The Army is pursuing a new mid-range missile capability for its future long range fires portfolio as a result of a recent strategic fires study, an Army Futures Command spokesperson confirmed to Defense Daily.
Defense News
first reported the Army’s intent to explore a mid-range missile prototype that will look to complement ongoing modernization efforts, such as the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and hypersonic weapons development.
The [FY ‘20 Strategic Fires Study] made recommendations for near-term and long-term investment strategies for fires capabilities that will enable the United States to deter, and if necessary, defeat near-peer competitors. As a result of this study, the Army is pursuing a mid-range capability that will complement other critical systems in the Army’s long range fires portfolio in support of multi-domain operations. Additional details are pre-decisional at this time,” Robyn Mack, a Futures Command spokesperson, said in a statement.
Futures Command’s Research and Analysis Center at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico conducted the study, which looked to “examine future strategic fires capabilities and and provide emerging insights to inform procurement options and future materiel capability requirements.”
Lockheed Martin [LMT] is currently developing PrSM, which will replace the Army’s ATACMS missiles, and recently received $180.7 million to move into the program’s Enhanced Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction (ETMRR) phase (Defense Daily, June 17).