Promoted by its manufacturer as the next generation of ballistic rocketry, Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile has drawn billions in U.S. military funding to modernize American weapons. However, a closer look at what’s thought to be its first use in combat, on the first day of the Iran war, underscores the grave risks of firing the long-range munition near populated areas, where it appears to disperse a cloud of deadly shrapnel across broad distances. A review conducted by the conflict monitoring organization Airwars, alongside insights from defense analysts and former military personnel, indicates that three missiles hitting the southern city of Lamerd on Feb. 28 killed civilians as far as 164 feet (50 meters) from the points of airburst detonation.
Structural damage extended more than three times beyond that distance. Detonating over an athletic center and two residential neighborhoods, the strikes claimed at least 21 people’s lives, among them seven children, according to figures provided by Iranian officials. Airwars is the first body to map the casualty and damage perimeter of the Lamerd strikes while determining the weapon's effective lethal range.
Engineered to explode in midair, the PrSM propels tens of thousands of dense metallic pellets at extreme velocity in every direction. Visual evidence, including photographs, recordings, and orbital imagery analyzed by Airwars and cross-referenced by The , reveals extensive surface pitting across structures, roads, and automobiles, reflecting a blast footprint that experts identify as signature to the PrSM's capabilities. While American defense authorities have acknowledged launching PrSMs within Iran, they have explicitly rejected involvement in the Lamerd strikes.
The intended target in Lamerd remains unknown. Although an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility stands in the vicinity, satellite imagery showed no signs of impact or structural harm there. Six armament specialists, including two former military officers, informed AP that they assess PrSMs were responsible for the Lamerd strikes, deeming involvement by Iranian or Israeli munitions improbable.
All advised against deploying the system anywhere near noncombatant populations. "You would be hard-pressed to find a reason to use the PrSM in a densely populated area," said Michael Meier, a former U.S. Army adviser on the laws of war.
Airwars, an independent watchdog based in London, was established over a decade ago to document noncombatant casualties resulting from American air operations in Syria and Iraq, subsequently expanding its scope to Gaza, Ukraine, and other conflict regions. The group synthesizes open-source material, such as media reports, social posts, imagery, and security camera footage, using geolocation technology to evaluate evidence. To reconstruct the Lamerd strikes, Airwars mapped projected airburst coordinates alongside reported civilian fatalities and visible blast degradation.
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