[10] Within this program, Ling-Temco-Vought developed a solid-fuel analog of the MGM-52 Lance missile, designated T-22,[11] with a new RLG-based inertial guidance package, which demonstrated unprecedented accuracy.

[10] In 1978, DARPA started the Assault Breaker technology demonstration program to attack armor formations with many mobile hard targets at standoff ranges.

In March 1980 the U.S. Army decided to replace the Lance with a similar nuclear, but also chemical or biological, tipped solid-fuel missile with simplified usability dubbed the Corps Support Weapon System (CSWS).

Concerned that two branches were developing too many similar missiles with different warheads, the Department of Defense merged the program with DARPA's Assault Breaker in 1981, and with United States Air Force (USAF)'s Conventional Standoff Weapon (CSW) in 1982–1983.

In this project, it was planned to use the technologies of Assault Breaker to develop a surface-to-surface weapon system, which should be used for the so-called "deep interdiction" (some sort of preventive measure, the prototype of which is air interdiction when airforce only have been used) – by which is meant the destruction or causing significant damage by the joint activity of air and ground forces to the specific distant from the front line targets, such as buildings, bridges, oil refineries and other industry, that way slowing down logistics and/or providing and/or supporting and, therefore, advancing enemy troops with the aim of tactical, even albeit short-term, superiority of allied troops, which can significantly affect the military theater in a positive way,[14][15][16][17][18] – using conventional or nuclear weapons on the battlefield.

[19][20] As of personalities the program initially was led by Colonel James B. Lincoln, who was a full-time and continuous student at numerous military schools (from 1960, when he graduated from the United States Military Academy, until 1980, when he graduated from Industrial College of the Armed Forces),[21] in 1977 on the basis of Defense Systems Management College graduated with a thesis of "Managing Total Acquisition Time: A New Priority for Major Weapon Systems", where, in particular, he focused on the significant decrease in the pace of procurement of the main missile complexes compared to 1971[22] and in 1980, heading the TRADOC program at Fort Sill in the direction of MLRS, spoke rather defiantly about field army systems, where, in particular, he compared the struggle of the US Army for limited resources during the development of new systems with bow wave, which prevents the ship from accelerating, and military projects are either canceled or refinanced by the state, with waves diverging from it,[23] and was noticed by DARCOM.

[26] In FY 1984 Congress prohibited the development of a nuclear warhead for JTACMS, despite the Army claiming it could place US forces at a disadvantage if it became necessary to make the system nuclear-capable.

[31][32][needs update] In January 2015, Lockheed Martin received a contract to develop and test new hardware for Block I ATACMS missiles to eliminate the risk of unexploded ordnance by 2016.

[4][5] The first modernized Tactical Missile System (TACMS) was delivered in September 2016 with updated guidance electronics and added capability to defeat area targets using a unitary warhead, without leaving behind unexploded ordnance.

[36] A plan announced in October 2016 to add an existing seeker to enable the ATACMS to strike moving targets on land and at sea[37] was terminated in December 2020 to pursue other missile efforts.

An ammunition storage facility was destroyed in the Bryansk region of Russia, with videos of explosions and fires on the ground at the site emerging.

[88] The ATACMS uses multiple inertial navigation units knitted together with software, so it is reportedly able to maintain accuracy when GPS is lost due to electronic warfare better than other GPS-guided weapons.