Why The U.S. Military Needs Long Range Precision Fires (From The National Interest)

Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF) are the U.S. Army’s number one modernization priority. The immediate goal of this program is to restore the Army’s erstwhile advantage in indirect fires, both artillery and rockets/missiles. Even more importantly, the program has a long-term goal of having LRPF play a central role in a new American way of war, based on achieving an information advantage in order to conduct coordinated fires of all types across multiple domains. Reinforcing this ability will pose multiple dilemmas to adversaries. In addition to long-range, more accurate weapons, the U.S. military needs a revolution in long-range surveillance and targeting. The combination of highly lethal fires at all ranges and near-real time precision targeting will change the way the joint force fights in the future. I have written about the importance of LRPF modernization for the joint force here.