The U.S. Army fielded the Typhoon medium-range missile system for the first time Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, at Marine Corps Base Iwakuni, Japan, as part of the annual bilateral Resolute Dragon exercise, the U.S. Defense Department said. The demonstration came as efforts to curb China's growing military activity in the Indo-Pacific region are underway.

The Resolute Dragon exercise, which began last week and runs through Sept. 25, has drawn more than 19 U.S. and Japanese troops. The focus is on maritime and coastal defense, with maneuvers taking place across Japan. The Typhoon system, which can fire Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles, was delivered to Iwakuni last month. It can strike targets as far away as China’s east coast.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the US military does not plan to launch Typhoon missiles or other advanced missile systems during the exercises. The deployment of the system in Japan is temporary and limited to the exercises. Typhoon was previously deployed to the Philippines in 2024, drawing sharp criticism from China and Russia.