LONDON — The UK Ministry of Defence has announced plans to invest £190 million in the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) programme as part of its 2026 Defence Investment Plan, providing the British Army with a new short-range ballistic missile capability and significantly expanding its long-range precision strike capacity.
The investment will see the UK join the Precision Strike Missile programme alongside the United States and Australia. Developed by Lockheed Martin, the PrSM is intended to strengthen the British Army's ability to conduct precision strikes at greater distances and forms part of a broader effort to modernise the Army's long-range firepower.
The missile procurement is included in the Defence Investment Plan's weapons and munitions programme, alongside other projects designed to increase stockpiles and provide the Armed Forces with a balanced mix of advanced and lower-cost strike capabilities.
The 2026 Defence Investment Plan outlines £298 billion in defence funding over the next four years to implement the 2025 Strategic Defence Review. The plan is backed by an additional £15 billion in spending over the period and is intended to improve the Armed Forces' warfighting readiness while supporting the UK's long-term defence modernisation goals.
PrSM to Expand British Army's Strike Range
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Precision Strike Missile investment is expected to triple the British Army's ground-based strike range compared with existing capabilities.
The PrSM is a next-generation surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. It is designed to replace older missile systems and will provide the British Army with a modern long-range precision strike capability as part of future land operations.
The investment is included within an £11.1 billion allocation for munitions and weapons over the next four years. The Ministry of Defence said the funding will replenish stockpiles while creating a "high-low" mix of capabilities, combining advanced weapons with lower-cost systems to engage a wide range of targets more efficiently.
Wider Investment in Land Warfare
The Defence Investment Plan outlines a broader transformation of the British Army's land capabilities.
Between 2030 and 2035, the Ministry of Defence plans to invest at least £36 billion in new land-domain capabilities. The funding will support long-range precision fires, autonomous systems, distributed surveillance, digital connectivity and networked military operations.
The plan states that future land forces will expand long-range sense-and-fires systems by integrating rockets, missiles and drones to improve the Army's ability to conduct operations in the deep battlespace.
Other major strike programmes included in the investment plan are:
- £1.4 billion for the Stratus missile programme.
- £770 million for the Deep Precision Strike programme in partnership with Germany.
- Funding for low-cost cruise missiles and one-way effectors, including the DART 250 drone, which is designed to strike infrastructure at significantly greater distances than current UK land-based rocket systems.
Project ASGARD and Digital Targeting
The Precision Strike Missile is also expected to become part of the Army's evolving digital targeting architecture through Project ASGARD, the British Army's digital targeting initiative.
The programme is designed to combine surveillance systems, sensors, artificial intelligence, communications networks and precision weapons to reduce the time needed to identify, decide upon and engage targets.
According to the Ministry of Defence, Project ASGARD aims to shorten the targeting process from hours to minutes by improving the speed at which battlefield information is shared and acted upon.
Earlier this year, a prototype of ASGARD's Dismounted Data System (DDS) was tested during NATO Exercise Hedgehog in Estonia. The trial enabled tactical units to share targeting information and coordinate strikes more rapidly through digital networks.
Project ASGARD will eventually become part of the Ministry of Defence's Digital Targeting Web, a programme backed by more than £1 billion and expected to be fully delivered by 2027. The network will integrate cyber, space and conventional surveillance capabilities with joint firepower across the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
International Cooperation
The UK's participation in the Precision Strike Missile programme strengthens defence cooperation with the United States and Australia in long-range ground-launched strike capabilities.
The Ministry of Defence said the investment supports closer interoperability with allied forces while enhancing the British Army's future precision strike capability.
Wider Defence Modernisation
The Defence Investment Plan also includes major investments across other parts of the UK's armed forces.
Key allocations include:
- £64 billion for the UK's nuclear enterprise, including the Dreadnought submarine programme, SSN-AUKUS submarines and a new sovereign nuclear warhead.
- £26 billion for upgrades to naval bases at Faslane, Portsmouth and Devonport.
- £5 billion for drone warfare and autonomous systems across all military services.
The Ministry of Defence is also introducing a new defence offsets framework alongside its "Backing British" procurement strategy. Under the policy, overseas defence purchases are expected to generate industrial benefits for the UK. Officials estimate the four-year investment programme could support nearly 60,000 additional UK jobs by 2030.
Overall, the £190 million investment in the Precision Strike Missile programme represents one element of the UK's wider defence modernisation strategy. Alongside new digital targeting systems, expanded long-range firepower and increased investment in munitions production, the programme is intended to strengthen the British Army's future precision strike capability while improving interoperability with key allies.
Source: defence-industry
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