HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. 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 told Defense News in an exclusive interview at Redstone Arsenal amid the Association of the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 traveled 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-kilometer range. The complete system has a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers.
Defense News first reported the Army’s plan to pursue the midrange missile in September 2020. The Army fielded the capability in less than three years.
While the first Typhon battery belongs to the 1st Multidomain Task Force in the Pacific, the second battery is for the 3rd MDTF.
The Army is building these formations to be dedicated to specific theaters and designed to address specific military needs in those regions. There will be five MDTFs in total and three will be dedicated to the Pacific. The 2nd MDTF is in Europe and the 5th, which has yet to be formed, will be stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and will be designed for rapid deployment where it is needed.
The first two batteries were fielded to JBLM and the Army is now getting ready to take receipt of the third battery from its producers, according to Lozano. That battery will go to Europe’s 2nd MDTF.
The service obligated funds last year to build the fourth battery, he noted.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
