The Philippine Army (PA) and United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) will hold a military exercise next month which will include the Filipino troops’ familiarization with the Typhon missile launcher.
The “Combined Arms Training Exercise (CATEX) Katihan,” scheduled on the second or third week of February, will include the second iteration of the Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) with the Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) between the PA’s Army Artillery Regiment and USARPAC’s 1st Retired Domain Task Force.
Col. Louie Dema-ala, PA spokesperson, said US troops who have specialized knowledge on the use of the Typhon missile will share their expertise with their Filipino counterparts.
“That is more on the orientation of the MRC capability. This is a continuation of what we've learned in the first iteration. New units will be involved in the training and a continuation of the previous platoon that was trained last year,” he said on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
The training will last for one week and will be held in preparation for another exercise between the PA and USARPAC, the “Salaknib”.
“It [SMEE] will be conducted in the area of the Salaknib area. Right now, we are planning that Salaklip will involve the whole country because it will be focused more on the command and control (C2),” Dema-ala said, saying units from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will be participating.
“Our projection is that the whole missile battery of the Army Artillery Regiment will be trained to this MRC,” he added.
During last year’s Salaknib exercise in April, the US Army deployed the Typhon missile system to Northern Luzon for the first time.
The Typhon MRC is a land-based, ground-launched system that enhances multi-domain fires, according to USARPAC.
It can fire various missiles such as the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), which is designed for striking air or sea targets over 200 kilometers away, and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), which is capable of hitting long-distance targets. The full configuration of the MRC comprises a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers, and modified trailers.
AFP Chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr. earlier expressed interest on acquiring the Typhon missile launcher.
However, the deployment of the Typhon to the Philippines was frowned upon by China as it urged the latter to pull out the missile system. Beijing also criticized the AFP’s plan to procure the MRC.
Earlier this month, the Typhon MRC was reportedly transferred to a new location. When asked where the missile launcher was deployed, Dema-ala refused to give details.
But what’s important, according to him, is that the Filipino soldiers will further sharpen their skills through the use of the MRC, if ever the AFP procures the capability in the future.
The missile launcher is expected to be a game-changer for the Army as it will now involve them in the country’s external defense operation, particularly in the missions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), where reports of China’s harassment against Philippine vessels, troops, and fishermen are aplenty.
“Hangga’t nandito ‘yung MRC, we maximize ‘yung kanyang utilization to train our personnel sa mga ganitong new technology (Until the MRC is here, we are maximizing its utilization to train our personnel on this kind of new technology),” Dema-ala said.