The US military on Monday showcased its Typhon intermediate-range missile system in Japan for the first time.
The US military on Monday showcased its Typhon intermediate-range missile system in Japan for the first time, underscoring a growing willingness by Washington and Tokyo to field weapons China has condemned as destabilizing.
The land-based system, capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit nearly 1,000 miles, far enough to reach China’s eastern seaboard or parts of Russia, is participating in the annual Resolute Dragon exercise. The two-week drill involves about 20,000 Japanese and US troops, warships, and missile batteries across Japan.1,000-mile-range US missile system“Employing multiple systems and different types of munitions can create dilemmas for the enemy,” Col. Wade Germann, commander of the task force operating the missile system, told reporters at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in front of the launcher. “The speed with which it can be deployed enables us to forward position it when required expeditiously.”Germann said the system will leave Japan after Resolute Dragon but declined to say where it would be deployed next or whether it would return.The system’s arrival in western Japan follows its deployment to the Philippines in April 2024, which drew sharp criticism from Beijing and Moscow, accusing the United States of fueling an arms race. Germann declined to confirm whether the unit now in Japan was the same one used in the Philippines. The launcher was still in the Philippines when Reuters checked with the military in late August.US forces also conducted live-fire drills in Australia this year. Its presence in Japan, closer to China, could prompt a stronger reaction. Also kills jets, hypersonics The US describes Iwakuni as part of the “First Island Chain,” a string of territories and bases from Japan through the Philippines that hems in Chinese sea and air power and complicates its military planning.Typhon, also known as the Army’s Mid-Range Capability system, can also fire SM-6 missiles designed to strike ships or aircraft at ranges beyond 200 kilometers . Washington is seeking to mass such anti-ship weapons across Asia as it tries to counter China’s growing missile arsenal.Unlike next-generation missile projects, Typhon draws on existing weapons that are easier to mass produce, a feature military planners say will help the US and its allies catch up with China, which plans to increase its defense budget by 7.2% this year.Japan is also stepping up defense spending. It is buying Tomahawk missiles for its warships and developing its intermediate-range systems as part of its biggest military expansion since World War II. Neighboring Taiwan plans to boost military spending by a fifth in 2026 to more than three percent of its gross domestic product.Before its deployment in Japan, the US Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force deployed the Typhon Weapons System at Northern Luzon in the Philippines as part of Exercise ‘Salaknib 24′.The MRC, made up of four launchers, a battery operations centre , a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle BOC support vehicle, and battery reload capability, reached the Philippines aboard the C-17 Globemaster III airframe, the US Army Pacific added.
Cruise Missile Defense &Amp Military Hypersonic Missile Japan Tomahawk Typhon Missile System US
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