US Army soldiers trained for long-range strikes in Europe test-fired a Pacific-proven missile system for the first time in California

• US Army troops assigned to a European command fired the new Typhon missile system for the first time in a recent California test.
• The mobile system can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 missiles.
• The Army has already deployed Typhon to the Pacific, where it has drawn China's ire.

Soldiers from the US Army's Multi-Domain Command in Europe have fired the Typhon missile system for the first time, a step toward potentially bringing a new long-range strike capability to the European theater.

The mobile, ground-based Typhon system, which is also known as the Army's Mid-Range Capability, can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles and Standard Missile-6s, giving the service options for striking targets at greater distances.

The weapon has already been deployed in the Indo-Pacific, where its presence has frustrated China. The US and allies have tested the weapon in exercises preparing for a Pacific fight.

On Thursday, Multi-Domain Command - Europe announced its first live-fire of a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from the newly fielded Typhon system. The test occurred at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California last month. It marks the third time Typhon has been fired in the continental US.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, a long-range precision fires unit within Multi-Domain Command - Europe, carried out the testing. This unit operates one of the Army's four Typhon batteries, and troops went through five weeks of training to learn how to operate and maintain the system.

"They're incredibly good at what they do now," Lt. Col. Derek Bartlett, the battalion commander, said in a press release, adding that he's now "very comfortable deploying them forward after these five weeks."

Army leaders said that Typhon would boost US firepower in Europe, adding another layer to the Army's ability to strike targets across multiple domains.

"Typhon gives me more options as an all-domain fires commander to hold critical targets at risk at greater range and creates opportunities for the Joint Force," Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, head of Multi-Domain Command - Europe, said in remarks shared with Business Insider. "This live-fire demonstrates our Soldiers' ability to turn a newly fielded system into a credible combat capability that strengthens deterrence and, if required, helps us win."

Manufactured by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Typhon is intended to fill a gap in the US arsenal. Its development followed the 2019 US withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over concerns about Russian violations. That particular arms control treaty prohibited nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,000 kilometers.

"We get that range for that combatant commander to give them options and capabilities where they really haven't had it before from the land force," Bartlett said in the release.

The Army has already been putting those capabilities to the test in the Pacific.

Typhon was first deployed overseas in April 2024 in the Philippines amid a joint exercise between Manila and Washington. At the time, US Army Pacific called it a "landmark deployment."

In July 2025, during the Talisman Sabre exercise, the US Army fired the Typhon system for the first time west of the international date line in the Pacific, launching a Standard Missile-6 toward a maritime target. The missile successfully struck and sank the target.

Earlier this week, Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, head of the 7th Infantry Division, Multi-Domain Command - Pacific, told audiences at the Association of the United States Army's exhibition in Washington, DC, that Typhon has maintained a forward presence in the region for around 30 consecutive months.

"And really what that allows us to do is not only train and share lessons on that equipment, but it also allows us to learn about how to operate in the environment," Harrington said.

"How do you sustain in the environment? How do you protect those types of systems in the environment? How do you connect sensors to shooters? And to be able to do that persistently forward and persistently with our ally in the Philippines, and our partners, is incredibly important," he added.

Typhon's presence in the Indo-Pacific has repeatedly irritated Beijing. In 2024, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, called the deployment "a move to turn back the wheel of history," adding that "it gravely threatens regional countries' security, incites geopolitical confrontation, and has aroused high vigilance and concerns of countries in the region."

The Chinese military's Rocket Force notably maintains a very substantial missile arsenal that includes medium- and intermediate-range systems that put US assets and bases, as well as allies and partners, at risk.