Tacloban City, the regional capital of Eastern Visayas, hosted the first test launch in the Philippines of a US Army Tomahawk cruise missile from a Typhon launcher on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.
The land-attack missile, which carried no explosive payload, struck a target more than 600 kilometers away in Laur, Nueva Ecija.
"The weapon system that we used was the Typhon, the medium-range capable missile. This is the first time that the Typhon MRC has been fired here in the Philippines," Balikatan spokesperson Colonel Dennis Hernandez said in Manila.
He said the test aimed to measure the missile's impact and accuracy. The system has a range of about 805 to 1,500 kilometers.
The launch formed part of a land-based training scenario under the 19-day Balikatan exercises, which began April 20 and has been described by organizers as the largest to date.
Captain Christopher Tataro, spokesperson for the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division, said activities in Tacloban are being conducted outside regular fishing grounds, particularly near the runway of DZR Airport in San Pablo Bay.
"It does not mean that if the surrounding bodies of water near the DZR Airport runway are restricted, their livelihood will also be restricted," Tataro said. He added that fishermen would still be able to access their fishing areas to the south, citing guidance from the Philippine Coast Guard.
Renato Reyes Jr., president of the progressive group Bayan, criticized the launch, calling it "utterly shameless."
"These same missiles are used to commit war crimes in Iran and Gaza, and here is the Philippine government allowing the US to play target practice in our territory. We are not the playground of a superpower," he said in a social media post Tuesday.
More than 17,000 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and New Zealand have participated in the exercises across the country. (Ronald Reyes/SunStar Philippines)
