Philippine Army chief Lt, Gen. Roy Galido announced today that the Philippine military plans to acquire the U.S. Typhon missile system, also known as the Mid-Range Capability, to protect its maritime interests. “It is planned to be acquired because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defense implementation,” he told a news conference, reported AFP. “I’m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding the total number to be acquired would depend on “economics.”
Galido said the Typhon system would enable the army to “project force” outwards up to 200 nautical miles (370 km), which is the limit of the archipelago nation’s maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. “We need to contribute to this (defense of Philippine interests) by having this platform to be able to assist the primary major service that would focus on maritime and air domain,” Galido went on. Under that scenario, the Typhon platform “will protect our floating assets,” he said, a reference to ships of the Philippine Navy, coast guard and other vessels. (Note that in Greek mythology, Typhon was the son of Gaia, “Mother Earth,” and Tartarus, god of the underworld.) Typhon was portrayed as a volatile, “volcanic” monster with a hundred heads, who lived underground and sowed chaos, including through violent, destructive winds—from which the word “typhoon” originates.)
