16 Sep 2025 – The U.S. Army has deployed the Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system to Japan for the first time. Unveiled at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni during the opening of Resolute Dragon 25, the system is operated by the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force and coincides with large-scale exercises simulating the defense of Kyushu, Okinawa, and remote islands. Typhon can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 interceptors; from Iwakuni, Tomahawks cover the East China Sea and parts of the Chinese coastline. Washington frames the deployment as realistic joint training to strengthen deterrence, while Beijing and Moscow have objected publicly.
The Typhon MRC is a modular, mobile ground launcher with four launchers, a Battery Operations Center, and support vehicles. Each launcher carries four canisterized missiles, towed by M983A4 heavy Oshkosh trucks. The system is air-transportable via C-17, enabling rapid redeployment to austere forward sites.
Tomahawk missiles provide long-range precision strike capability, while SM-6 interceptors offer shorter-range, high-speed engagement options. The Battery Operations Center integrates the system into joint networks for coordinated targeting. Reload trailers and support vehicles allow sustained operations in contested areas.
Typhon has been tested in Northern Luzon, Philippines, in 2024 and during Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in 2025, where SM-6 successfully engaged maritime targets from land. Its deployment in Japan signals that land-based, mobile long-range fires are now central to allied Indo-Pacific planning, placing Tokyo at the forefront of the growing regional missile competition with China.
