AFP on possible arrival of second Typhon: The more the merrier

The armies of the US and the Philippines conduct subject matter expert exchange about the Typhon midrange capability missile last June 27 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. —Photo from the US Army Pacific

MANILA, Philippines — Officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday welcomed the possible deployment of another US-made mid-range capability (MRC) “Typhon” missile system to the Philippines.

The US-based Defense News reported on March 18 that the US Army’s 3rd Multidomain Task Force unit is “standing up its long-range fires battalion over the next year, including readying its Typhon battery for deployment in the Pacific theater.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said this was a “welcome development” for the military, which has been using the Typhon for training and exercises since last year.

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“We can say that the more the merrier. So the more assets that we have, the more also that we are able to train more personnel on our part. So we accept this willingly,” Padilla said at a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Training tool

In the same briefing, AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said, “the more equipment, the better,” adding that “it is a welcome development for us to further train our personnel on such weapon systems.”

For Philippine Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala, the deployment of a second Typhon missile system “will help our personnel train faster.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea, said the military will readily accept “all opportunities to be able to train with modern weapon systems.”

“The defense posture of the Republic of the Philippines is not designed against any other country. It is an action of a sovereign state,” Trinidad said in the same briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.

“In the region, we have been abiding by the rules-based international order. We have been supportive of the rules-based international order. We have been abiding by international law,” he added.

Capabilities

“Other countries, especially the Chinese Communist Party, have not been abiding by international law. They have been disrupting the region,” Trinidad said.

Typhon is a ground-based missile launcher that was brought to the Philippines in April last year for the annual war games between Filipino and American troops.

It can launch Tomahawk missiles, which are believed to have a range of over 1,500 kilometers, as well as SM-6 missiles, which have an operational range of more than 240 km.