US to deploy new mid-range missile system in Asia-Pacific by end of year, top general says
- Reports suggest the system will be the state-of-the-art Typhon, capable of firing high-speed anti-shipping projectiles or Tomahawk cruise missiles
- Analysts say its deployment is aimed at countering threats from North Korea and China, likely as part of a testing and training process
Deploying the system to the Asia-Pacific is likely to be part of the testing and training process, an analyst told This Week in Asia. The first prototypes of the Typhon were delivered to the US Army in November 2022.
“There is limited data available about Typhon and I expect this is part of the ongoing development process, to get it in-theatre to see how it performs,” said Garren Mulloy, an international-relations professor at Japan’s Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues.
“New systems generally perform well on test ranges in deserts in the US, where they are not affected by the maritime climate, the high humidity of the Asia-Pacific region,” he pointed out. “The US army is going to want to see how it performs in more testing conditions and to start training the units that will operate it.”
Initial reports that the US was preparing to station its new mid-range capability launcher in the region first emerged in November last year, when General Charles Flynn, the US Army Pacific’s commanding general, said at the Halifax International Security Forum that two Typhon batteries had been completed.
“In 2024, we intend to deploy that system in the region,” he said.