A new Army weapon emerged from relative obscurity after one struck a sports hall and school in southern Iran early in the U.S.-Israeli war, according to weapons experts and a visual analysis by The New York Times.
Local officials cited in Iranian media said the strike and others nearby killed at least 21 people, including young girls playing volleyball.
That weapon is the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM (pronounced like “prism”). The PrSM is barely out of the prototype phase, and the Army has not yet created an entry for it in the military’s supply system or given it an official nomenclature — much less disclosed details like its maximum range, its accuracy or the amount of explosives it carries.
Here is what we know about it.
When was the Precision Strike Missile developed?
The PrSM debuted just four months after the demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019. It would have been banned under that treaty, which prohibited the United States and Russia from fielding ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles capable of ranges between 311 and 3,420 miles.
The missile finished its prototype testing and entered low-rate production less than a year ago.
It will replace the Army’s ATACMS missile, which was developed in the 1980s and could strike targets about 190 miles away. The PrSM is expected to fly more than twice as far.
Who makes it?
Lockheed Martin makes the PrSM at a facility in Camden, Ark. According to a news release, the company has 115,000 square feet of factory space and 400 employees devoted to its production.
How many of them have been made?
The exact number is not publicly known.
On March 10, a spokeswoman for Lockheed referred questions about the number of PrSMs it has delivered to the Army. The Army declined to provide any data on its inventory or production rate.
How much has the Pentagon spent on them so far?
In September 2022, the Pentagon announced it was purchasing 54 of the new missiles for $77.4 million, or about $1.4 million each. In the 2023 fiscal year budget, the Army requested an additional $472 million to purchase 120 more of them.
Lockheed announced it had delivered the first operational Precision Strike Missiles to the Army in December 2023. Months later, the company received an additional $219 million from the Defense Department for the weapon.
And in March 2025, it was awarded $5 billion more.
Where have they been tested?
A prototype of the Precision Strike Missile was first launched at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in December 2019.
Since then, 12 additional test launches have been conducted in New Mexico and California. The most recent test was announced on March 12.
How are they launched?
The missiles are packed in containers commonly called “pods” that each contain two PrSMs.
The Cold War-era M270 vehicle, which is based on the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and runs on tracks, can carry two pods at a time — for a total of four Precision Strike Missiles.
The newer M142 HIMARS, a lighter-weight six-wheeled truck, can carry just one pod at a time.
How have they been used in the war with Iran?
On Feb. 28, U.S. Central Command, which directs military operations in the Middle East, showcased some of the weapons used during the first 24 hours of the war with Iran — one of which was a PrSM being launched from a HIMARS vehicle in an apparently desert environment.
Central Command said the PrSMs were part of a barrage of munitions that were fired from outside the range of Iran’s defensive weapons.
Immediately after firing, the vehicles typically drive to another location to avoid potential enemy counterattacks and then reload.
It is unclear where U.S. forces have launched PrSM missiles from during the war, although U.S.-made HIMARS vehicles have launched short-range ballistic missiles from Bahrain into Iran. And a HIMARS unit from the Wisconsin National Guard is currently deployed to Kuwait.
How important is this missile to the Pentagon?
Based on the dollar amounts of contracts signed between the Defense Department and Lockheed, it appears to be very important to the Pentagon’s future war plans.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced it had entered into an agreement with Lockheed to accelerate production of PrSMs “on a wartime footing.” The same day, the company said that agreement and the $5 billion contract that preceded it would allow Lockheed to “quadruple PrSM production capacity.”
Lockheed plans to develop four different PrSM “increments,” or variants, which the company has said will increase the missile’s maximum range and eventually give it the ability to hit moving objects, including ships at sea.
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.
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