The US Army is set to test its next-generation long-range missile Wednesday to ensure the weapon is reliable and accurate for soldiers in the field.
The launch will take place at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:30am ET, and will see the new ground-to-ground missiles fired from military trucks – with the Army hoping this new weapon soon replaces their aging arsenal.
Wednesday’s launch in California follows several other successful test firings of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) by the Army and Lockheed Martin, including one in February at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
According to the US Army’s 2024 Fiscal Year budget proposal, each of these new projectiles have a nearly $3.5 million price tag.
However, the launch also comes as President Donald Trump warned that the US could get pulled into World War III if Russia’s war on Ukraine escalates.
‘We want to get it over with,’ Trump said of the war during his interview with The Ingraham Angle host Laura Ingraham last night, admitting that ‘Russia has the advantage’.
‘Look, we’re doing this – there are no Americans involved. There could be if you end up in World War III over this, which is so ridiculous,’ he added.
With the US now potentially facing new threats and escalating situations in Ukraine and the Middle East, and Army officials said its PrSM provides more accuracy and lethality on the battlefield – capable of neutralizing targets out to more than 300 miles.
The US Army is testing the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) at Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday
President Trump said in an interview that US forces could still end up involved in a conflict between Russia and Ukraine that turns into World War III
The PrSM is designed to eventually replace an older missile system called ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), which the Army has been using since 1991.
The new missiles have been fired in groups of two during these launches, a tactic called a ‘double shot’ test.
It simulates the Army’s doctrine which often calls for two missiles to target critical threats – like incoming enemy missiles or heavily defended positions – to increase the chances of hitting the target or overwhelming enemy defenses.
Lockheed Martin noted that their current contract with the military will allow the aerospace giant to produce 400 of these missiles each year. The deal is worth up to $120 million.
In July, Darrell Ames from the US Department of Defense said: ‘The two major differences between the ATACMs and PrSM today are range and loadout quantities.’
A missile’s loadout refers to the amount of rockets a launch container (pod) can hold, while the range reveals how far it can travel.
‘The PrSM has doubled the loadout capability per pod and has a significantly greater range capability,’ Ames added.
Carolyn Orzechowski, the vice president of Precision Fires Launchers and Missiles at Lockheed Martin, noted that the company was continuing the weapon tests while they await military approval to put the PrSM into full-scale production.
The Army and Lockheed Martin also tested out the new weapon’s improvements over ATACMS in November and December.
The PrSM has been designed to replace the Army Tactical Missile System, which has been used in combat since 1991 during Operation Desert Storm
The new missile reportedly has a range of more than 300 missiles and is fired from a mobile rocket-launching platform called HIMARS
The PrSM is not the only high-tech piece of the American arsenal currently being tested as tensions rise.
The Army recently unveiled a new facility for testing its HAWK missile system to ensure America’s arsenal ‘remains ready for action.’
HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer), originally deployed in 1959, is a surface-to-air guided missile that provides air defense coverage against slow-moving aerial threats like drones and bomber aircraft.
The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP) in Oklahoma announced the site in February, naming it the Theater Readiness Monitoring Facility (TRMF).
The new testing site will look at the HAWK missile system (pictured) that has been used by the US since the 1960s
Although Trump said his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin went ‘great’ and lasted for roughly two hours, it did not end with a promise of peace.
Putin rejected Trump’s proposal of a full, unconditional ceasefire with Ukraine.
Instead, the Russia leader only agreed to a limited ceasefire, ending attacks on Ukraine’s ‘energy and infrastructure.’
The renewed fears about a world war breaking out come after Trump publicly berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in February, claiming that he was ‘gambling with World War III’ by not agreeing to America’s peace terms.
Since then, leaders in Europe have promised to continue supporting Zelensky and his invaded nation – even claiming that their countries would defeat Russia in a military confrontation the situation went that far.
