The United States Army has plans to deploy a medium-range missile system into the Indo-Pacific region to possibly deter China, based on a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo with General Charles A. Flynn on April 3rd.
“I’m not going to discuss what system, and I’m not going to say where and when,” Flynn said, regarding further details. Flynn added, “I’m just saying that there will be a long-range precision fire capability that will come to the region.”
The missile system is speculated to be the Typhon system, capable of launching the Tomahawk cruise missile and the SM6 interceptor missile.
If the Army does send a missile system to mainland Japan, it will mark the first time since 1987 following the U.S.-Soviet Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The agreement expired in 2019.
A senior official of the Japanese Defense Ministry claimed it would “close the gap” regarding Chinese missile capabilities within the region.
