The U.S. Army’s new ground-based launcher, capable of supporting Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6, appeared for the first time in the Indo-Pacific in a deployment to the Northern Philippines for military drills.

Mid-Range Capability, also known as the Typhon Weapons System, is a Lockheed Martin design that takes the naval Mk.41 vertical launch system and modifies it for land-based operations. These launchers form a core component of the U.S. Army’s new Multi-Domain Task Forces (MDTF), which were created to address the wide range of threats faced by Russia and China. The Typhon battery, composed of four launchers, a command center, and associated logistical vehicles, is assigned to the task force’s Strategic Fires Battalion, further comprised of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Dark Eagle Hypersonic batteries.

In this first-ever deployment, the 1st MDTF stationed out of the continental United States at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington deployed Typhon on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster. Over 8,000 miles and 15 hours later, America’s first ground-based cruise missile launcher since the Cold War rolled onto Philippine soil at an unidentified airfield in Northern Luzon for the bilateral U.S.-Philippine ground forces exercise Salaknib 2024. In recent years, activities in Salaknib have shifted to include higher-end drills, such as coastal defense, amid the Philippine military’s shift from internal security operations to archipelagic coastal defense.

Last summer, then-Philippine Army chief Romeo Brawner announced that the Philippines would acquire HIMARS, another U.S. missile system, to bolster its territorial defense capabilities. These acquisitions and modernization plans come amid increased tensions and a series of spats between Manila and Beijing in their territorial disputes South China Sea, particularly on Chinese activities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

As a result of these incidents, with some including Philippine Navy personnel injured by China Coast Guard water cannons, Manila has stepped up cooperation with the U.S. and other supportive countries via military exercises and exchanges.

Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher from Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Long Range Fires Battalion, 1st Multi-Domain Task Force arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 7, 2024.

“This is a significant step in our partnership with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in the region. We’re grateful to our partners in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and we’re excited to expand our security cooperation as we bring this new capability to Luzon,”

Commander of the 1st MDTF, Brig. Gen. Bernard Harrington

From Northern Luzon, located along the first island chain separating mainland Asia from the open Pacific, supposedly the area to which the system has been deployed for Salaknib 2024 according to a U.S. Army press release, Typhon’s missiles could cover not only the entire Luzon Strait but also reach the Chinese coast and various People’s Liberation Army bases in the South China Sea.

“The MRC deployment aims to enhance Philippine maritime defense capabilities, while bolstering interoperability and readiness within the U.S.-Philippine Alliance,” states the press release.

Questioned as to their role in the largely maritime and air domain of the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Army highlights Typhon as their contribution to providing fires in a combined effort with other military branches, such as the Marine Corps and Navy. Harrington stated that the system delivered “a credible, land-based maritime strike capability” during the activation ceremony of a second Typhon battery earlier in the year.

“So ultimately, we strive to deter the next fight. But if this is unsuccessful, I know that this unit stands ready to complete its mission of providing counter maritime capability in the Pacific,” said Lt. Col. Benjamin Blane, commander of 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, on what these missile batteries bring for deterrence and capabilities to the region during a ceremony in January.

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