 2023. At first, only about 20 PrSM should enter the army, but in general, the military is going to purchase 2,4 thousand such missiles.
The US Army hopes that in the future the PrSM will be able to hit not only land, but also sea targets. Earlier we wrote about the multi-mode homing head, which should help them in this.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva