WASHINGTON: The Iran-US war is putting a new generation of missiles into combat, as both sides deploy weapons capable of striking from farther away while giving defenses less time to respond.
The US has deployed its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) for the first known time in combat, while Iran says it has used its Kheibar Shekan, a missile capable of reaching US military targets across much of the Middle East.
Though designed for different purposes, both highlight a growing challenge in missile warfare: Weapons can be launched from mobile platforms, strike targets at greater distances and leave defenses less time to respond.
So what makes these weapons different, how have they been used in the war and what do they say about the future of missile warfare?The PrSM is essentially the US Army’s new generation of ground-launched ballistic missile -- designed to fly farther than its predecessor while allowing troops to carry more missiles on launch vehicles already in service.
It is replacing the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), a missile developed during the Cold War and first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War.The baseline PrSM has a range of about 500-kms, compared with about 300-kms for the longest-range versions of ATACMS.
That means an Army unit could potentially strike a target from more than 200-kms farther away, allowing launch crews to remain at a greater distance from enemy forces and air defences.
The programme is also working toward a range of about 650-kms, while later variants are intended to reach at least 1,000-kms.The PrSM can also be fired from HIMARS, a truck-mounted rocket launcher, as well as the tracked M270A2 launcher. That compatibility means the US does not need an entirely new fleet of launch vehicles to deploy the missile.
It can also carry more firepower. A HIMARS launcher that can carry one ATACMS missile can carry two PrSMs before it needs to be reloaded.Guided by an inertial navigation system aided by GPS, the missile is designed to detonate above the target, dispersing thousands of high?velocity metal pellets over a wide area, according to weapons experts.
Beyond the Iranian battlefield, the missile’s debut also has wider significance for US military planning. Its greater range allows mobile launchers to threaten targets from greater distances, while its speed makes it particularly suited to time-sensitive targets such as missile launchers and air-defense systems.
Future versions are also being developed to strike moving targets, including ships.In June, The Defence Post reported that the US Army awarded Lockheed Martin an $8.4 billion contract modification to boost PrSM production capacity.
The Iran-US war appears to have given the PrSM its battlefield debut.US Central Command released footage on March 1 showing a PrSM being fired from a HIMARS during what it described as the first 24 hours of its operation against Iran, which began Feb. 28.
But its use has since drawn scrutiny over deadly strikes in Lamerd, a city in southern Iran.BBC Verify reported in March that weapons experts who examined footage of a Feb 28 strike said the projectile was likely a PrSM.
Airwars, a UK-based watchdog that investigates civilian harm in conflicts, separately analyzed three apparent PrSM strikes in Lamerd, including in residential areas and near civilian facilities, including the Shahid Naimi sports hall.
