The Army's Top 3 Strategic Priorities for Long-Range Precision Fires

In November of 2017, the U.S. Army released Directive 2017-33 which established the creation of the Army Futures Command Task Force and outlined six top modernization priorities. At the top of the list? Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF). Dubbed “the king of battle,” the LRPF family of technologies is expected to replace the Army Tactical Missile System by 2023 and, according to the U.S. Army will be used to “attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets using missile-delivered indirect precision fires. LRPF provides field artillery units with long-range and deep-strike capability while supporting brigade, division, corps, Army, theater, Joint and Coalition forces and Marine Corps air-to-ground task forces in full, limited or expeditionary operations. LRPF will provide the warfighter with an all-weather, 24/7, precision surface-to-surface deep-strike capability.” The major goals of this program include:

• Develop long-range precision fires that ultimately can exceed 10,000 nautical miles
• Increasing the accuracy and range of Precision Strike Munition to 499 kilometers
• Increasing the rate of fire from one to two missiles per pod
• Improved energetics, increased efficiency and lower cost per missile
• The creation of smart, fast interconnected weapons
• Lower cost per missile

In 2020 the Army wants to spend $1.3 billion improving its howitzers and rocket launchers and developing new, longer-range munitions. However, though LRPF remains a top military modernization priority, the program has undergone a number of changes over the past few years in response to shifting geopolitics and prerogatives. In this article, we explore the top priorities, recent developments and the future of the LRPF program.