The United States Army has unveiled its Typhon mid-range missile system in Japan for the first time during the ongoing Resolute Dragon 2025 exercise, a move that signals Washington’s intent to strengthen deterrence against China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

The deployment took place at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southwestern Japan, marking a new phase in joint U.S.-Japan military cooperation.

Typhon, a land-based, ground-launched weapon platform, integrates the ability to fire both the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) and the Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile, providing strike coverage deep into China’s eastern seaboard. The system’s range enables it to hold critical targets within reach, thereby complicating the Chinese military’s strategic calculus in the region.

The missile battery was delivered to Japan last month, echoing Washington’s earlier forward deployment of Typhon to the Philippines in 2024. Both deployments sparked sharp criticism from Beijing and Moscow, which view the system’s presence as escalatory and destabilising. For the U.S. and its allies, however, Typhon fits into a strategy of diversifying and dispersing long-range precision fires along the so-called first island chain.

The Resolute Dragon exercise—running until September 25—features over 19,000 U.S. and Japanese personnel, with operations spanning littoral defence, maritime interdiction, and integrated fires. While the Typhon system is being showcased, U.S. officials confirmed it will not be fired during the drills, underscoring its presence as a symbolic deterrent and demonstration capability rather than an active combat deployment.

Japan has accelerated its military modernisation program in recent years, investing heavily in long-range strike capabilities, missile defence, and interoperability with U.S. forces. Tokyo emphasises this build-up as a defensive necessity against the trilateral threats posed by China, North Korea, and Russia. The unveiling of Typhon on its soil reinforces Japan’s vision of a credible strike-back option against adversary missile and naval forces.

U.S. commanders emphasised Typhon’s operational flexibility, with Colonel Wade Germann of the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force highlighting that the system’s ability to employ multiple munitions creates “dilemmas” for adversaries. This reflects the U.S. Army’s broader doctrinal shift towards multi-domain operations, integrating ground-based fires with air, naval, space, and cyber components.

Meanwhile, regional tensions remain high. Just days before Typhon’s display, Japan’s Defence Ministry reported that it had tracked the Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian operating in the East China Sea near the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. The carrier’s deployment highlights Beijing’s expanding blue-water naval ambitions, directly intersecting with Japan’s territorial security concerns.

The combined effect of Japan’s military build-up, U.S. missile deployments, and China’s naval expansion creates an increasingly tense strategic environment in East Asia.

While Washington and Tokyo frame Typhon as a deterrent weapon, Beijing likely interprets it as a forward strike capability aimed at undermining its regional freedom of action, raising the risks of further military posturing on both sides.

Based On AP News Report