On February 28, 2026, a missile strike in the Iranian city of Lamerd killed at least 21 civilians, including seven children. A joint investigation by Airwars and The Associated Press indicates the weapon used was likely a Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile.
The 50-meter lethal radius of the Precision Strike Missile
Airwars conducted a detailed mapping of the damage in Lamerd, finding that the missiles killed civilians up to 50 meters from the detonation point. As reported by Airwars, physical damage extended more than three times that distance, pockmarking buildings and vehicles across a wide area.
The blast pattern involved the dispersal of tens of thousands of dense metal pellets at high speeds. This specific mechanism is consistent with the documented capabilities of the Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a system the U.S. military has spent billions to integrate into its modernized arsenal.
CENTCOM's conflicting claims and the Hoveyzeh missile theory
The U.S.. central Command (CENTCOM) provided contradictory information regarding the operation. According to the report by The Associated Press, CENTCOM posted an image on March 1—the day after the strike—showing a Precision Strike Missile being launched. However, by March 4, a military spokesperson denied that American forces launched any weapons into Lamerd, suggesting insstead that the damage was caused by an Iranian Hoveyzeh cruise missile.
Weapons experts have disputed the U.S. Central Command's assessment . These experts noted that security camera footage from Lamerd shows a missile that does not match the rounded profile of the Iranian Hoveyzeh model. Furthermore, Israel informed The Associated Press that it did not conduct strikes as far south as Lamerd during the first day of the conflict.
An undamaged IRGC compound and the mystery of the Lamerd target
The intended target of the February 28 strike remains unknown. While an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound is located near the strike zone, satellite imagery reviewed by investigators showed no damage at the IRGC site.
Instead, the missiles detonated above two residential neighborhoods and a sports complex. This discrepancy raises critical questions about whether the strike was a result of intelligence failure or a calculated risk that ignored the proximity of civilians.
Michael Meier's warning on deploying PrSMs in populated zones
The use of the Precision Strike Missile in urban environments is a point of severe contention among military legal experts. Michael Meier, a former U.S. Army adviser on the laws of war, stated that the wide dispersal pattern of the PrSM makes it difficult to justify its use in densely populated settings.
This incident highlights a broader tension in the U.S. military's modernization efforts. While Lockheed Martin markets the PrSM as the "ballistic missile of the future" characterized by precision, the Lamerd evidence suggests a weapon with a wide-area effect that is fundamentally incompatible with civilian-heavy environments. Notably, Lockheed Martin has not responded to requests for comment nor publicly stated the missile's official impact radius.
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