The U.S. Army’s PAE Fires Demonstrates Autonomy and One-to-Many Control with LRPM at African Lion 2026

TAN-TAN, Morocco - The U.S. Army’s Launched Effects Lethal program\, Long Range Precision Munition (LRPM)\, managed by the Army’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Fires\, just achieved a significant milestone by having an operational Army user employ five LRPMs in Tan-Tan\, Morocco during African Lion 2026 (AL26).

In early May 2026 the LRPM program supported the “deep strike” portion of the AL26 exercise. The U.S. Army fired two LRPMs for a simultaneous strike on 2 May and three LRPMs for a simultaneous strike on 4 May. These engagements, managed by a U.S. Army operational user, demonstrated one-to-many control in-flight and mission execution autonomy. Following the exercise, the user commented that, “the LRPM provided accurate and reliable performance while maintaining a streamlined operator setup. The ability to integrate advanced long range strike capabilities without adding excessive equipment, cables, or sustainment requirements is seen as a major benefit to the end user. The system’s use of familiar platforms and existing infrastructure improved overall usability and operational efficiency.”

The LRPM is a tube-launched, semi-autonomous (optionally human-on-the-loop), collaborative munition capable of coordinating multiple, simultaneous strikes against one or more targets. It consists of an Altius 700 air vehicle, and a government designed payload that transitions multiple U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) science and technology initiativesinto a program of record. The LRPM is designed to be launched from the air or the ground and has a range of over 290 kilometers. LRPM gives commanders the ability to strike key targets deep on the battlefield and enables the simultaneous massing of effects on one or more targets with high precision. The LRPM can be networked with other Launched Effects in a “wolfpack,” leveraging multiple payloads to penetrate deep into complex enemy territory, or it can be employed as a standalone munition providing the commander with numerous options. During AL26 LRPM was employed in a LRPM-only wolfpack, demonstrating a self-sufficient “hunter-killer” concept.

The LRPM is a U.S. Army program of record being executed under a Middle Tier of Acquisition Rapid Prototyping (MTA-RP) framework and is on track to begin fielding ahead of schedule by the end of 2027.