The game-changing new missile that could halt China

The Age

30-07-2025

Each launch pod will be able to hold two of the precision missiles, compared to just a single ATACM, according to Alex Miller, the US Army's chief technology officer. It is also said to be less susceptible to jamming.
The PrSMs combine those next-generation improvements with the advantages of the HIMARS and MLRS systems, which are quick, agile and relatively easy to disguise – and could wreak havoc on Chinese ships attempting an invasion.
Brad Bowman, a senior director at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said: 'It really creates a challenge for our adversaries because where that system is now, it may not be there in 30 seconds or five minutes … That's a real detection and targeting dilemma.'
Both the US and China are ramping up their military capabilities in the Pacific and particularly around Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory even though it has effectively been independent since the 1940s.
Taiwan under threat
Earlier this year, Xi Jinping, the Chinese president , said 'reunification' with China was inevitable, and that those on either side of the Taiwan Strait were 'one family'.
China has regularly threatened Taiwan with fighter jet and warship incursions, but has always stopped short of a direct confrontation.
At a security conference in May, Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan 'could be imminent'.
The stakes couldn't be higher for both sides. If the US's military capabilities are outstripped by China, it would prove fatal to Taiwan, which relies on Washington to provide a credible deterrent. And if the island nation falls, it means the loss of a key strategic buffer against Beijing's expansionism.
'The most important advantage of a weapons advance like this is it simply encourages the Chinese to say, 'No … we don't have to do it now.' '
Doug Bandow, Cato Institute
But failing to take the island would inflict a stunning blow on China, and almost certainly lead to the fall of Xi's regime.
'There's always a constant battle with both sides to try to respond to whatever advances the other side has,' said Doug Bandow, a senior fellow with the Cato Institute.
'But I'd say these [PrSMs] have the potential for dramatically increasing the risk factor for a Chinese fleet. So that's substantial.'
China's military will be only too aware of the damage Ukraine has managed to inflict on Russia using HIMARS since they were first provided by the US in June 2022, and will be warily eyeing the upgraded precision missiles.
Taiwan already has 11 HIMARS from previous arms sales with the US, and it is expected to receive more in 2026.
Bandow said the PrSMs will have inflicted an important psychological blow on China without any shots even being fired, and could convince its leadership to delay its imperial ambitions.
'The most important advantage of a weapons advance like this is it simply encourages the Chinese to say, 'No … we don't have to do it now',' he told the London Telegraph.
'In my view, the best chance of getting through this is to simply have that happen a lot. And hopefully, we can get to a point, whatever that point is, where everyone agrees war is really stupid and this won't happen.'
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Real damage could be inflicted on the Chinese fleet, both in ports and moving out to a potential invasion, if PRsMs are deployed throughout Taiwan and the rest of the first island chain, which includes Japan, Indonesia and parts of the Philippines.
Australia aligns with the US
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Australia signed a $US310 million ($475.6 million) deal with the US to join the missile programme in June.
'This is all about extending deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, all about signalling to any potential adversary that pain can be inflicted,' Pat Conroy, Australia's defence industry minister, said at the test flight this month.
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But China is also moving quickly to innovate, and earlier this year, it appeared to be constructing D-Day-style barges for an invasion that would allow it to bypass rocky or soft beaches unsuitable for tanks, providing multiple fronts for an invasion.
Some experts are concerned that the US is too slow to procure PrSMs. The Pentagon's recent funding request to Congress shows the Army intends to buy 44 of the missiles from Lockheed Martin.
'There's very rarely a decisive game changer by itself … but this is a key capability for the United States and our allies to have,' Bowman said.