Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF)
LRPF was the Army’s number one modernization priority from 2017 and is the priority area that came through the Army_Transformation_Initiative strongest. The ATI capability goal, long-range missiles able to strike moving land and maritime targets by 2027, is essentially an LRPF goal. It is the portfolio where the Army has moved fastest from prototype to fielded battery.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Modernization priority area |
| Legacy owner | Long-Range Precision Fires CFT, Fort Sill, OK |
| Current acquisition home | PAE_Fires via CPE_Offensive_Fires and CPE_Integrated_Fires |
| Current requirements home | Fires Future Capability Directorate, Futures_and_Concepts_Command, Fort Sill |
| ATI goal | Long-range missiles capable of striking moving land and maritime targets by 2027 |
Mission
Restore Army theater-range strike after decades in which the Army ceded deep fires to the Air Force and Navy, and specifically to hold adversary anti-access networks at risk from land. LRPF is the Army’s principal contribution to Multi_Domain_Operations penetration of layered standoff, and it is the reason the Army fields Multi-Domain Task Forces.
Program Areas
| System | Role | Status as of mid-2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) | Surface-to-surface missile fired from HIMARS and M270A2, replacing ATACMS | Increment 1 received Milestone C in July 2025 and was used in combat by USCENTCOM during Operation Epic Fury, confirmed March 4, 2026. Demonstrated at Talisman Sabre. |
| PrSM Increment 2, moving land and maritime target variant | The direct answer to the 2027 ATI goal | First flight test March 12, 2026 from a HIMARS, roughly 350 km, with a multi-mode seeker. In technology maturation. Increment 4, at more than 1,000 km, is in competitive prototyping. |
| Dark Eagle | Ground-launched hypersonic glide body, theater strike, reported 1,725 miles | Fielding of the first battery began December 2025. First overseas deployment June 2026, to Guam for Valiant Shield 26. Second battery not expected before Q2 FY2027 per GAO. |
| Typhon | SM-6 and Tomahawk from a land launcher, filling the range band between PrSM and LRHW | Two batteries fielded. Three more planned for the remaining MDTFs across FY2026 to FY2028, though the FY2026 Europe fielding is in doubt after the May 2026 Germany drawdown decision. First Tomahawk fired in the Philippines May 5, 2026. |
| Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA / XM1299) | Extended-range self-propelled howitzer | Terminated 2024 for failure to meet durability at the required rate of fire. The follow-on self-propelled howitzer competition was paused under ATI. See ATI_Program_Cancellations. |
| Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) | Autonomous or optionally crewed, air-transportable launcher intended to augment or replace existing Army launchers | CAML-H on a 15-ton chassis for Tomahawk or PAC-3 MSE, CAML-M on an FMTV chassis for MLRS-family munitions or IFPC. CRS lists potential replacement of Typhon by CAML as an issue for Congress. First contract awards expected around August 2026. |
Why it matters
This is where the Army’s new-start missile money is. Procurement and RDT&E in this portfolio grew through the ATI period while ground vehicle and aviation lines were cut. The FY2027 request emphasized munitions ramp-up across the board, with senior fires leadership stating an intent to increase production of specialized missiles including PrSM and Dark Eagle.
The bottleneck is production capacity, not requirements. The Army has fielded batteries faster than it can build the rounds to fill them. That makes solid rocket motors, energetics, precision guidance components, seekers, and launcher structures the practical opportunity set. The organic industrial base modernization line in the FY2027 request, roughly $3.1 billion for government-owned munitions and equipment sites, is the visible expression of this.
Moving maritime targets is a targeting problem as much as a missile problem. Striking a ship from land at theater range requires sensing, tracking, and a closed Kill_Chain across services. That pulls Army_Network_Modernization, JADC2, and space-based sensing into the LRPF business case. Vendors selling into fires increasingly sell into the targeting chain rather than the round.
MDTF fielding is the schedule that matters. Typhon and Dark Eagle field to Multi-Domain Task Forces, not to conventional divisions. Following MDTF activation and basing is the most reliable way to anticipate LRPF sustainment, training, and support demand, and it is also where the political friction sits, since these systems are basing-sensitive in the Indo-Pacific and Europe.
See Also
- Army_Modernization_Priorities | Army_Transformation_Initiative | ATI_Program_Cancellations | Cross_Functional_Teams
- PAE_Fires | CPE_Offensive_Fires | CPE_Integrated_Fires | CPE_Ammunition_Energetics | ASAALT
- T2COM | Futures_and_Concepts_Command | Multi_Domain_Task_Force
- Typhon | Dark_Eagle | Precision_Strike_Missile | HIMARS | CAML | TITAN
- Multi_Domain_Effects_Battalion | Long_Range_Fires_Battalion | Sensor_to_Shooter
- Multi_Domain_Operations | Kill_Chain | JADC2 | Air_and_Missile_Defense_Modernization
- Defense_Acquisition_System | JCIDS | PPBE_Process
- Program Elements | Appropriations | Budget Activities