Feature: US develops medium-range offensive capabilities to counter China, Russia
A US Army MRC fires a Standard Missile 6 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on 8 November 2024. (US Army)
US Army and Marine Corps (USMC) missile programmes have reached major milestones enabled by the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Under the INF treaty signed in 1987, Russia and the US agreed to stop flight testing ground-based cruise missiles that can fly between 500 km and 5,500 km. In 2019 the US accused Russia of violating the treaty with tests of the 9M729 (SSC-8) ground-launched cruise missile. Russia also accused the US of violating the treaty with the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System Mark 41 Launcher in Poland and Romania.
The first official test after the US withdrawal from the treaty in August 2019 was at San Nicolas Island, California, on 18 August, when the US Department of Defense (DoD) tested a variant of the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) off an Mk 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS).
Leaving the INF Treaty behind is an opportunity for the US to gain a strategic advantage over its Chinese and Russian counterparts, argued Bob Peters, senior research fellow for strategic deterrence at the Heritage Foundation.
The army's Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), and Mid-Range Capability (MRC), as well as the USMC Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), have reached new testing, deployment, and formation milestones since the INF Treaty was abandoned.
Capabilities like these can supplement US strategic weapons, Peters said.
Go beyond the headlines - with direct links to interconnected entities
Get full access to validated equipment, military capabilities, and market insights.
