US confirms future deployment of Medium-Range Missiles in Asia-Pacific

General Charles Flynn, the commanding general of the U.S. Army in the Pacific, during an interaction with The Asahi Shimbun and other media organizations at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on April 3, announced the U.S. Army’s plans to deploy a new medium-range missile launcher in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of this year.

This deployment could act as a deterrent against China, according to gathered information. Although this deployment announcement had already been made in December 2023, Charles Flynn confirmed it, stating, however, that no details would be given regarding the deployed system or its location.

If the U.S. Army deploys a surface-launched medium-range missile, it would be the first time since the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was concluded between Washington and Moscow in 1987. While Flynn did not disclose the missile launching system’s name, it is presumed to be the ground-based Typhon system currently under development by the U.S. Army.

The Typhon system is capable of launching the Tomahawk cruise missile with a range of more than 1,600 kilometers and the new Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptor missile with a range of between 500 and 2,700 kilometers. Additionally, these missiles will be complemented by Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), expected to enter service this year. The PrSM, launched from the HIMARS system, can hit targets over 499 km away, significantly surpassing the SM-6’s 370 km range.

While Japan is among the potential candidate sites, the system will likely be based in Guam and temporarily transferred to Japan for training purposes, according to a U.S. government source. In the event of conflicts, it could be deployed to more advanced positions within the American territory of the region. A crisis in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea would require missiles capable of reaching targets at sea or on the Chinese mainland. However, some allied countries like Japan and the Philippines express hesitance to become immediate targets of the Chinese military by hosting new U.S. capabilities.

The INF Treaty prohibited the United States and Russia from possessing surface-launched medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. After the treaty expired in 2019, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps began developing new medium-range missiles on a large scale. Meanwhile, China has continued to expand its arsenal of medium and long-range missiles, now reportedly possessing up to 1,000 missiles with a range of several hundred kilometers.

A senior Defense Ministry official indicated that a new U.S. missile launching system based in the Asia-Pacific region would bridge the missile capabilities gap with China and enhance deterrence. However, this move could trigger an arms race in missile development and deployment.