Overview
- Australia conducted the first live-fire of the Precision Strike Missile from a HIMARS launcher at Mount Bundey on July 27, marking the missile’s first operational use by a force outside the United States.
- The test occurred two years ahead of schedule after both HIMARS launchers and PrSM munitions arrived ahead of planned delivery dates.
- During Exercise Talisman Sabre, US and Australian troops airlifted a HIMARS system and support vehicle to Christmas Island for simulated long-range strikes to showcase mobile, survivable fires.
- A Memorandum of Understanding commits Australia and the US to co-develop and produce PrSM with planned upgrades extending its range beyond 1,000 kilometers and options for domestic manufacturing.
- These advances bolster deterrence by expanding integrated, land-based long-range strike capabilities in response to rising Chinese military activity in the Indo-Pacific.