New US missile appears to have left wide path of death and destruction in Iranian city, report says

The U.S. military’s new Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, is being promoted as the next generation of long-range precision weapons. But its apparent first use in the Iran war is raising serious questions about whether a weapon designed to scatter tens of thousands of high-speed tungsten pellets should ever be used near civilian populations.

According to an investigation by Airwars, three missiles that struck the southern Iranian city of Lamerd on February 28 killed at least 21 civilians, including seven children. Airwars mapped the locations of the explosions, civilian deaths and physical damage and found that people were killed as far as 50 meters from the detonations, while buildings and vehicles were damaged more than 170 meters away. The Associated Press independently reviewed videos, photographs and satellite imagery and found the damage pattern consistent with the PrSM.

Unlike a conventional missile that relies primarily on the force and fragmentation of its warhead, the PrSM explodes above its target and sends tens of thousands of dense tungsten pellets outward at extremely high speed. Those pellets can travel considerable distances and are capable of penetrating vehicles and light armor. That makes the weapon potentially devastating against concentrations of enemy troops and equipment, but also extremely dangerous when used around homes, schools or other populated areas.

The U.S. military has acknowledged using PrSM missiles for the first time during the Iran war, but Central Command denies striking Lamerd. U.S. officials have suggested that one of the missiles seen there may have been an Iranian weapon. However, several weapons experts who reviewed the available evidence told AP that the missile and damage patterns appear consistent with the American PrSM and not with known Iranian or Israeli weapons. Israel also says it did not conduct strikes that far south in Iran that day.

What remains unclear is what the intended military target in Lamerd actually was. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard facility is nearby, but satellite imagery reportedly showed no damage to that compound. Investigators also found no evidence that military personnel or military infrastructure were hit in the three strikes.

The larger issue is how this new weapon will be used going forward. The Pentagon has since signed a contract worth more than $4 billion to dramatically increase PrSM production, while Britain and Australia are also investing in the system. Military experts generally agree that the missile gives the United States an important new battlefield capability, but several warn that its wide lethal footprint makes it a weapon that should be kept away from densely populated areas whenever possible.

The lesson from Lamerd is that calling a weapon “precision” does not necessarily mean its effects are confined to a precise point. A missile may accurately hit the coordinates it was given while still sending lethal fragments or pellets far beyond the intended target.