The Russians have noticed U.S. plans to surround both Russia and China with missile systems that were once banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as indicated in the Russian Foreign Ministry statement issued on Aug. 4. “Since 2023, we have observed instances of U.S. systems capable of ground-launched INF strikes being transferred to the European NATO countries for trial use during exercises that clearly have an anti-Russia slant, such as exercises in Denmark which involved the use of a mobile Mk70 launcher,” the statement said. It notes that the U.S. deployed a Typhon mid-range missile system to the Philippines in April 2024 and that Australia live-fired the same system during the July-August Talisman Sabre exercise.
The statement notes that during that exercise in Australia in July, an Australian HIMAR crew live-fired a U.S. Army Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), the missile under development to replace the ATACMS. The U.S. Army has tested the PrSM out to a range beyond 500 km, putting it in the category of weapons that were once banned by the INF Treaty.
“Notably, these PrSM tests and PrSM missile firing exercises effectively mean that every M142 HIMARS and its tracked counterpart, the M270 MLRS, can be regarded as ground-based INF launchers. Future PrSM modifications are expected to exceed ranges of 1,000 km. These U.S.-made systems have been widely deployed and continue to be deployed in many countries around the world, including U.S. allies and partners, as well as Ukraine, which is using these systems in the warfare against the Russian Federation.
