US Typhon missile systems to be stored at Okinawa base after Japan drills

Typhon missile systems deployed at Japan’s Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima Prefecture during military exercises from June through September will be transferred to the US Air Force’s Kadena Air Base in Okinawa after the drills conclude, according to the Okinawa Defence Bureau, a regional branch of Japan’s Ministry of Defence.

The systems are expected to be transported by C-17 military transport aircraft by mid-October and stored at Kadena Air Base, the bureau said.

The US side has told Tokyo that the move would not constitute a permanent deployment of the systems in Japan.

“The storage of this equipment at Kadena Air Base does not constitute a permanent deployment in Japan,” the Defence Bureau said in a statement.

The Typhon system was deployed at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base as part of the US-Japan joint exercise “Orient Shield.”

China and Russia have previously criticised the exercise and the deployment of the Typhon system, which is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometres.

The deployment at Kanoya has drawn particular attention because Tomahawk missiles launched from the location would place Beijing within range.

By Sabina Mammadli