America’s New Missile Spitting System to Be Deployed in the Asia Pacific Region

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The US will reportedly station its state-of-the-art Typhon missile system capable of firing both SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles in the Asia Pacific region by the end of 2024, aiming to tackle threats emerging from China.

The US military reportedly received the first prototypes from Lockheed Martin in 2022. And performed well in desert-based tests. However, these tests were not indicative of the maritime climate and the high humidity of the Asia-Pacific region. Military issues specialist Garren Mulloy remarked that the US is probably planning to test its new missile system to see “how it performs in more testing conditions and to start training the units that will operate it.”

According to Interesting Engineering, the Typhon system (also known as the Mid-Range Capability) is designed to fire missiles around the range gap between Precision Strike Missiles and Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. Consisting of up to four autonomous mobile launchers, a Typhon unit comes with reload trailers and a support vehicle, and its launchers are designed to fire either Tomahawk cruise missile (a long-range, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile capable of traveling up to 2,776 km) or Standard Missile 6 (the US Navy’s latest intercept missile, claimed to have an operational range of over 240 km and an active radar-homing guidance system to autonomously track and find its target).

This will be the first time since the Cold War that the US will deploy launchers for its medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, and China’s Foreign Ministry has firmly opposed the plans, stating: “We strongly oppose the US deploying medium-range ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific and strengthening forward deployment at China’s doorstep to seek unilateral military advantage. We urge the US to earnestly respect other countries’ security concerns and stop undermining peace and stability in the region.”