Gen. Charles Flynn, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, told a forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Nov. 18, that his command will begin deploying intermediate-range land-based missiles “to deter” China from invading Taiwan. These will include a limited number of land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 naval missiles which can be used in a ground-to-ground role, he told reporters at the Halifax International Security Forum, reported Defense One. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn said. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will deploy them.”
Flynn said these missiles might be followed by the Army’s Precision Strike Missile, which is set to reach initial operating capability this year. The PrSM, designed to hit targets at “499+” kilometers—farther than than the 370-km SM-6— can be fired from the HIMARS platform.
Flynn refused to speculate as to when China might invade Taiwan, unlike former Pacific Command chief Adm. Philip Davidson, who predicted in 2021 that China would invade “in the next six years.”
