Washington plans to deploy Typhon missile systems in Japan , which were previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). This was stated by US Secretary of the Army (the highest civilian position in the Pentagon) Christina Wormuth, writes The Japan Times, reports UNN.
Details
First and foremost, we are talking about the involvement of Typhon missile systems in joint military exercises with the country's Self-Defense Forces.
As the American official explained, during a recent visit to Japan, she discussed with Defense Minister Minoru Kihara the prospects of involving new American Multi Domain Task Forces (MDTF) in exercises on Japanese territory.
The MDTF includes, among other things, the US Typhon medium-range ground-launched missile system (otherwise known as the Mid-Range Capability - MRC).
We would be very interested to see a multidimensional task force operating from Japan. We have made it clear to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces that we are interested in this. The deployment will go according to the pace of the Japanese government
Journalists of The Japan Times emphasized that the deployment of weapons similar to the Typhon was previously banned under the Russian-American Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty).
According to the document, all land-based missiles - both conventional and nuclear - with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers were banned. But in 2019, the administration of President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty.
The arrival of Typhon missile systems in Japan will be the second deployment of the systems in Asia. The first took place this spring in the Philippines, where they were deployed in the US-Philippine exercise Salaknib 24.
США та Японія створять ракету проти гіперзвукової зброї03.05.24, 06:51
Addendum
At the same time, the newspaper writes, Japan denies repeated media reports in recent years that emphasize the possibility of the United States deploying such weapons in the alliance country.
Analysts warn that deploying them in the country will actually make the deployment sites a target of China's own powerful missile arsenal. After all, the latest Pentagon report shows that Beijing, according to US estimates, has 1,850 missiles with a range of 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers.
However, supporters of this idea are confident that the deployment of missiles will help deter Beijing, especially around Japan's southwestern islands near Taiwan, where China is increasing its military activities.
For reference
The Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) is a land-based system that is intended to occupy a niche in terms of range between the Army Precision Strike Missile (ATACMS/PrSM) and the advanced long-range hypersonic system.
"The Typhoon is called a key component of the U.S. Army's new Multi-Defense Task Force (MDTF), which is designed to combat a wide range of threats.
"The Typhoons allow the use of both Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles.
Recall
In 2026, Washington will begin deploying long-range weapons in Germany. This includes hypersonic weapons.