US to deploy new long-range missiles in Germany

The United States has announced plans to deploy long-range weapons to Germany in 2026.

Here's What We Know

The Allies have announced the deployment of long-range missiles - SM-6 and Tomahawk. They also said that it is possible to develop the latest hypersonic weapons that have a much longer range than the existing ground-based missiles in Europe.

Plans to deploy new weapons systems in Germany emerged after the actual collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, when the United States and Russia withdrew from it.

The US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, which Washington accused Moscow of violating, allowed it to begin developing and deploying new ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.

Since then, the United States has been accelerating the development of systems such as the Typhon, which is used as a ground launcher for the SM-6 and Tomahawk. It is also working on hypersonic missiles, such as the Army's Long-Range Hypersonic. A weapon that is in the works with some delays and funding issues.

The Typhon system, also known as the Mid-Range Capability, was recently deployed overseas during a US military exercise in the Philippines.

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the value of being able to effectively conduct long-range attacks. Russia has used its arsenal of long-range ballistic and cruise missiles, often in conjunction with UAVs, to destroy critical infrastructure. And Ukraine used Western-supplied ATACMS and Storm Shadow to attack Crimea.

Source: Business Insider