Huntsville (Alabama): The US Army plans to conduct a live shot with its Typhon missile system in Australia this summer during the Talisman Sabre exercise, marking the first firing of the long-range strike weapon on foreign soil, according to Maj Gen Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space.
The Army will deploy its second battery and will fire an SM-6 missile from the system’s launcher, he said amid the Association of the US Army’s Global Force Symposium.
The other Typhon battery, also referred to as the Mid-Range Capability missile system, was transported to Luzon, Philippines, in the spring of 2024 as part of the Salaknib exercise, marking the first time the new capability, deemed vital to the US Army’s Indo-Pacific strategy, was deployed. The mobile, ship-sinking system has remained in the country since then, much to the disapproval of China.
The Typhon launcher travelled more than 8,000 miles from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, aboard a C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft on a 15-hour flight.
The Army has not conducted any live-fire exercises with the system in the Philippines yet and does not plan to do so during this year’s Salaknib or Balikatan, which will kick off later this spring.
The Lockheed Martin-built system, consisting of a vertical launch system that uses the Navy’s Raytheon-built Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles, can strike targets in the 500- to 2,000-kilometre range. The complete system has a battery operations centre, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers.
