{"id":52216,"date":"2019-12-10T21:32:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T21:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/10\/lockheed-deems-first-test-shot-of-the-precision-strike-missile-a-success-raytheons-is-delayed\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:55:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:55:30","slug":"lockheed-deems-first-test-shot-of-the-precision-strike-missile-a-success-raytheons-is-delayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2019\/12\/10\/lockheed-deems-first-test-shot-of-the-precision-strike-missile-a-success-raytheons-is-delayed\/","title":{"rendered":"Lockheed deems first test shot of precision strike missile a success, amid Raytheon delay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The first test shot of Lockheed Martin\u2019s precision strike missile at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico,<\/a> was a success, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll test objectives were achieved,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PrSM was fired Dec. 10 from a U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launcher and flew roughly 240 kilometers to the target<\/a>, the release stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday\u2019s success validates all of the hard work our PrSM team has put into the design and development of this missile,\u201d said Gaylia Campbell, the company\u2019s vice president of precision fires and combat maneuver systems. \u201cThis test flight is the most recent success in a long line of product component and sub-component testing successes conducted as part of our proven development discipline to assure total mission success for our U.S. Army customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The test objectives, according to Lockheed, included staying on course and maintaining the trajectory, range and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first flight tests for PrSM \u2014 meant to replace the Army Tactical Missile System \u2014 were delayed until the end of this year due to technical issues, the director in charge of Long-Range Precision Fires modernization, Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, said in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were a couple of technical issues that caused us to delay about 90 days for the flight test,” he said. “There was a mishap at a facility that caused some of the delay, followed by Mother Nature \u2026 extreme weather that made repair at that facility near impossible for a period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When pressed for specifics, Rafferty said the mishap was not at a Raytheon or Lockheed facility, but rather a sub-vendor used by both teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been in a head-to-head competition to deliver a future PrSM missile<\/a> to the Army. While Lockheed was originally intended to test its missile in flight after Raytheon, the latter defense company experienced technical issues, according to sources, and had to push its flight test from November to early next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has a goal to initially field a new PrSM in 2023<\/a>; it is one of the major development efforts within the Army\u2019s long-range precision fires portfolio. LRPF is the Army\u2019s top modernization priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service has accelerated PrSM\u2019s fielding timeline by several years and will stick to the baseline requirements for the missile to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\t