Through a joint statement from the governments of the United States and Germany, released during the NATO Summit held in Washington D.C., it has been confirmed that new hypersonic missile launch systems, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles among other capabilities, will be deployed on German soil. These long-range firepower capabilities will be deployed through the new MRC System of the U.S Army. Additionally, these will fall under the purview of the U.S Army’s Multidomain Task Force, which already has its headquarters in Germany.
The announcement aligns with the U.S Army’s plans to complete the deployment of five Multidomain Task Force units at various strategic locations, all expected to be fully established by 2026. It’s worth noting that the 2nd MDTF unit was already established in Europe in 2021. Two other MDTF units are established in the Indo-Pacific theater, with plans to deploy two more to reach the total mentioned.
Regarding the specified locations, three units will focus on operations in the Pacific, one in Europe, and one will be based in the United States at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, capable of rapid deployment wherever needed. The goal of this deployment is to consolidate Medium-Range Capability (MRC) and long-range hypersonic batteries under a LRFB headquarters within the next five years, according to the official statement.
In November 2020, the U.S Army selected Lockheed Martin after the suspension of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with the then-Soviet Union, to develop and build the MRC prototype. Through a nearly $340 million contract, the program aimed to develop a new platform for launching SM-6 anti-aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles used by the U.S Navy. In August 2023, the U.S Army successfully launched a Tomahawk missile from the new MRC anti-ship missile battery.
The complete MRC system comprises a battery operations center, four vertical launch systems, main trucks, and modified trailers for easy transport on US Air Force aircraft and mobility in the operational theater where required.
It should be noted that the 1st MDTF, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, deployed its MRC launcher to the Philippines earlier this year as part of a Bilateral Military Exercise with the country. This marked the first time the newly incorporated system was deployed to the Asia-Pacific region. However, due to Chinese government concerns and restrictions on such deployments in the region, discussions have been ongoing to agree on its withdrawal by no later than September of this year.
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