The United States military has deployed two defense systems to Japan for the first time as part of the combined exercise Resolute Dragon 25 with Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
The U.S. Army 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force positioned the ground-launched Typhon system at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni about 40 kilometers southeast of Hiroshima. U.S. The 3rd Marine Division delivered a Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) at Naha Military Port in Okinawa.
Typhon launchers launchers can fire multipurpose missiles including Tomahawk and SM-6 up to thousands of kilometers and are part of a U.S. drive to amass an arsenal of anti-ship weapons in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Army first fired Typhon in the Western Pacific in July 2025, striking an at-sea target from Bradshaw Training Area in Australia during the Talisman Sabre exercise, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
“Typhon provides a complementary capability to existing U.S. and Japanese systems and underscores our commitment to innovation, modernization and the U.S.-Japan Alliance,” U.S. Army Col. Isaac Taylor, a U.S. Army Pacific spokesman, told Stars and Stripes newspaper. “This exercise highlights the importance of interoperability and our shared dedication to peace, security, and a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
NMESIS is a ground-based, rapidly deployable anti-ship missile system used in sea denial and littoral protection. The system was delivered to the U.S. Marines in November 2024 and deployed to the Philippines in April 2025 to support Exercise Balikatan.
“These training opportunities with the NMESIS validated the effectiveness of our collaborative defensive architecture,” U.S. Marine Capt. Kurt James, the 12th Medium-Range Missile Battery commander, said in a news release. “We refined our ability to coordinate responses to potential threats, reinforcing our commitment to regional security.”
More than 5,000 U.S. service members joined 14,000 Japanese troops for Resolute Dragon, according to a U.S. Marines news release. During the exercise, the JSDF and U.S. Marine III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) integrated command and control functions through a command post followed by field training across several locations throughout Japan, including the Ryukyu Islands.
“The Resolute Dragon exercises underscore our ironclad commitment to defend the interests of the United States and those of our Allies and partners,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, III MEF commanding general. “By training alongside the Western Army in realistic, combat-focused scenarios, we sharpen the warfighting edge of our forces and present a clear, credible deterrent to any adversary who would threaten peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.”
Resolute Dragon 25 marks the fifth iteration of the annual bilateral exercise. It takes place as Japan works to boost its defense capabilities to counter rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced in August 2025 it will deploy an upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile a year earlier than planned, according to The Associated Press (AP). Under the new schedule, the missiles will be installed at Camp Kengun in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto by March 2026, the AP reported. The new Type 12 will have a range of approximately 1,000 kilometers compared with 200 kilometers for the current version.
The government has said it will increase its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027 in response to increased threats from China, North Korea and Russia.
“Japan faces national security circumstances which are the most serious and complicated since the end of World War II,” Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told The Japan News newspaper. “It is an urgent task to fundamentally strengthen defense capabilities.”