With PrSM Increment 2, the U.S. Army gives HIMARS a new long-range strike capability against ships and mobile land targets.
Summary
The U.S. Army is accelerating the development of its new generation of long-range land strikes. Lockheed Martin has received an IDIQ contract capped at $1.211 billion to develop and produce the first Precision Strike Missile Increment 2. The formal award dates from September 14, 2026; Lockheed Martin made it public on September 21, following a second flight test conducted in August. The difference compared to PrSM Increment 1 is major. Increment 2 adds a multimode seeker intended for mobile land and maritime targets. The missile no longer relies solely on coordinates determined prior to launch. During a first test announced in March, it traveled 350 km after being launched from a HIMARS. The issue goes beyond the missile itself: the U.S. Army is building a land-based anti-ship strike capability that will depend as much on the PrSM as on the sensor network tasked with finding and tracking its targets.
The $1.2 Billion Contract Opens Production
Lockheed Martin’s September 21, 2026 announcement marks an important milestone for the Precision Strike Missile. However, it does not correspond to the legal date of award. Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal awarded contract W31P4Q-26-D-A001 on September 14, 2026.
It is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, or IDIQ, contract with a maximum amount of $1,211,234,988. The ordering period runs through September 13, 2031. The contract covers the initial missiles intended for an Early Operational Capability, subsequent orders, continued development, and follow-on production runs.
This contractual nuance is essential. The $1.2 billion figure does not correspond to an immediate order of missiles for that amount. An IDIQ sets a ceiling. Volumes, funding, and performance locations are subsequently determined by individual delivery orders. The total number of PrSM Increment 2 purchased under this contract has not been made public.
The contract combines cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price elements. It was awarded under a sole-source procedure, with Lockheed Martin serving as the prime contractor for the PrSM family.
The Multimode Seeker Changes the Nature of the Missile
PrSM Increment 1 is primarily a precision strike weapon against known coordinates. It is progressively replacing the ATACMS and can be launched from M142 HIMARS and M270A2 MLRS launchers.
Increment 2 changes the problem to be solved. A mobile anti-aircraft battery, a moving radar, or a warship does not necessarily remain where it was detected. At several hundred kilometers, a few minutes are enough to render an old coordinate unusable.
The new multimode seeker therefore provides terminal guidance capable of searching for and tracking a target after launch.
U.S. acquisition documents describe an architecture combining radio frequency detection functions and infrared imaging. The principle is complementary. The RF component can exploit the electromagnetic emissions of a radar or communication system. Infrared imaging then provides more precise information for target recognition and terminal tracking.
This technology originates from the Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile program launched by the U.S. Army. Work conducted since 2015 demonstrated that the concept could be used not only against ships, but also against radars, communication systems, or other mobile land targets.
Technologies from Lockheed Martin’s Strigo family were also integrated into the guidance system’s development.
Two Maritime Tests Prepared the Shift to Manufacturing
The first flight test of PrSM Increment 2 was announced on March 12, 2026. The missile was launched from an M142 HIMARS and completed a flight of 350 km, or approximately 217 miles.
The test was intended notably to verify the missile’s general behavior, the deployment of seeker protections, and the operation of the new guidance system. Lockheed Martin stated that the test objectives were met and that the system gathered the data required for its validation.
A second launch took place in August. Lockheed Martin claims that this test again demonstrated the missile’s ability to engage a moving maritime target. However, the manufacturer did not publish all parameters of this test, including its exact distance.
The contract signing does not mean that development is over. Testing will continue in 2027 while the first missiles are being manufactured. It is a clear choice for acceleration: industrialization, qualification, and maturation will temporarily overlap.
U.S. Army budget documents published in the spring of 2026 still projected that the first Early Operational Capability deliveries could occur at the earliest during Fiscal Year 2029. The new contract now gives the Army the industrial instrument required to move faster if testing permits.
HIMARS Gains an Anti-Ship Strike Mission
Range constitutes the other dimension of the program. The U.S. Army describes the PrSM family as capable of reaching targets at over 400 km. Lockheed Martin currently communicates a range of up to approximately 499 km for the baseline configuration.
This range should not be confused with that of the future Increment 4. The latter targets approximately 1,000 km. The current Increment 2 is primarily an evolution of guidance and target sets, not a doubling of range.
PrSM also offers a density advantage over ATACMS. A launch pod can hold two PrSMs compared to one ATACMS. A HIMARS can therefore carry two PrSM missiles, while an M270A2, equipped with two pods, can carry four.
This evolution directly extends the replacement of ATACMS, an area driven by advancements in Lockheed Martin missile systems.
Increment 2 now adds a capability that changes the role of ground units: from a coastal area or an island, a HIMARS battery can contribute to controlling a maritime space located several hundred kilometers away.
The Targeting Chain Becomes as Important as the Missile
An anti-ship missile with this range does not operate in isolation.
A vessel traveling at 25 knots moves approximately 46 km in one hour. Data received by the launcher must therefore be recent enough to place the missile in an area where its seeker can effectively find the target.
This implies a sensor network: satellites, intelligence aircraft, drones, land radars, naval assets, or other platforms capable of establishing and maintaining a track.
The missile uses this information to reach the probable target area. Its seeker then assumes growing importance during the terminal phase.
Here lies the true technological challenge. Range is insufficient without updated targeting. PrSM Increment 2 must operate within a complete kill chain extending from detection to launch, and then to terminal acquisition, potentially in an environment subject to jamming and countermeasures.
This logic aligns more broadly with the evolution of American land strikes and the growing role of precision strike missile systems across the force.
PrSM Production Becomes an Industrial Challenge
The Increment 2 contract arrives as Lockheed Martin is already significantly increasing industrial capacity across the entire PrSM program.
U.S. Army budget documents indicate that annual capacity increased from 300 to 400 missiles in 2025. Additional investments are intended to support a production level that could reach approximately 550 missiles per year starting in the next industrial phases.
In March 2026, Lockheed Martin and U.S. authorities concurrently announced an agreement aimed at eventually quadrupling the program’s industrial capacity. The group has more than 10,680 square meters (115,000 square feet) of space dedicated to PrSM in the United States and states that over 400 employees are already working directly on the program.
The main issue is no longer merely knowing whether the missile works. The challenge now is being capable of producing it in volume.
PrSM Increment 2 Redefines Long-Range Land Strike
The September contract marks a deeper evolution than a simple new version of the Precision Strike Missile.
The U.S. Army is seeking to transform a strike weapon targeting fixed coordinates into an effector capable of pursuing a mobile target. This brings ground artillery closer to missions that traditionally belonged more to air and naval forces.
The maritime case is particularly revealing. A HIMARS deployed on an island or coastal zone potentially becomes part of an access-denial arrangement. But the missile is only the final link in the chain.
The 2027 tests will have to show how far this capability functions when the target maneuvers, when its electromagnetic emissions change, and when the targeting network is disrupted. That is where the true breakthrough delivered by PrSM Increment 2 will be measured: not simply flying further, but being capable of finding what is no longer where it was expected to be.
Sources
Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin Secures $1.2B Contract for Precision Strike Missile Increment 2 After Second Maritime Test,” September 21, 2026.
U.S. Army / SAM.gov, Award Notice W31P4Q-26-D-A001, Precision Strike Missile Increment 2, awarded September 14, 2026, published September 15, 2026.
USNI News, “U.S. Army Contracts First Batch of Maritime Precision Strike Missiles,” September 21, 2026.
Lockheed Martin, “PrSM Increment 2 Takes Flight and Advances Army’s Moving-Target and Maritime Capability,” March 12, 2026.
U.S. Army, Precision Strike Missile Increment 2, FY2027 RDT&E Budget Justification, April 2026.
U.S. Army, Missile Procurement Army, FY2027 Budget Justification, April 2026.
U.S. Army, “Army begins testing advanced seeker for Precision Strike Missile,” June 2020.
U.S. Army, “Precision Strike Missile Success at Talisman Sabre,” 2026.
Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin Answers the Nation’s Call and Quadruples Precision Strike Missile Production,” March 25, 2026.
Lockheed Martin, Strigo Product Center, technical information published August 10, 2026.