The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile was launched by the U.S. Army shortly after midnight on Tuesday from the Eastern Province of Leyte. Philippine military officials said the missile travelled approximately 630 kilometres, or about 390 miles, before reaching its target roughly one hour later.
Fort Magsaysay is one of the Philippine military’s largest training bases and is frequently used for joint exercises with U.S. forces. The base is also among nine sites covered under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Washington and Manila.
According to the report, U.S. forces have increasingly used the surrounding terrain for tropical warfare training and for positioning equipment linked to the Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force. The MDTF was established to counter area-denial systems deployed by adversaries including China and Russia.
The unit operates several long-range strike systems, including the M142 High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, the Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Mid-Range Capability system known as Typhon. The Typhon launcher uses four Mark 41 vertical launch system cells in a containerised configuration and is intended to fire SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles at extended ranges.
In 2024, the U.S. Army’s 1st MDTF deployed the Mid-Range Capability system to northern Luzon during a combined military exercise. The deployment represented one of the most significant missile deployments to the Western Pacific at the time and prompted criticism from Beijing.
Philippine officials, however, publicly supported the deployment as part of broader deterrence efforts. The latest Balikatan exercises have continued to feature expanded missile-related activities despite the redeployment of some potential assets linked to developments involving Iran.
The report said the U.S. Army has also positioned HIMARS launchers at strategic locations across the Philippines. These deployments included air and naval insertions to Balabac and Batanes islands, which are located along key chokepoints within the first island chain.
Japan also conducted missile-related activities during the exercise period. Japanese forces fired two Type 88 anti-ship cruise missiles in the northern Philippines on Wednesday, sinking a vessel off Luzon shortly after the Tomahawk launch.
Source: USNI News.
