Defense Primer: U.S. Precision-Guided Munitions
U.S. Naval Institute Staff
July 4, 2025 11:40 AM
The following is the July 3, 2025, Congressional Research Service report, Defense Primer: U.S. Precision-Guided Munitions.
From the report
Surface-to-Surface Precision Munitions
Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). The MGM-140 ATACMS, an Army program, is a ground-launched missile produced by Lockheed Martin. The Army developed the ATACMS in the 1980s to replace the Lance missile. In 2017, the Army launched a service life extension program to modernize the warhead and seeker on aging ATACMS munitions.
Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). The GMLRS is a guided artillery rocket produced by Lockheed Martin. The Army approved the low-rate initial production of the GMLRS in 2003. In recent years, the Army has acquired standard- and extended-range variants of GMLRS rockets, each with two different types of warheads: a unitary warhead, a 200-pound high explosive warhead, and an alternative warhead (AW) that is designed to “engage area or imprecisely located targets,” according to DOD.
Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The RGM-184 NSM is a low-observable anti-ship cruise missile developed by Kongsberg Defence Systems, a Norwegian defense company, in the early 2000s. In 2018, the Navy awarded a Kongsberg-Raytheon team a contract to provide the NSM for the Navy’s Over-The-Horizon Weapon System (OTH-WS), an armament on the Littoral Combat Ship. The Navy Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), a ground-based anti-ship missile system, also features the NSM. The Air Force is procuring an air-launched version of the NSM, the AGM-184 Joint Strike Missile, for the F-35A fighter.
https://news.usni.org/2025/07/04/defense-primer-u-s-precision-guided-munitions-2
