U.S. Marines and sailors observe a U.S. Army Typhon missile system during training at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 12, 2025. (Perla Alfaro/U.S. Army)
The U.S. Army will deploy its mid-range missile system, Typhon, to Japan’s southernmost main island for the first time during two major exercises planned for this month and September.
The 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force will send an unspecified number of Typhons to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base on Kyushu during Valiant Shield, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in an unsigned email May 22.
The land-based, ground-launched systems will deploy alongside an unspecified number of the Fort Shafter, Hawaii-based task force’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
Valiant Shield, a biennial exercise, begins Monday and ends July 1 in Japan, Hawaii, Guam and surrounding waters, according to a May 22 news release from Japan’s Joint Staff.
This is the second time Japan and other countries will join the training, according to the release.
The task force’s Typhons and HIMARS will also be at the base during Orient Shield, annual U.S.-Japan training slated for September, according to the ministry’s email.
The United States will not fire live missiles from either system during the exercises, the ministry added.
Some Japanese government officials can speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
U.S. Army Pacific did not respond to email and phone inquiries about the training on Thursday and Tuesday. U.S. Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Katie Koenig wrote in an email Friday that she had no information to provide on Valiant Shield.
The Typhon system includes launchers, missiles and a battery operations center and can fire both SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. It’s designed to bridge the gap between the Army’s precision-strike and long-range hypersonic missiles.
“As the security environment surrounding Japan becomes increasingly severe and complex, it is important to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance in order to deter armed attacks against our country,” the ministry said.
The systems’ capabilities allow both countries to “respond to warships and landing forces attempting to invade Japan in a multi-layered manner,” it added.
The Army first fired Typhon in the Western Pacific on July 15, striking an at-sea target from Bradshaw Training Area in Australia during Talisman Sabre drills.
At the Balikatan exercise in April and May, the Army used the system to strike a target nearly 400 miles away on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon for the first time.
Valiant Shield, launched by the United States in 2006, expanded into multinational training in 2024.
Japan will use the exercise to “enhance its tactical capabilities, strengthen coordination with allies and like-minded countries, and further reinforce deterrence and response capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to the Joint Staff release.