US Army Europe Tests Typhon Long-Range Missile in First Live-Fire

Soldiers from the US Army's Multi-Domain Command in Europe have fired the Typhon missile system for the first time, a step toward bringing a new long-range strike capability to the European theater. The live-fire test occurred last month at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California, the Army announced Thursday.

The mobile, ground-based system, formally called the Mid-Range Capability, can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles and Standard Missile-6s. It fills a gap in the US arsenal after the 2019 withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which had banned ground-launched missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,000 kilometers.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, a long-range precision fires unit within the Europe command, carried out the firing after five weeks of training on how to operate and maintain the system. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Derek Bartlett, said in a press release that his troops are "incredibly good at what they do now" and that he is "very comfortable deploying them forward after these five weeks."

Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter, head of Multi-Domain Command - Europe, said the system gives him "more options as an all-domain fires commander to hold critical targets at risk at greater range." He added that the 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."

The test is the third time Typhon has been fired in the continental US. The system, built by Lockheed Martin (LMT), had already been deployed to the Indo-Pacific. In April 2024, Typhon was first sent to the Philippines for a joint exercise. US Army Pacific called it a "landmark deployment."

During the Talisman Sabre exercise in July 2025, the Army fired Typhon west of the international date line for the first time, launching an SM-6 that struck and sank a maritime target. Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, head of the 7th Infantry Division and Multi-Domain Command - Pacific, said this week that Typhon has maintained a forward presence in the region for around 30 consecutive months, allowing the service to learn how to operate, sustain, and protect the systems in that environment.

Typhon's presence in the Pacific has drawn repeated criticism from Beijing. In 2024, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called the deployment a "move to turn back the wheel of history" that "gravely threatens regional countries' security." The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force maintains a large arsenal of medium- and intermediate-range missiles that put US assets and allies at risk.

The live-fire in California marks a direct step toward fielding the same capability in Europe, where the Army now has its first unit trained and ready.