By Zarak Khan | 2026-04-14

The United States has used the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) in combat for the first time, striking Iranian targets during military operations in the Persian Gulf, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

A High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) unit stationed in Bahrain launched the missile across the Persian Gulf and hit targets deep inside Iran, according to US officials.

CENTCOM announced on March 4 that long-range PrSMs had been used during Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, providing what it described as "an unrivaled deep strike capability" for US forces.

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said on X that he "could not be prouder" of the troops "leveraging innovation to create dilemmas for the enemy."

The raw data released by the Pentagon underscore the sheer volume of the campaign.

The US military has struck more than 13,000 Iranian targets since February 28, US Army Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in early April. It has destroyed about 80% of Iran's air defense systems and sunk 150 Iranian ships, he said.

Major technological leap

The PrSM is designed to replace the aging Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which first saw combat use during Desert Storm in 1991.

The missile's slimmer design allows HIMARS launchers to carry two missiles instead of one, doubling the firepower of the older ATACMS configuration, the War Zone defense outlet reported.

The PrSM's extended reach is its defining feature. Standard HIMARS 227mm guided rockets have a maximum range of about 150km, making them ineffective for cross‑Gulf strikes from Bahrain, but the PrSM's 500km range brings deep‑interior Iranian targets within the US Army's "front‑yard" strike zone.

According to Lockheed Martin, which delivered the first PrSMs to the US Army in December 2023, the missile is designed to "attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets" using long-range precision fires.

Gunning for 1,000km range

The missile already has a range exceeding 500km, with future versions expected to extend that range to about 1,000km and incorporate seekers capable of tracking moving maritime targets.

As Breaking Defense previously reported, later increments of the PrSM program are exploring enhanced lethality payloads in addition to maritime strike capability.

In December 2024, the US Army completed its first soldier-led Limited User Test of the missile in New Mexico.

The development of the weapon accelerated after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, which had banned land-based missiles with ranges between 500km and 5,500km.

"Now that we're out of the INF Treaty, it can be longer than 500km in range and we're going to be pumping those out like sausages," Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during a recent webinar.

"Anybody in the world, our friends, who has a HIMARS launcher is going to want to stuff some PrSMs into it to have longer reach than the previous ATACMS," he added.

Ballistic missiles may offer advantages against naval targets because their high terminal speed reduces the time available for shipboard defenses to react, the War Zone reported.

Allied adoption

The missile is drawing interest from US allies seeking to expand long-range strike capabilities.

Australia has joined the PrSM program as part of efforts to strengthen long-range deterrence and interoperability with US forces.

"The combination of HIMARS and PrSM provides a proven, scalable and rapidly deployable system that will provide unmatched long-range strike and deterrence options for Australia," Lockheed Martin said in a statement last October.

The Indo-Pacific front

Although the PrSM has made its operational debut in the Middle East, analysts say its primary strategic purpose lies in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in countering China's "Anti-Access/Area Denial" strategy.

Long-range ground-launched missiles such as the PrSM are part of a broader US strategy to deploy dispersed strike capabilities across island chains in the Indo-Pacific to counter China's naval forces, Naval News noted.

HIMARS units equipped with such missiles could be positioned near key maritime chokepoints along the "first island chain" to conduct antiship missions against hostile naval forces.

That chain includes Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The missile's extended range is frequently discussed "in the context of a potential high-end conflict with China in the Pacific, where launch points, at least on land, are much more limited," the War Zone reported on March 1.