Latest news with #Salaknib
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
US Army plans Australia test of missile launcher that has irked China
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army plans to conduct a live shot with its Typhon missile system in Australia this summer during the Talisman Sabre exercise, marking the first firing of the long-range strike weapon on foreign soil, according to Maj. Gen. Frank Lozano, program executive officer for missiles and space. The Army will deploy its second battery and will fire an SM-6 missile from the system's launcher, he told Defense News in an exclusive interview at Redstone Arsenal amid the Association of the U.S. Army's Global Force Symposium. The other Typhon battery, also referred to as the Mid-Range Capability missile system, was transported to Luzon, Philippines, in the spring of 2024 as part of the Salaknib exercise, marking the first time the new capability, deemed vital to the U.S. Army's Indo-Pacific strategy, was deployed. The mobile, ship-sinking system has remained in the country since then, much to the disapproval of China. The Typhon launcher traveled more than 8,000 miles from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, aboard a C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft on a 15-hour flight. The Army has not conducted any live-fire exercises with the system in the Philippines yet and does not plan to do so during this year's Salaknib or Balikatan, which will kick off later this spring. The Lockheed Martin-built system, consisting of a vertical launch system that uses the Navy's Raytheon-built Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles, can strike targets in the 500- to 2,000-kilometer range. The complete system has a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers. Defense News first reported the Army's plan to pursue the midrange missile in September 2020. The Army fielded the capability in less than three years. While the first Typhon battery belongs to the 1st Multidomain Task Force in the Pacific, the second battery is for the 3rd MDTF. The Army is building these formations to be dedicated to specific theaters and designed to address specific military needs in those regions. There will be five MDTFs in total and three will be dedicated to the Pacific. The 2nd MDTF is in Europe and the 5th, which has yet to be formed, will be stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and will be designed for rapid deployment where it is needed. The first two batteries were fielded to JBLM and the Army is now getting ready to take receipt of the third battery from its producers, according to Lozano. That battery will go to Europe's 2nd MDTF. The service obligated funds last year to build the fourth battery, he noted.
Observer
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Observer
US, Philippines launch drills with 5,000 soldiers
MANILA: Soldiers from the Philippine and the US armies began three weeks of joint military exercises on Monday, with drills focused on territorial defence and commanding large-scale deployments of forces, the Philippine Army said. Around 5,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and the US Army Pacific will take part in warfighting and exchange of expertise in the first phase of this year's Exercise Salaknib. A second phase is scheduled for later this year. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to travel to Manila this week to meet Philippine leaders and forces, the Pentagon announced last week. The exercises will focus on enhancing combined operations between their army, large-scale manoeuvres, live-fire exercises and territorial defence, the Philippine Army said. The Salaknib exercises began in 2016 and are annual engagements between the two treaty allies, part of the broader Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) training drills. Security engagements between the two nations have soared under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted closer to the United States. Hegseth is the first Cabinet official to visit Manila since US President Donald Trump took office in January. — Reuters
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US and Philippines launch joint army drills with 5,000 soldiers
MANILA (Reuters) - Soldiers from the Philippine and the U.S. armies began three weeks of joint military exercises on Monday, with drills focused on territorial defence and commanding large-scale deployments of forces, the Philippine Army said. Around 5,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and the U.S. Army Pacific will take part in warfighting and exchange of expertise in the first phase of this year's Exercise Salaknib. A second phase is scheduled for later this year. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to travel to Manila this week to meet Philippine leaders and forces, the Pentagon announced last week. The exercises will focus on enhancing combined operations between their army, large-scale manoeuvres, live-fire exercises and territorial defence, the Philippine Army said in a statement. The Salaknib exercises began in 2016 and are annual engagements between the two treaty allies, part of the broader Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) training drills. Security engagements between the two nations have soared under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted closer to the United States. Marcos has prioritised upholding the Philippines' sovereign rights in the South China Sea and has locked horns repeatedly with China over its actions in the disputed waterway, including the constant presence of Beijing's coast guard near disputed features in Manila's maritime zone. Hegseth is the first Cabinet official to visit Manila since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Lloyd Austin, who was Defense Secretary under President Joe Biden, had said America's alliance with the Philippines would transcend changes in administrations. The Philippines secured an exemption from the 90-day funding freeze that Trump ordered in January so it could receive $336 million for the modernisation of its security forces.
Reuters
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US and Philippines launch joint army drills with 5,000 soldiers
MANILA, March 24 (Reuters) - Soldiers from the Philippine and the U.S. armies began three weeks of joint military exercises on Monday, with drills focused on territorial defence and commanding large-scale deployments of forces, the Philippine Army said. Around 5,000 soldiers from the Philippine Army and the U.S. Army Pacific will take part in warfighting and exchange of expertise in the first phase of this year's Exercise Salaknib. A second phase is scheduled for later this year. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to travel to Manila this week to meet Philippine leaders and forces, the Pentagon announced last week. The exercises will focus on enhancing combined operations between their army, large-scale manoeuvres, live-fire exercises and territorial defence, the Philippine Army said in a statement. The Salaknib exercises began in 2016 and are annual engagements between the two treaty allies, part of the broader Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) training drills. Security engagements between the two nations have soared under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted closer to the United States. Marcos has prioritised upholding the Philippines' sovereign rights in the South China Sea and has locked horns repeatedly with China over its actions in the disputed waterway, including the constant presence of Beijing's coast guard near disputed features in Manila's maritime zone. Hegseth is the first Cabinet official to visit Manila since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Lloyd Austin, who was Defense Secretary under President Joe Biden, had said America's alliance with the Philippines would transcend changes in administrations. The Philippines secured an exemption from the 90-day funding freeze that Trump ordered in January so it could receive $336 million for the modernisation of its security forces.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Army will not conduct Typhon live-fire at exercises in Philippines
The U.S. Army will not conduct a live-fire operation of its Mid-Range Capability missile system, known as Typhon, during exercises in the Philippines this spring, according to the service commander in charge of U.S. Army Pacific operations. 'We are not planning to conduct live-fire in the Philippines right now,' Maj. Gen. Jeffrey VanAntwerp, deputy chief of staff of operations, plans and training at U.S. Army Pacific, told reporters in a media briefing Thursday. The news comes almost a year after the Army's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force transported a Typhon launcher to Luzon, Philippines, as part of that year's Salaknib exercise — marking the first time the new capability, deemed vital to the U.S. Army's strategy in the Indo-Pacific, had been deployed. The missile system traveled more than 8,000 miles from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, aboard a C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft on a 15-hour flight. Typhon has since remained in the country, angering China, which has criticized the move and warned it could destabilize the region. Officials have yet to fire the missile system in the Philippines. It is unclear how long Typhon will remain in the Philippines or if it will go elsewhere in the Pacific theater. In response to a question on where the system might be headed next, VanAntwerp said, 'We're making plans, but I have to defer to [the Office of the Secretary of Defense].' The Lockheed Martin-built system, consisting of a vertical launch system that uses the Navy's Raytheon-built Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles, can strike targets in the 500- to 2,000-kilometer range. The complete system has a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers and modified trailers. The missile system is capable of sinking ships, hitting land targets at long ranges and is 'mobile and survivable,' VanAntwerp said. As part of this year's Salaknib and Balikatan military drills between the U.S. and the Philippines, the Philippine Navy plans to fire C-Star, Spike Non-Line-of-Sight and Mistral missiles. The country's military will not fire its Brahmos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile, which has a higher price point per shot. Typhon's presence in the Philippines has prompted other countries in the Pacific region to inquire about the possibility of hosting the weapon system, a U.S. defense official recently told Defense News. The Army knew Typhon would have a strong deterrent effect, but didn't expect it to have an effect as great as has been observed over the past year, the official said, particularly in rattling China. The biggest challenge now is transporting the capability around the Pacific — if the desire is to rotate it in and out of countries — due to the high costs of moving equipment, the official said. Meanwhile, the Army's 3rd MDTF, headquartered in Hawaii, is slated to soon receive its Typhon battery, which the service has certified at JBLM. 'We're constantly looking for opportunities to exercise capability like that forward in theater,' Col. Michael Rose, the 3rd MDTF commander, said recently. 'We learn enormous lessons by bringing capability into the theater.' Rose said the Army anticipates the Typhon supporting Operation Pathways, a series of year-round exercises designed to strengthen cooperation with regional allies and deter China. Noah Robertson and Leilani Chavez contributed to this report.
