BAGUIO CITY, Philippines: The Philippines wants to procure its own US-made Typhon mid-range capability (MRC) missile system, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr (pic).
Brawner said this plan is part of the AFP’s progress thrust as the country shifts its focus on external defence.
“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,” Brawner said in a press conference that followed the meeting of the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB).
“We are wanting to get more of the latest weapons systems, that includes the mid-range capability,” he added.
Brawner said the military is starting to undergo training for MRC operation in case the country decides to procure such a missile system.
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.
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 400km, 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. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
