CENTCOM footage from Operation Epic Fury suggests the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) may have seen its combat debut against Iranian targets, though no official naming has occurred.
The CENTCOM video shows a HIMARS launching a missile that appears to be the PrSM, a next-generation missile developed by Lockheed Martin to replace the ATACMS, a system widely used against Russia by the Ukrainian military.
Going by the visual cues, this appears to be the combat debut of PrSM. The missile’s extended reach allows the U.S. to strike Iranian assets from greater distances, enhancing standoff precision strikes amid the military campaign.
CENTCOM has not issued a formal confirmation of PrSM employment at the time of writing this report.
Precision Strike Missile
The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) is a surface-to-surface missile with all-weather, cluster-munition-compliant capability to strike critical and time-sensitive targets. It can engage targets at extended ranges in all weather conditions, exceeding the ATACMS missile’s maximum range of 300 kilometers.
It is designed to be compatible with HIMARS, a truck-mounted rocket artillery system, as well as the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Each HIMARS can carry two PrSMs.
The HIMARS has already demonstrated its potential during the Ukraine War, with its precision strike and shoot-and-scoot capabilities.
The PrSM has a range of up to 500 kilometers in its initial increments, with potential future versions expected to exceed 1,000 kilometers—a significant reach compared to existing systems, such as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), which has a range of approximately 70-150 kilometers.
This long-range missile features a modular, open-systems architecture, allowing for adaptability to various mission profiles, including those with high-explosive or penetrating warheads. It uses advanced guidance systems that guarantee high accuracy.
It is engineered to operate in anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environments and is expected to overwhelm Iranian defense systems easily.
The missile comes in two variants: Increment 1 and 2. The Army currently uses primary Increment 1 variants of PrSMs, which carry a unitary high-explosive warhead. Although the missiles are precision-guided, they are solely meant to attack stationary targets.
The Increment 2 missiles are expected to feature a multi-mode seeker and the capability to engage moving targets. The present development focuses on this version for anti-ship applications, although it may also be applied to other target sets.
The PrSM builds on ATACMS’ legacy as a deadly missile, offering greater range and firepower. Its combat debut in Operation Epic Fury will test the missile capabilities in a real-combat scenario.
Earlier, last year, the Australian Army fired its first Precision Strike Missile in collaboration with the U.S. Army as part of the ongoing Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre 2025′. The test provided a glimpse of PrSM’s long-range strike capability, with the Chinese military as a potential target.
From forward positions in Taiwan or nearby regions, PrSMs could strike across the entire strait, including PLA-Navy warships, amphibious vessels, and other military assets, enabling standoff strikes without requiring air or sea superiority. If supplied to Taiwan, this could seriously threaten Beijing’s plans to annex Taiwan.
“The Albanese Government has delivered on its commitment to rapidly boost the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) long-range strike capability with the test firing of a Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) in Australia for the first time today,” the Australian Department of Defense said in a statement last year.
“The test conducted today was two years ahead of schedule and followed the delivery of the first PrSM a year ahead of schedule, as well as the first HIMARS two months ahead of schedule. It comes after Australia and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year for PrSM production, sustainment, and follow-on development,” the Australian DoD emphasised in its press release.
The deployment of the Precision Strike Missiles in Operation Epic Fury marks a major milestone for the U.S. Army’s long-range precision strike drive.
While damage assessments continue and CENTCOM has yet to provide formal details, it’s reported use against Iranian military targets highlights the Pentagon’s commitment to degrading threats from Tehran’s ballistic missile and command networks.
