The U.S. Army’s arrival in Japan with its new Typhon missile system marks a pivotal moment in the shifting military landscape of the Indo-Pacific. For the first time, the United States has deployed a land-based launcher in Japan capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptors—both with ranges that can reach deep into China, Russia, and beyond. While the Typhon’s presence is, for now, officially limited to a training exercise, the implications for regional security and military strategy are hard to overstate.
The Typhon system, also known as the Strategic Mid-Range Fires program, is a truck-mounted battery that can launch proven Navy munitions from land. According to Task & Purpose, each Typhon battery features four trailer-mounted launchers, each with four vertical launch cells, giving a single battery the ability to fire up to 16 missiles. The system also includes a mobile command post and generator vehicles, ensuring its sensors and communications can operate even in remote environments.
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, a staple of U.S. naval power for decades, offers a reach of up to 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) and carries a formidable 1,000-pound warhead. Most notably, recent upgrades allow these missiles to strike moving maritime targets, not just fixed infrastructure like airfields or radar installations. Meanwhile, the SM-6, originally designed for air defense, has been adapted for anti-ship and land-attack roles. It can fly at speeds exceeding Mach 3 and has a range of roughly 320 kilometers (200 miles), making it a versatile tool in the U.S. arsenal.
“Employing multiple systems and different types of munitions, it is able to create dilemmas for the enemy,” said Colonel Wade Germann, commander of the U.S. task force operating Typhon, during the system’s unveiling at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan, as reported by Reuters. “The speed with which it can be deployed enables us to forward position it when required expeditiously.” Germann emphasized that Typhon would leave Japan after the exercise but declined to specify its next destination or whether it would return.
The Typhon’s deployment is part of Exercise Resolute Dragon 2025, a two-week drill involving 20,000 Japanese and U.S. troops, warships, and missile batteries. The exercise, which began on September 11 and runs through September 25, aims to rehearse bilateral crisis response and contingency operations. According to Newsweek, the Iwakuni-based Typhon system can strike not only China’s northern, eastern, and southeastern coastlines but also half of Taiwan, the entire Korean Peninsula, and parts of Russia’s Far East using Tomahawk missiles. The SM-6, while shorter in range, extends American reach across the waters surrounding Japan’s main islands.
This deployment is not Typhon’s first overseas appearance. The system was previously sent to the Philippines in April 2024, a move that drew immediate criticism from both Beijing and Moscow. It also participated in a live-fire exercise in Australia in July 2025, where a Standard Missile-6 successfully sank a maritime target, demonstrating the system’s anti-ship capabilities. However, its presence in Japan—much closer to China—has prompted even stronger reactions. China’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of “undermining its security interests and escalating the risk of an arms race,” and on Tuesday, spokesperson Lin Jian urged the U.S. and Japan to “correct the wrongful move” and withdraw Typhon, warning that its deployment increases the risk of military confrontation and poses a substantial threat to regional strategic security.
“In disregard of China’s grave concern, the U.S. and Japan went ahead with the deployment of the Typhon medium-range missile system in Japan under the pretext of joint military exercise. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the move,” Lin Jian stated at a press conference, as quoted by Newsweek. Russia, for its part, has echoed China’s condemnation, calling the deployment destabilizing.
Japan’s role in this evolving security architecture is significant. As part of the so-called “First Island Chain”—a string of territories and bases stretching from Japan through the Philippines that hems in Chinese sea and air power—Japan’s willingness to host advanced U.S. missile systems signals a new phase in its alliance with Washington. According to Reuters, Japan is not only buying Tomahawk missiles for its warships but is also developing its own intermediate-range missiles as part of its largest military expansion since World War II. Neighboring Taiwan, too, is ramping up its defense spending, planning a 20% increase in 2026 to more than 3% of GDP.
Other American systems are also making their presence felt in Japan. During the same exercise, the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) was deployed to Ishigaki Island in the East China Sea, near Taiwan. NMESIS, which consists of two Naval Strike Missile launchers mounted on a remotely operated vehicle, can strike targets 115 miles away and enhances the ability to protect critical waterways and project power from shore, according to the U.S. III Marine Expeditionary Force.
The deployment of Typhon and systems like NMESIS has not gone unnoticed by analysts and former military officials. Grant Newsham, a research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies and a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, told Reuters, “In the past, these deployments would have been nixed by DC and Tokyo bureaucrats out of fear of the Chinese reaction. You can see that’s less of an issue than it was, say five years ago.”
For decades, the U.S. Army’s long-range strike capabilities were limited by the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. Since the U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2019, citing Russian violations, the Army has moved quickly to fill the gap. Typhon is one of three major missile programs in the Army’s Long Range Precision Fires portfolio, alongside the shorter-range Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and the still-in-development Dark Eagle hypersonic system. Typhon’s use of existing Navy missiles makes it easier to field and maintain than entirely new platforms, a fact that military planners believe will help the U.S. and its allies keep pace with China’s rapidly expanding missile arsenal.
U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General Roger Turner, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, captured the stakes in a press release on September 4: “By training alongside the [Japanese] Western Army in realistic, combat-focused scenarios, we sharpen the war-fighting edge of our forces and present a clear, credible deterrent to any adversary who would threaten peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.”
As the two-week exercise unfolds, all eyes in the region—and far beyond—are watching to see how the deployment of Typhon and other advanced missile systems will reshape the balance of power. The message from Washington and Tokyo is clear: the days of uncontested missile dominance in the Western Pacific are over, and the tools for deterrence are now rolling ashore.