The US military will deploy its Typhon midrange missile launcher and Himars rocket system to southwestern Japan next month for joint exercises with the Self-Defence Forces, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in a move apparently aimed at deterring China.
The systems will be deployed to the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s Kanoya Airbase in Kagoshima prefecture during the Valiant Shield and Orient Shield joint exercises between June and September, the sources said.
The Typhon launcher is capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of about 1,600km (994 miles), as well as SM-6 interceptor missiles with a range exceeding 300km.
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The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can carry up to six rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, with a range of about 300km.
After the joint exercises, the Typhon and Himars systems will move to a US military base in Japan for storage, the sources said. No live-fire drills are planned, according to the Japanese defence ministry.
The Typhon system was deployed in Japan for the first time last September during large-scale bilateral exercises at the US Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi prefecture, western Japan, drawing criticism from China and Russia.
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