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Asia
US Unveils New Intermediate-range Missile Deployment in Japan
What Happened
A new land-based Typhon missile system was unveiled as part of the annual US-Japan Resolute Dragon exercises that wrapped up last week.
Why It Matters
- Bolstering Indo-Pacific Deterrence. The highly mobile Typhon system, developed by Lockheed Martin, would significantly boost the US forward-based military footprint along the first island chain. It can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles (1,500 km range), putting targets along the Chinese and Russian coast in play. It can also launch SM-6 missiles (320 km) able to hit air (fixed wing aircraft, drones, ballistic and cruise missiles) and sea targets.
- Strategic Signaling to China. Typhon is a platform that would have been illegal under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. However, the Trump administration pulled out of the treaty in 2019, correctly pointing to violations from the Russian side and the explosive growth of China’s own, unrestrained missile programs. A permanent Typhon forward deployment in Japan would be a gamechanger, threatening the coastal missile batteries, staging grounds, and surface vessels needed for a Chinese blockade or invasion of Taiwan. Importantly, Typhon could buy valuable time for other US military assets to be shifted to the Asia-Pacific, as the most tactically daunting Taiwan contingencies typically involve an element of surprise. Beijing has already voiced its opposition to the recent Japan deployment, calling for a prompt withdrawal of the system.
- Leveraging Pacific Allies. It remains to be seen whether Typhon will be a permanent fixture in a rapidly evolving Indo-Pacific security architecture, but if so, it continues a recent trend of operationalizing US allies toward a potential conflict with China. This is evident in South Korea, where Seoul is being asked to get on board or risk US troops being rotated out to other Pacific bases. It’s evident in the Philippines, where basing agreements have been expanded and shored up and, incidentally, the Typhon also made an appearance in recent military exercises. And it’s evident in Japan, where years of constitutional and doctrinal change have increasingly shifted the SDF’s operational focus away from the Japanese mainland.
