ATACMS

ATACMS stands for Army Tactical Missile System. It is a supersonic tactical short range ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Lockheed Martin. The ATACMS is a surface-to-surface missile system capable of striking targets well beyond the range of existing Army cannons, rockets, and other missiles, with a maximum range of up to 300 kilometers (approximately 190 miles). I stress the importance of the short range category because it matters. The Iskander is the Russian allegory and they’ve used it extensively, including at random civilian residential targets. So when we talk about ‘Long Range’ weapons firing into Russia that is very much incorrect. Longer range than GMLRS/HIMARS standard rounds certainly, but really not ‘long ranged’ by the definitions accepted.

Russia of course will frame the ‘long range’ aspect of these missiles as being relevant and suggesting greater threat to suit its own ends.

Another key aspect of ATACMS is, unlike Iskander, it has no nuclear option.

As a ballistic missile its launch can be detected and its flight path is predictable once it enters terminal phase, making it vulnerable to S-400 systems with the right missiles and radar. Several have been verified as shot down over Crimea.

Accepted missile categories clearly put the ATACMS in the short range category SRBM.

Missiles are categorized based on their range, with each category having a specific range bracket. These are the main missile range categories:
• Close Range Ballistic Missile (CRBM): 50-300 km
• Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM): 300-1,000 km.
• Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM): 1,000-3,000 km.
• Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM): 3,000-5,500 km.
• Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM): Over 5,500 km

These range definitions were originally established in the Strategy Arms Limitation Treaty SALT-1, around 1972, during negotiations.

PRINCIPLE TYPES OF ATACMS

These missiles have been in service for as long as 25 years, and initially those supplied to Ukraine were the oldest, shorter ranged missiles with expiring solid fuel and high explosives. It was literally more sensible and cheaper to give them to Ukraine to use than dismantle and scrap them in the next few years.

The Americans are not going to hand over everything they have, they have a real need for tactical ballistic missiles in the event of war in the Pacific, and the replacement is already under way, known as the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). Developed by Lockheed Martin, the PrSM is designed to enhance long-range precision strike capabilities and is set to replace the aging ATACMS arsenal.

PrSM offers several advancements, including all-weather performance, the ability to carry a cluster munition payload, and increased range and effectiveness compared to ATACMS. It can be launched from both the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), with each launch pod capable of accommodating two PrSMs, thereby doubling the volume of fire compared to one ATACMS munition. PrSM entered initial service in December 2023, but full replacement will take years.

PrSM fires from a HIMARS launcher.

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This article was written by The Analyst for TheMilitaryAnalyst.com