Latest news with #PrSM
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army task forces ‘centerpiece' for deterring China: INDOPACOM boss
The head of the largest U.S. combatant command praised the fires capabilities that the Army's multidomain task forces bring to a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. The service's task forces are the 'centerpiece' of how the joint force denies Chinese military access to key areas, said Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual Land Forces Pacific conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Paparo said such units, combined with the Army's firepower, enable land forces to contribute fires that counter China's military aggression in the region. Multidomain task forces are growing and shaping exercises overseas 'We're facing a profoundly consequential moment here in the Indo-Pacific and, accordingly, the world,' Paparo said. In a call with media before the event, Army Gen. Ronald Clark, head of U.S. Army Pacific, further framed the use of the task forces. 'What we have developed over time through the joint force is the capability to flip the script if you will that land forces can provide access to air and maritime capabilities on the land,' Clark said. Units such as the multidomain task force, or MDTF, of which the Army has two operational in the region and is building a third, are 'not easily targetable,' dispersed, easy to camouflage and dominate in time and space for targeting, Clark said. Paparo pointed specifically to the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, and its recent use in the Valiant Shield military exercise in Palau. PrSM's long-range strike capability, coupled with midrange strike capabilities from maritime assets such as the Tomahawk cruise missile and long-range hypersonic weapons at the strategic layer, creates a deterrence posture across the region. PrSM is being used to give even tactical units a beyond 500-kilometer strike, putting them in the strategic fires ranges, Army Times previously reported. Lockheed Martin is currently fielding the Increment 1 version of the PrSM, which has a range of at least 500 kilometers, according to the company. Increment 2 is a land-based, anti-ship seeker. Increment 3 adds lethal payload options, while Increment 4 seeks to push existing ranges beyond 1,000 kilometers. Meanwhile, the Hawaii-based 3rd MDTF is slated to receive a Typhon midrange missile launcher battery, Defense News reported in March. The Lockheed Martin-built system, consisting of a vertical launcher that uses the Navy's Raytheon-built Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles, can strike targets between 500 to 2,000 kilometers. The system has a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers. The 3rd MDTF plans to add hundreds of soldiers to the formation over the next 18 months as it seeks to fill the 2,000-soldier formation. The ultimate configuration will include a headquarters and four battalions, including a long-range precision fires battalion and a sustainment battalion, Defense News previously reported.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cheap drone swarms for helicopter fights — This is just one of the ways Hegseth wants to remake the Army for the next war
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on sweeping changes for the Army. The focus on future warfare includes AI, drones, ammunition stockpiles, and force restructures. The Army and larger military under President Trump have been about the ideas of lethality and readiness. Less crewed helicopters, more cheap drone swarms. That's just one of the directives listed in a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sweeping changes to the US Army. Hegseth envisions a future Army in which drone swarms capable of overwhelming enemies replace crewed helicopters and augment the remainder of that fighting force. There's much more to the plan though. The defense secretary's memo addressed to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was shared on Thursday and included strategic transformations, force restructuring, and cuts to certain programs and systems. The plan represents one of the largest Army overhauls since the Cold War, and the initiative is expected to cost billions. Some planned changes, like plans to give every division 1,000 drones within the next two years, have clear timelines and immediate impacts. Others, such as "modernizing language training programs to improve mission effectiveness," are vague. Hegseth has directed Driscoll to "transform the Army now for future warfare." Within the next two years, every Army division will have uncrewed aerial systems. Counter-UAS systems, too, should be integrated into maneuver platoons by then and maneuver companies by the following year, 2027. By 2027, the Army should also be fielding long-range missiles that can strike moving land and maritime targets. Some Army systems that could fit that bill include the surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the Mid-Range Capability Typhon system, and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. The service should also achieve dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum and air-littoral spaces, both of which have been deemed critical subdomains for future wars, and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at the Army's theater, corps, and division headquarters. Among the directives is a call to "modernize the organic industrial base to generate the ammunition stockpiles necessary to sustain national defense during wartime," with a goal of full operations by 2028. Driscoll recently told BI that strengthening the defense industrial base and deepening the Army's magazine was a priority for him, especially when thinking about a possible war with China, an Indo-Pacific power and top rival. In line with that thinking, the memo directs the Army to strengthen its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding the Army's caches of warfighting equipment, conducting military exercises with allies and partners, and rotating deployments in the region. US President Donald Trump, Hegseth, Driscoll, and other officials have all identified countering China as a top priority. "The President gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "To achieve this, the US Army must prioritize defending our homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region." The emphasis on heavily transforming the Army ahead of 2027 raises questions about the motivations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese People's Liberation Army to be ready to execute an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Though that goal does not mean action is guaranteed, US military officials have used China's deadline as a readiness guide. Hegseth and others in the Trump administration have highlighted their intentions to cut what they deem as wasteful spending in the Pentagon. The Army memo goes into that but still leaves some questions unanswered. The defense secretary is instructing the Army to substantially rework its force structure, which includes merging headquarters to synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic fires, implementing space-based capabilities, and adopting uncrewed systems. As already noted, Hegseth's memo also includes a plan to "reduce and restructure crewed attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries." It also includes plans to "divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units" across the Army. Major reforms are intended for some Army headquarters, including the merging of Army Futures Command and Doctrine Command into one and Forces Command and US Army North and South into a single entity focused on homeland defense and Western allies. Additionally, some weapons systems and capabilities deemed obsolete are being axed, including certain crewed aircraft programs, ground vehicles like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, and outdated UAVs. Driscoll's staff recently told BI that some legacy systems could be on the chopping block in pursuit of lethality. Workforce reduction is also a priority and falls in line with larger priorities from Hegseth and Trump. Information in the memo on this is sparse. It calls on the Army to "optimize force structure to achieve maximum readiness" and "prioritize merit and skill needed for today's battlefield across the uniform and civilian workforce." Revisions to civilian hiring and firing policies and cuts to general officer positions are planned. When asked about Hegseth's priority for a "learner, more lethal force" and what that means for the workforce, Col. David Butler, communications adviser to Chief of Staff of the Army, told BI that the likely intention is to make cuts to "staff and bureaucracies," not maneuver or warfighting formations. Butler said Army leadership believes cutting those areas will lighten the organizational structure and "better serve the warfighter." Conversations around a "leaner" Army have been a major topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, sources told the Army was quietly considering a reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops. The Army labeled the story "wrong," writing on X that it was "building more combat power while reducing staff and overhead." Many of these changes indicate sweeping plans and reforms for the Army. Talking to Fox News on Friday, Driscoll said that while "these are hard decisions," especially ones around legacy systems and weapons reform. That said, "the old way of doing war with no longer suffice," he explained. The Army secretary said he and the service have been "empowered to go make the hard decisions and the hard changes to reallocate our dollars to best position our soldiers to be the most lethal that they can be." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Cheap drone swarms for helicopter fights — This is just one of the ways Hegseth wants to remake the Army for the next war
Less crewed helicopters, more cheap drone swarms. That's just one of the directives listed in a memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on sweeping changes to the US Army. Hegseth envisions a future Army in which drone swarms capable of overwhelming enemies replace crewed helicopters and augment the remainder of that fighting force. There's much more to the plan though. The defense secretary's memo addressed to Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll was shared on Thursday and included strategic transformations, force restructuring, and cuts to certain programs and systems. The plan represents one of the largest Army overhauls since the Cold War, and the initiative is expected to cost billions. Some planned changes, like plans to give every division 1,000 drones within the next two years, have clear timelines and immediate impacts. Others, such as "modernizing language training programs to improve mission effectiveness," are vague. Drones, ammunition, and the Indo-Pacific Hegseth has directed Driscoll to "transform the Army now for future warfare." Within the next two years, every Army division will have uncrewed aerial systems. Counter-UAS systems, too, should be integrated into maneuver platoons by then and maneuver companies by the following year, 2027. By 2027, the Army should also be fielding long-range missiles that can strike moving land and maritime targets. Some Army systems that could fit that bill include the surface-to-surface Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the Mid-Range Capability Typhon system, and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. The service should also achieve dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum and air-littoral spaces, both of which have been deemed critical subdomains for future wars, and artificial intelligence-driven command and control at the Army's theater, corps, and division headquarters. Among the directives is a call to "modernize the organic industrial base to generate the ammunition stockpiles necessary to sustain national defense during wartime," with a goal of full operations by 2028. Driscoll recently told BI that strengthening the defense industrial base and deepening the Army's magazine was a priority for him, especially when thinking about a possible war with China, an Indo-Pacific power and top rival. In line with that thinking, the memo directs the Army to strengthen its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding the Army's caches of warfighting equipment, conducting military exercises with allies and partners, and rotating deployments in the region. US President Donald Trump, Hegseth, Driscoll, and other officials have all identified countering China as a top priority. "The President gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "To achieve this, the US Army must prioritize defending our homeland and deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region." The emphasis on heavily transforming the Army ahead of 2027 raises questions about the motivations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese People's Liberation Army to be ready to execute an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Though that goal does not mean action is guaranteed, US military officials have used China's deadline as a readiness guide. 'A leaner, more lethal force' Hegseth and others in the Trump administration have highlighted their intentions to cut what they deem as wasteful spending in the Pentagon. The Army memo goes into that but still leaves some questions unanswered. The defense secretary is instructing the Army to substantially rework its force structure, which includes merging headquarters to synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic fires, implementing space-based capabilities, and adopting uncrewed systems. As already noted, Hegseth's memo also includes a plan to "reduce and restructure crewed attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries." It also includes plans to "divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units" across the Army. Major reforms are intended for some Army headquarters, including the merging of Army Futures Command and Doctrine Command into one and Forces Command and US Army North and South into a single entity focused on homeland defense and Western allies. Additionally, some weapons systems and capabilities deemed obsolete are being axed, including certain crewed aircraft programs, ground vehicles like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, and outdated UAVs. Driscoll's staff recently told BI that some legacy systems could be on the chopping block in pursuit of lethality. Workforce reduction is also a priority and falls in line with larger priorities from Hegseth and Trump. Information in the memo on this is sparse. It calls on the Army to "optimize force structure to achieve maximum readiness" and "prioritize merit and skill needed for today's battlefield across the uniform and civilian workforce." Revisions to civilian hiring and firing policies and cuts to general officer positions are planned. When asked about Hegseth's priority for a "learner, more lethal force" and what that means for the workforce, Col. David Butler, communications adviser to Chief of Staff of the Army, told BI that the likely intention is to make cuts to "staff and bureaucracies," not maneuver or warfighting formations. Butler said Army leadership believes cutting those areas will lighten the organizational structure and "better serve the warfighter." Conversations around a "leaner" Army have been a major topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, sources told the Army was quietly considering a reduction of up to 90,000 active-duty troops. The Army labeled the story "wrong," writing on X that it was "building more combat power while reducing staff and overhead." Hard decisions for the Army Many of these changes indicate sweeping plans and reforms for the Army. Talking to Fox News on Friday, Driscoll said that while "these are hard decisions," especially ones around legacy systems and weapons reform. That said, "the old way of doing war with no longer suffice," he explained. The Army secretary said he and the service have been "empowered to go make the hard decisions and the hard changes to reallocate our dollars to best position our soldiers to be the most lethal that they can be."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
PRsM Ballistic Missiles Loaded With Coyote Drones, Hatchet Mini Smart Bombs Eyed By Army
Future versions of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile for the U.S. Army could carry Coyote drones or Hatchet miniature glide bombs, according to Lockheed Martin. The Army has previously talked about potentially loading PrSMs with swarming munitions and other 'enhanced' payloads, but without providing more specific details. Becky Withrow, director of strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin, talked about future payload and other aspects of the PrSM program with TWZ's Howard Altman on the floor of the annual Modern Day Marine exposition yesterday. The Army is currently in the process of fielding PrSM, but versions of the missile could also be of interest to the Marine Corps. The Army has so far outlined plans for four incremental PrSM developments on top of the baseline Increment 1 missiles. Increment 2 is centered on the development of a new dual seeker system that enables the engagement of moving targets on land or at sea. Increment 4 is about increasing PrSM's range from just under 310 miles (500 kilometers) to 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), and Increment 5 aims to extend that reach even further. Increment 3, which the Army now envisions as coming after Increment 4, is about 'enhanced lethality.' For Increment 3, the Army 'will put a different warhead in there,' Lockheed Martin's Withrow explained. 'They have yet to decide. It's still in the S&T [science and technology] community. So they're looking at various warhead options.' 'I know they've looked at things like Coyote, they've looked at Hatchet, things like that,' Withrow added, stressing that she was not aware of any final decision having been made. Withrow did not specify what version of Coyote might go into a future Increment 3 PrSM. Manufacturer Raytheon has publicly shown three members of the Coyote family to date: the original electric motor-driven pusher propeller design with its pop-out wings and tails (now known as Block 1), the jet-powered Block 2 counter-drone interceptor, and the Coyote LE SR (Launched Effect, Short-Range), another jet-powered type previously known as Block 3. Block 1 and 3 Coyotes are modular in design and can be configured in multiple ways, including as loitering munitions, as well as to perform reconnaissance and surveillance, electronic warfare, and other missions. The Army has previously released a graphic, seen below, depicting a PrSM releasing drones with some broad visual similarities to the Coyote Block 1. Earlier this year, Raytheon announced successful tests of Coyote LE SRs from a Bell 407 helicopter and a Bradley Fighting Vehicle – the latter of which TWZ was first to report on – and has described that version as being designed to be 'platform and payload-agnostic.' Hatchet is a roughly six-pound precision glide bomb that can be fitted with a dual-mode GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) and semi-active laser guidance package. Laser guidance allows for the engagement of moving targets as long as they can be lazed either by the launching platform or another offboard source. Manufacturer Northrop Grumman has said that other terminal guidance options, including electro-optical/infrared seekers with automated target recognition capability, could also be in Hatchet's future. Northrop Grumman also claims that the advanced design of Hatchet's three-pound warhead makes it 50 to 80 percent as lethal as a 500-pound-class bomb, depending on the target type. Point-detonating, delayed, and air-bursting fuze options are available. A single PrSM carrying a load of small precision munitions like Hatchet would give the Army the ability to strike multiple targets by launching just one missile. If the missile could release its submunitions at multiple points along its flight trajectory, it would expand the total area in which targets could be prosecuted. A group of GPS/INS-guided munitions like Hatchet could be pre-programmed to hit specific points over a wide area, but at a set distance apart in a grid, offering coverage akin to that a cluster munitions. The functional range of any version of PrSM could be extended by loading it with powered submunitions like Coyote, which could then fly further on their target areas after release. Swarms of loitering munitions could also use their endurance hunt targets autonomously after being launched into areas where enemy forces are broadly known to exist, but their exact positions are unknown. An Increment 3 PrSM might be used to rapidly 'seed' parts of the battlefield with loitering munitions as an area denial tactic, as well. A swarm could include drones configured for other missions, including electronic warfare and reconnaissance. Increment 3 PrSMs carrying various types of precision munitions could be particularly useful in suppressing or destroying enemy air defenses, especially mobile systems that might otherwise be hard to find and fix. The idea of using ground-based artillery and other indirect fire capabilities as tools to help clear paths for friendly aircraft is hardly new to the Army. The service has also put forward the idea of using high-altitude balloons to deploy swarms of loitering munitions deep inside enemy-controlled territory. Overall, an Increment 3 would offer a highly survivable delivery system for deploying swarming payloads deep into contested or denied areas. Multiple wargames, including ones conducted under the auspices of the U.S. military, have offered significant evidence that swarms of relatively cheap networked drones with high degrees of autonomy, including ones configured as loitering munitions, could have game-changing impacts in future high-end conflicts. With all this in mind, it is also interesting to note that China's Guangdong Aerodynamic Research Academy (GARA) unveiled a concept for an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide weapon loaded with different types of submunitions, including supersonic missiles and drones, at last year's Zhuhai Airshow. You can read more about the GDF-600 here. GDF-600 hypersonic vehicle with cluster submunitions from Gara. Launch mass 5000 kg, payload 1200 kg. Speed up to Mach 7, range 200-600 km, maximum trajectory altitude up to 40 km. 1/n#ChinaAirshow2024 — Michael Jerdev (@MuxelAero) November 10, 2024 At the same time, it is important to note that launching submunitions from a ballistic missile that could be traveling at high supersonic, if not hypersonic speeds (defined as anything above Mach 5), presents challenges. This is primarily due to physical and thermal stresses, especially at the time of separation. More fragile payloads designed to travel at subsonic speeds, like drones, would also require some means of safely slowing down after their initial release. Maneuvers that bleed off energy prior to release could help mitigate these issues, as well. This all may help explain why PrSM's Increment 3 now comes after Increment 4. Regardless, the Army is clearly still interested in the additional capabilities that a PrSM loaded with precision munitions or drones could offer, and we now know the service has been looking at Coyote and Hatchet specifically as potential options. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bringing Back Medium Range Ballistic Missiles Fast Tracked Under Proposed $150B Defense Boost
The U.S. Army could be in line to get nearly $640 million in extra funding for new medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM), including ones capable of hitting ships at sea. Work on MRBMs, a long-range strike capability the Army has not had since the end of the Cold War, is one of a slew of efforts that would be accelerated by a $150 billion defense spending package recently proposed by members of Congress. The Army is already looking at a medium-range version of its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missile, but the legislation on the table now may also point to a new design in the works. The current Republican Party chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees rolled out the proposed multi-billion-dollar defense spending legislation yesterday. If passed and signed into law, it would provide funds to accelerate work on a host of advanced capabilities across the U.S. military, including, but certainly not limited to the Air Force's F-47 and Navy's F/A-XX sixth-generation stealth fighter programs, the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, a new sea-launched nuclear-tipped cruise missile, new medium landing ships for the U.S. Marine Corps, and President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense initiative. Additional funding to help expand the U.S. defense industrial base to meet these and other demands, as well as spur further research and development, is also part of the package. When it comes to Army MRBMs, the spending plan includes four separate provisions amounting to a combined $639 million: '$175,000,000 for production capacity expansion for next-generation Army medium-range ballistic missiles' '$50,000,000 for the accelerated development of Army next-generation medium-range anti-ship ballistic missiles' '$114,000,000 for the production of Army next-generation medium-range ballistic missiles' '$300,000,000 for the production of Army medium-range ballistic missiles' The legislation does not name any specific Army MRBM program, and TWZ has reached out for more information. For some immediate context, MRBMs are categorized as ballistic missiles with maximum ranges between 620 and 1,860 miles (1,000 and 3,000 kilometers). The Army has not had an operational MRBM of any kind since the retirement of the nuclear-armed Pershing II in 1991. Furthermore, between 1988 and 2019, the United States and Russia were both prohibited from developing and fielding nuclear or conventionally-armed ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with maximum ranges between 310 and 3,420 miles (500 and 5,500 kilometers) under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Since the collapse of the INF, the Army has been openly working to extend the range of its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which is still currently described as a short-range ballistic missile (SBRM). SRBMs have maximum ranges between 190 and 620 miles (300 and 1,000 kilometers). As of 2023, the baseline PrSM had demonstrated the ability to fly out to just under 310 miles (500 kilometers), and the Army's goal was to stretch that out to around 400 miles (650 kilometers), according to a declassified Pentagon Selected Acquisition Report. The Army currently has stated plans for a variant or derivative of the PrSM with the ability to reach targets at least 620 miles/1,000 kilometers away, as well as one with even greater range that would push it into MRBM territory. These are presently referred to as the Increment 4 and 5 versions, respectively. The service is also working on an Increment 2 anti-ship type based on the baseline PrSM SRBM, but with a new seeker, a prototype of which was successfully tested against a moving target vessel last year. Increment 3 of the PrSM program is focused on adding unspecified 'enhanced' payloads to the missile, which could include swarms of loitering munitions. The proposed Congressional plus-up of Army MRBM work could revolve entirely around plans for extended-range versions of the PrSM. However, the separate provisions for 'next-generation medium-range ballistic missiles' and 'medium-range ballistic missiles,' might also point to work on, or at least plans for, additional MRBM capabilities beyond the PrSM family. In the wake of the collapse of the INF Treaty in 2019, the Pentagon did announce a test of what it described at the time as a 'conventionally-configured ground-launched ballistic missile,' which still has not been definitively identified. Earlier that year, U.S. officials had also announced plans to test an unspecified ground-based intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). IRBMs have maximum ranges between 1,864 and 3,418 miles (3,000 to 5,500 kilometers). NEW: USAF releases video of first US test of a post-INF prototype conventionally configured ground-launched ballistic missile. (Launched today from Vandenberg AFB.) — Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) December 12, 2019 The Army has previously disclosed that the hypersonic missile under development for its Dark Eagle weapon system, also known as the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), has MRBM-like range. This is a common missile that the U.S. Navy also plans to fire from its Zumwalt class stealth destroyers and Block V Virginia class submarines. The Navy portion of the joint program is known as Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS). At the same time, while the Dark Eagle/IRCPS missile has a ballistic missile-like external appearance, the U.S. military does not refer to it as one. It also functions in a completely different way by releasing an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, as you can read more about here. The newly proposed defense spending package includes separate provisions to increase funding explicitly for hypersonic strike capabilities, as well. For reference, hypersonic speed is typically defined as anything above Mach 5. A purpose-built MRBM rather than one derived from an SRBM would offer the potential for increased overall performance and greater survivability, including through increased payload capacity that could allow for the addition of new decoys and other countermeasures against anti-missile interceptors. It could be easier to scale up that design even further, as well. At the same time, a new missile designed from the ground up as an MRBM would likely require a new, larger launcher, which could impose limitations on its deployability. The Army has previously expressed interest in shrinking down its Typhon missile system with its track-trailer-based launchers for this reason. Dark Eagle is also fired from tractor-trailer-based launchers. The goal so far is for extended-range PrSMs to be launchable for the same wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) that can fire the baseline version now. Regardless, any kind of MRBM capability, especially one with the added ability to strike moving ships, would give the Army an entirely new way to prosecute targets on land and at sea hundreds of miles away. Ballistic missiles also travel at very high speeds, with larger types reaching hypersonic velocities in the terminal phase of flight, making them well-suited to targeting time-sensitive threats and presenting additional challenges for defenders. High terminal speed provided an inherent ability to burrow deeper into hardened targets, as well. Army MBRMs could be particularly relevant in a future high-end fight against China in the Pacific, where options for forward-deploying land-based long-range missiles could be limited, in general, for political and geographical reasons. The service has already prompted the ire of the Chinese government with the deployment of a Typhon system in the Philippines. From where it is positioned now, Typhon, which can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 multi-purpose missiles, can reach areas in the southeastern part of mainland China. PrSM, Typhon, and Dark Eagle reflect a larger push to expand U.S. ground-based missile capabilities with a particular eye toward the Pacific that also extends to the Marine Corps. The Marines just recently sent one of their Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS), capable of firing Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) that can attack targets at sea and on land to a Philippine island in the middle of the highly strategic Luzon Strait as part of this year's iteration of the multi-national Balikatan exercise. The Marines are also fielding Long Range Fires (LRF) launchers that use the same underlying uncrewed vehicle as NEMSIS, but can each fire a single Tomahawk before needing to be reloaded. The Army is now eyeing the LRF launcher as one possible complement to Typhon. Uncrewed launcher vehicles, which the Army has a broader interest in, present additional benefits when it comes to being able to push further in forward areas while minimizing risk to friendly personnel. For its part, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has amassed a huge force of tactical land-based ballistic missiles ranging from SRBMs to IRBMs, including anti-ship types, as well as a similar array of ground-launched cruise and hypersonic missiles. The current gap between U.S. and Chinese ground-launched missile capabilities has been a key driver behind work to expand the PrSM's range and otherwise build up the Army's long-range missile arsenal. The Army has also previously announced its intention to begin conducting at least rational deployments of new ground-based long-range missile systems to Europe in the coming years. In 2021, the service reactivated the 56th Artillery Command in Germany to support those plans. Last active between 1963 and 1991, the 56th Artillery Command had notably overseen Pershing and Pershing II missile units in Europe during the Cold War. New Army MRBMs in Germany or elsewhere on the continent would send a particular message to Russia. The Russian military just demonstrated a new IRBM called Oreshnik in an attack on Ukraine last year, which sent similar signals to European capitals. MRBMs could also offer the Army a lower-cost and less complicated alternative to hypersonic weapons, which the entire U.S. military has suffered difficulties in developing and fielding. The Army only successfully launched a Dark Eagle missile from one of its trailer-based launchers for the first time last year after two years of failed attempts to do so. In an annual report released earlier this year, the Pentagon's Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation also raised questions about the weapon's lethality. An Army MRBM capability could be of interest to other branches of the U.S. military, including for launch from platforms in other domains. As already noted, the Army and the Navy are cooperating now on Dark Eagle/IRCPS, and there is something of a global trend emerging when it comes to arming surface warships with ballistic missiles. With plans for extended-range versions of the PrSM, the Army is already moving toward expanding its ground-based ballistic missile force into one that could again include MRBMs. Congress is now poised to potentially add hundreds of millions of additional funding to help speed up those efforts, which may also point to new types of missiles on the horizon. Contact the author: joe@
