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 (PrSM) has the US 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 centres.
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 defence 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.
Damage radius mapped
Airwars is the first to map the damage radius of the strikes in Lamerd and estimate the lethal range of the weapon used.
The PrSM is designed to explode midair and propel tens of thousands of dense metal pellets at high speed in all directions.
