US fires missile during Balikatan

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May 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The United States fired its Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) missile system in the country for the first time, launching a Tomahawk cruise missile from Tacloban shortly after midnight yesterday.

Members of the US Army Pacific’s 1st multi-domain task force and the Philippine Army’s Artillery Regiment test-fired the Tomahawk cruise missile from the Typhon launcher during the Balikatan military exercises.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines confirmed that it was the first time that the US Typhon missile system was used since it arrived in the country in April 2024.

Col. Dennis Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippine side of the Balikatan, said the missile was fired at 12:12 a.m. and hit the target at Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija at around 1 a.m.

Hernandez said only one round was fired, noting the firing was a “precision-guided operation.”

The Typhon launcher’s presence in the country has irked China, which urged the Philippines to immediately pull it out.

In June, a US defense official said that the US would deploy Typhon missile launchers to the Philippines if Manila agreed.

The official, authorized to speak on the deployment of the mid-range missile system, said the US is ready to deploy the MRC missile system that the Philippines planned to acquire as part of a plan to secure its maritime interests.

The US Army first deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern part of the Philippines in 2024, during an annual joint military exercise.