It has been touted by the manufacturer as the ballistic missile of the future: lethal, long-range, and pinpoint. Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile has the U.S. military investing billions to update its arsenal.
But a close look at what is believed to be its first use in combat — on the first day of the Iran war — highlights the potential peril of deploying this weapon near population centers because it appears to spray pellets over a wide area, according to a review by the conflict monitor Airwars and interviews with weapons experts and former defense officials.
Three missiles that struck the southern city of Lamerd on Feb. 28 killed civilians as far as 50 meters (164 feet) from where they detonated, and caused damage more than three times farther away, Airwars found. The missiles detonated above a sports complex and two residential neighbourhoods, Airwars found. The blasts killed at least 21 civilians, including seven children, according to Iranian officials.
