Breaking News: U.S. Army deploys Typhon missile system to Japan in first Indo-Pacific deployment.

On September 15, 2025, U.S. Army officials confirmed the first deployment of the Typhon Mid-Range Capability weapon system to Japan, a development that crystallizes a shift in Washington’s deterrence posture in East Asia. Unveiled at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni during the opening phase of Resolute Dragon 25, the system is operated by the Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force and arrived as U.S. and Japanese forces began large-scale drills that simulate defense of Kyushu, Okinawa and remote islands. Typhon can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 interceptors, and from Iwakuni, its Tomahawk reach is sufficient to cover the East China Sea and parts of the Chinese coastline. Washington frames the deployment as realistic joint training that strengthens deterrence; Beijing and Moscow have publicly objected.
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The US Army Typhon Mid-Range Capability system, a mobile ground-based launcher designed to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 interceptors. (Picture source: US DoD)

The Typhon Mid-Range Capability is a modular, trailer-mounted launcher system built to accept a range of missile types. A single MRC battery comprises four launchers, a trailer-based Battery Operations Center, reload trailers, and a suite of support vehicles. Each launcher holds four canisterized cells. Launchers are towed by the M983A4 prime mover, a heavy Oshkosh tactical truck that provides cross-country mobility and road speeds suitable for rapid repositioning. The launcher trailers are designed to travel in a stowed horizontal position and to be raised for firing when in emplacement. The system is sized to be air-transportable by C-17 aircraft, permitting surge movement to austere forward sites across the Pacific.

Missile options define Typhon’s operational flexibility. The Tomahawk gives the system long-range precision strike capability, with a commonly cited variant that ranges between roughly 500 and 1,500 kilometers depending on configuration. Recent public statements and reporting place Tomahawk reach from Iwakuni at about 1,600 kilometers, enough to place a wide arc of coastal and maritime targets at risk. The SM-6, initially developed as an air defense interceptor, is fielded in a surface-to-surface role on Typhon to provide shorter-range, high-speed engagement options; typical SM-6 ranges are estimated in the 240 to 320 kilometer band. Missile dimensions and masses are significant: SM-6 weighs about 1,000 kilograms and Tomahawk roughly 1,300 kilograms, with lengths of approximately 5.9 and 6.1 meters respectively.

Command and control is integral to the MRC concept. The Battery Operations Center links the Typhon battery into joint fire-control networks and tactical data systems, enabling combined targeting and deconfliction with naval and air assets. Reload trailers carry multiple canisters so a battery can sustain operations without immediate external resupply. A Battery Support Vehicle provides logistical and maintenance services on site. These elements were designed so Typhon can operate inside contested anti-access and area-denial environments and to cooperate with allied networks.

Typhon has already been tested in theater. The system was first fielded to Northern Luzon in the Philippines in 2024 and used in Australia during Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 where, in July 2025, a Typhon battery conducted the first live-fire outside the continental United States. During that event, an SM-6 fired from a land launcher struck and sank a maritime target, demonstrating the ability to prosecute anti-ship missions from shore. Germany has also shown interest, submitting a formal Letter of Request for the system in mid-July 2025, a sign that allied demand for land-based mid-range fires is rising.

Tactically, forwarded Typhon batteries change the calculus for both defenders and attackers. From positions in western Japan, Tomahawk flights can reach airfields, logistics hubs, and naval formations that previously required overwater launch platforms. SM-6 gives commanders a harder to intercept option for engaging moving maritime targets or time-sensitive high-value targets ashore. Mobility, canister reload capability and integration into joint C2 mean Typhon is intended to be survivable through movement and linked operations rather than a static, vulnerable emplacement.

The geopolitical consequences are plain. Washington argues that Typhon helps close a missile gap created when the INF Treaty lapsed and China fielded hundreds of mid-range systems. Beijing has vowed to resolutely oppose the deployment, and Moscow labeled it destabilizing. Tokyo, which has purchased Tomahawks and is accelerating its own long-range strike programs, finds itself on the front line of a rapidly intensifying missile competition in the Indo-Pacific. Whether Typhon’s presence in Japan remains temporary or becomes more permanent, its deployment signals that land-based, mobile long-range fires are now central to allied planning in the region.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay is a graduate of a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience in the study of conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces, with a strong focus on multilateral cooperation and geopolitics.