The following is the March 27, 2025, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, The U.S. Army’s Typhon Strategic Mid-Range Fires System.
From the report
Reported improvements to Russian and Chinese artillery systems present a challenge to the U.S. Army. Improved longer-ranged artillery systems, new employment techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the proliferation of special munitions (such as precision, thermobaric, loitering, and top-attack munitions) have renewed concerns about the potential impact of Russian and Chinese fires on U.S. combat operations and ground combat systems. In response, the U.S. Army is seeking to improve its ability to deliver what it refers to as long-range precision fires (LRPF) by upgrading current artillery and missile systems, developing new longer-ranged systems and hypersonic weapons, and modifying existing air- and sea-launched missiles for ground launch.
Originally known as the Mid-Range Capabilities (MRC) System, SMRF is part of the Army’s LRPF modernization portfolio. It is intended to hit targets at ranges between the Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and the developmental Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system. The SMRF Weapon System leverages existing Raytheon-produced SM-6 missiles and Raytheon-produced Tomahawk cruise missiles and modifies them for ground launch. The SMRF system is also known as the “Typhon” missile system.
SMRF Weapon System Components
According to the Army, the prototype SMRF battery is planned to consist of four launchers and a battery operations center (BOC). SMRF batteries are to be equipped with a number of prime movers, trailers, generators, and support vehicles. Numbers of soldiers assigned to each battery is presently unknown. The Army originally planned for the first prototype SMRF battery to be fielded no later than the fourth quarter of FY2023 and three additional batteries were to be fielded on an annual basis thereafter.
SMRF Unit Organization
The Army plans to field one SMRF battery in the Strategic Fires Battalion of the Army’s regionally aligned Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)
The Army describes MDTFs as “theater-level maneuver elements designed to synchronize precision effects and precision fires in all domains against adversary anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) networks in all domains, enabling joint forces to execute their operational plan (OPLAN)-directed roles.”
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