On April 15, the U.S. Army Pacific released a statement on its official website, saying that the U.S. Army's First Multidomain Task Force had deployed the "Typhon" medium-range missile system in the northern Philippines on April 11, which was a historic first. According to the US military, the "Typhon" medium-range missile system landed at a Philippine airport after flying more than 8,000 miles on a US Air Force C-17 "Globemaster" transport aircraft, and also arrived with Company C of the 5th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment of the US Army's 1st Multidomain Task Force, which will participate in the US-Philippine "Shield 2024" joint military exercise in Luzon.
Although the US military's "Typhon" missile system came to the Philippines this time to participate in a joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines, and it is likely that it will be withdrawn to the US mainland after the military exercise is over, considering the combat performance of this missile and the location of the exercise, we have reason to believe that the US military intends to test the deployment of the long-term deployment of the "Typhon" missile system in the Philippines, and this has sounded the alarm for the mainland.
Many people will be unfamiliar with the Typhon missile system, which is the first medium-range missile system developed by the United States after withdrawing from the INF Treaty in 2019, and the U.S. Army has regained its medium-range missile strike capability. However, the "Typhon" missile system is not a redesigned weapon system, but a land-based missile launch system based on the US Navy's Mk-41 vertical launch system. It is precisely because of this that the US Army saves the time of re-developing a vehicle-mounted medium-range missile launcher, after all, it is much less difficult to put the Mk-41 launch box in a container than to redevelop a set of missile launch vehicles, which is the main reason why the US Army can quickly acquire a medium-range strike capability. However, compared with the mainland's Dongfeng-16 and Dongfeng-17 missiles, the "Typhon" missile system has much worse maneuverability.
According to public information, a "Typhon" missile launch system consists of four missile launchers, one command and control vehicle, and one mobile support vehicle, of which each missile launcher carries four Mk-41 launch boxes, which means that each "Typhon" missile system can carry 16 missiles. At present, the missiles that can be launched by the "Typhon" missile system can basically be used with the US Navy, including the Standard-6 anti-aircraft missile, the "Tomahawk" cruise missile, and the LRSAM long-range stealth anti-ship missile, and will also be equipped with long-range hypersonic weapons (LRHW) in the future.
It should be pointed out that the Standard-6 missile carried by the "Typhon" missile system has undergone a special modification to have a certain anti-ship combat and land attack capability, and the range has been extended to 540 kilometers. In addition, the "Typhon" missile system carries the "Tomahawk" cruise missile with a range of 1,700 kilometers, and in the future, it can also carry a hypersonic missile with a range of 2,700 kilometers, so that the US Army has a long-range precision strike capability.
In this US-Philippine "Shield 2024" military exercise, the main reason why the US military deployed the "Typhon" missile system to Luzon, the northernmost island of the Philippines, is to deter China militarily. First of all, Luzon is less than 300 kilometers away from China's Scarborough Shoal in a straight line, and the Typhon missile system equipped with the Standard-6 anti-ship missile and the LRSAM long-range stealth anti-ship missile can pose a serious threat to PLA ships operating in the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
Secondly, the "Typhon" missile system deployed on Luzon can block the Bass Strait and pose a threat to ships in the Taiwan Strait. We all know that the Bass Strait is an important passage for the PLA Navy to enter the Pacific Ocean, and once the strait is blocked by the US military, then the PLA Navy will be firmly sealed within the first island chain by the US military. Considering that the Taiwan Strait is only 500 kilometers from Luzon, the "Typhon" missile can strike PLA ships in the Taiwan Strait and thwart China's unified actions.
Third, the "Typhon" missiles deployed on Luzon Island can launch "Tomahawk" cruise missiles at the mainland's southeastern provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang, attacking targets in the mainland's interior, and it can be said that the US military staged the "Asian version of the Cuban Missile Crisis" at the mainland's doorstep.
If the follow-up "Typhon" missile system is equipped with hypersonic missiles, then the "Typhon" missile system deployed to the Philippines will cover most of China, which is enough to show the degree of threat this missile system poses to the mainland. Therefore, the mainland will certainly take targeted countermeasures against the US military's deployment of medium-range missile systems to the Philippines.
Since the United States wants to light a fire in China's "backyard", it is also necessary for us to create some changes in the "backyard" of the United States. According to a report on the website of the Ministry of National Defense on April 15, Rojo, director of the Political Department of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, held a meeting with senior officials of the People's Liberation Army in Beijing, during which the Chinese side made it clear that it will continue to firmly support Cuba in defending its sovereignty, independence and national dignity, continue to provide assistance to Cuba within its capacity, and support the building and development of the Cuban army. The support for the building and development of the Cuban army mentioned here may include the provision of some advanced military equipment to Cuba and the training of military personnel in order to enhance the combat capability of the Cuban army.
If Cuba's military strength, which is in the "backyard" of the United States, can develop rapidly, it will undoubtedly be a "fire in the backyard" of the United States. While we will not deploy intermediate-range missile systems in Cuba, the rise of Cuba's military power could put the United States on pins and needles. It can be said that the mainland has taken strong countermeasures against the entry of the US military's "Typhon" missile system into the Philippines, and since the United States does not want to make the South China Sea peaceful, then don't blame us for a tooth for a tooth!