GAINING GROUND


I


n the last two years, the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PRSM) program successfully accomplished numerous flight tests, pushing the next-generation munition to the edge of its range and proving its long-range capability. And


while PRSM has been testing its limits in the sky, the Army has been simultaneously conducting critical, on-the-ground system qualification tests and manufacturing-readiness assessments.


Addressing the Army’s top modernization priority, long-range precision fires, PRSM is the Army's new surface-to-surface missile that replaces and improves upon the Army Tactical Missile System’s capabilities. Te new missile will defeat threat air defense, missile launchers, command-and-control centers, assem- bly and staging areas, and high-payoff targets at all possible depths of the multidomain battlefield. By 2023, the Army will deliver the first lot of PRSM missiles to the warfighter.


To replace the legacy munition, the PRSM program requires the Army to design, build and produce this new technology from the ground up. However, before PRSM can be delivered to the Soldier, the manufacturing facilities must undergo scrupulous reviews to ensure missile assembly and production are ready for operation.


In early March, the U.S. Army Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) Project Office and Defense Contract Management Agency conducted the final PRSM enhanced-technology maturation-and-risk-reduction manufacturing-readiness assessment at the Lockheed Martin production facility in Camden, Arkansas. Te manufacturing- readiness assessment defines the current level of manufacturing maturity, identifies any shortfalls and associated costs and risks, and provides a basis for management of manufacturing- maturation planning of the program.


GROUND-LEVEL TEAMWORK Tat March system manufacturing-readiness assessment was a culmination of a yearlong team effort between the STORM Project Office and the prime contractor. Te manufacturing- readiness assessment team reviewed objective evidence in support of a Manufacturing-Readiness Level 7, which identifies the capability to produce the PRSM systems, subsystems and components in a production-representative environment.


To achieve that level, the production facility demonstrated how it will operate, not only when assembling prototypes but also during production of the actual fielded tactical missiles. Te team discussed manufacturing planning early, while ensuring the


46 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2022 TESTING THE LIMITS


The next-generation PRSM launches from the HIMARS during the U.S. Army’s fourth consecutive flight test on May 12, 2021, in a 400-kilometer demonstration at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico. (Photo courtesy of WSMR)


necessary resources will be in place to support future production needs of the program. Some of the manufacturing-readiness areas included technology and industrial base, design, cost and funding, materials, process capability and controls, quality management, workforce, and facilities and manufacturing management.


“Te event proved to be a critical asset to the ongoing success of PRSM production, providing an early opportunity to address manufacturing risks as well as planning appropriate mitiga- tion steps,” said Linda Fechner of the assessment. Fechner is the STORM PRSM production lead engineer who spearheaded the manufacturing-readiness assessment efforts. “Te team was able to define the current level of manufacturing maturity, identify roadblocks and provide a basis for maturing the overall manu- facturing of the PRSM system.”


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