BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — US-made Typhon midrange capability (MRC) missile system is a weapons system that the Philippines would want to procure.
That is according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr., who said that this plan was part of the AFP’s progress thrust as the country would be shifting its focus on external defense.
Brawner said, in a press conference that followed the meeting of the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB), “Part of that advancement is trying to get in the latest weapons systems that are out there, enough for us to develop the intended effect. So one of the modern weapons are, of course, the missile systems.”
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“We are wanting to get more of the latest weapons systems, that includes the mid-range capability,” he added.
A unit of the ground-based missile system, capable of firing Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles, arrived in the country on April 11 for the ongoing Philippine-US military exercises.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would resume the production of intermediate-and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles, citing the US deployment of the MRC missile system to the Philippines.
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Currently, the Philippines’ arsenal has medium-range supersonic cruise missiles called BrahMos, which could be launched from submarines, ships, planes, or land platforms. It arrived in the country in April.
With a range of 290 to 400 kilometers, BrahMos could travel at Mach 2.8, or about three times faster than the speed of sound.
Previously, Brawner proposed the creation of a permanent unit within the Philippine Army that would be in charge of the supersonic cruise missile system, its maintenance and usage.