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A second production contract has been awarded for the development of next-generation precision strike capability.
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Lockheed Martin has landed a US$158 million (AU$246 million) contract from the US Army to produce additional early operational capability (EOC) Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).
The deal follows a successful manufacturing readiness assessment milestone visit with the Army.
This is the second production contract awarded to Lockheed Martin, with the first EOC production and Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contracts issued in September 2021.
Lockheed Martin is currently producing PrSMs as part of the Army’s initial production contract, with additional rounds to be used in upcoming system qualification tests.
The EMD process, which is expected to result in a fully qualified system, represents the last phase of the development program before a full-rate production decision, slated for 2025.
The last flight test, reported in October last year, surpassed 499 kilometres at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The missile was fired over the Pacific Ocean from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launcher.
This marked the fifth consecutive successful flight test of the next-generation PrSM.
The next phase of flight testing is scheduled for 2023.
The prime has leveraged a number of advanced technologies — including augmented reality, advanced modelling and simulation, machine learning or data analytics, and software factory — to accelerate the development of the missile system.
[Related: Third test of Lockheed’s Precision Strike Missile completed by US Army ]
