A Philippine soldier stands next to a member of the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division after a Balikatan drill at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, April 30, 2026. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)
The U.S. military has carried out its first live-fire test in the Philippines of a mid-range missile system it deployed to the country last year, Philippine officials said Tuesday.
The system, known as Typhon, launched a Tomahawk land-attack missile early Tuesday from the eastern island of Leyte, striking a target nearly 400 miles away on the main island of Luzon, Col. Dennis Hernandez, a Philippine military spokesman, told local media that day.
The launch took place as part of Balikatan, the annual joint exercise involving the United States, the Philippines and several allied nations. Hernandez said the strike was conducted within a simulated combat scenario in which U.S. and Philippine forces responded to the presence of a mock enemy.
In the exercise, troops based at Fort Magsaysay, north of Manila, called for mid-range fire support against a simulated opposing force positioned in Laur, a town in Nueva Ecija province, Hernandez said.
The U.S. military has not publicly commented on the launch. Officials in the Philippines referred questions to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond to an email after hours in Washington, D.C.
The Typhon’s presence has drawn criticism from China, which has described expanded U.S. military deployments in the region as destabilizing. Beijing maintains its own arsenal of intermediate-range missiles and has objected to U.S. efforts to strengthen its miliary posture near contested areas.
The Philippines sits near several potential flashpoints, including the South China Sea and waters near Taiwan, where the U.S. and its allies have been increasing joint training.
The Typhon launch follows a series of recent exercises involving other missile systems. During drills in Australia last year, U.S. forces used it to fire an SM-6 over hundreds of miles.
In the Philippines, U.S. and allied troops have also carried out coastal defense training using HIMARS — the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System — including live-fire drills near key maritime lanes.
