General Atomics Electromagnetics Systems (GA-EMS) unveiled a new concept for an anti-ship submunition capability on the Extended Range GMLRS (ER-GMLRS) rockets and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) used on HIMARS and M270 launchers, mating both systems with the internally funded and developed Long Range Maneuvering Projectile (LRMP) that’s being done as part of an upcoming U.S. Navy contract for the U.S. Marine Corps.
Naval News has covered LRMP extensively in the past year as General Atomics ramps up air cannon and powder gun flight testing. The company is on contract with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army to deliver long range artillery that can hit targets up to 70 miles (120 kilometers) away in GPS-denied environments using onboard high-altitude terrain imaging systems and internally developed inertial guidance systems.
GA-EMS has been branching LRMP concepts out from 155mm artillery for some time, but applying the round to ER-GMLRS and PrSM would be the first known guided submunition pitch for Lockheed Martin’s long range MLRS Family of Munitions. Mike Rucker, Head of GA-EMS Weapons, detailed the company’s efforts in an exclusive interview with Naval News on the show floor of AUSA 2025.
“Submunitions we’re looking at is something like a GMLRS or PrSM-type platform. You can get a GMLRS or even a Zuni rocket and it gets [LRMP] out further. Given [LRMP’s] extended glide ability, you get an extended range.”
Mike Rucker, Head of GA-EMS Weapons
LRMP offers ER-GMLRS a brand-new anti-ship capability with multiple independently targeted gliding submunitions that can fly up to 70 miles (120 kilometers) beyond the 93 mile (150 kilometer) ER-GMLRS range. The lethal payload is said to be equivalent to a 120mm shell and GA-EMS has previously told Naval News that LRMP could also be used as an ISR platform using lessons and technology from the company’s Vintage Racer hypersonic aircraft program.
Three LRMP submunitions can fit inside an ER-GMLRS rocket, offering around 150 miles (250 kilometers) of range for three LRMPs that can fly independently to different targets. While Rucker confirmed efforts to pair LRMP with PrSM, an exact number of LRMP submunitions was not disclosed.
A submunition-loaded PrSM could fall into the Increment 3 variant that has been proposed as an alternative warhead, alternative effects system.
Rucker confirmed the U.S. Marine Corps’ interest in LRMP as a rocket launch version and as a submunition, backing the company’s renderings and test fittings as a potential weapon system in development. The U.S. Army is eyeing the round as a pure range extension without any further developments.
GA-EMS tested multiple LRMP rounds at Yuma Proving Grounds two months ago, validating the flight characteristics and wing deployment, according to Rucker. Work is now being done to validate the multi-mode image match guidance and infrared seeker for initial delivery to the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army that Rucker says will be complete by the end of 2026 with delivery to U.S. Marine Corps units in the Indo-Pacific.
“LRMP is an exciting munition that we’ve been developing on [internal research and development funds]. We’re currently under contract with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy to help with the testing. It’s an exciting, new munition that we expect to be ready for final test and delivery by the end of 2026.”
Mike Rucker, Head of GA-EMS Weapons
In operational use, LRMP uses a bottom-facing terrain imaging sensor as a guidance and acquisition system, allowing operation in GPS-free environments independent from outside communications. Once a target is acquired, the round flies over the target and pitches down into a 90 degree attack profile, acquiring targets with a nose-mounted infrared seeker. The flight profile, at near vertical descent over the target, is only one of many flight profiles options available for the round.
On ER-GMLRS or PrSM, the rounds would fly even farther, using the host platform’s 93 mile (150 kilometer) and 250 mile (500 kilometer) ranges to deploy LRMP farther and faster.
GA-EMS expects the U.S. Navy to provide additional funding to begin exploration of the LRMP submunition concept for the U.S. Marine Corps, which would offer a medium range smart munition for the Corps’ HIMARS batteries that currently lack a potent, reliable anti-ship capability. PrSM Increment 2 will come online in the next few years as Lockheed Martin’s development flight tests continue, but for volume and down-range effects, GA-EMS views LRMP as the future.
“As soon as we get additional funding, which we expect to get, we’re going to start exploring.”
Mike Rucker, Head of GA-EMS Weapons
