Pop, shoot and scoot: US, allies practice China deterrence in Pacific

The 2025 iteration of Talisman Sabre was the largest in the history of the biennial military exercise, which began as a joint U.S.-Australia drill in 2005. This year, 40,000 personnel from 19 countries trained across thousands of miles in the Pacific with a single goal: countering China.

A broad range of training was conducted, from amphibious assaults to airfield seizures. The overriding theme of this year’s drills was preparing to counter Chinese military aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Joint forces emphasized the use of mobile, land-based missile systems to create a distributed strike capability aimed at containing China within the First Island Chain.

Island hopping: Can’t fight in the Pacific without it

A key focus of Talisman Sabre 2025 was practicing “island hopping,” an updated take on a World War II-era strategy. U.S. Marines led amphibious landings and seized airfields across simulated island battlegrounds. The goal is to deny China maritime maneuverability by turning key islands into missile launchpads.

That strategy hinges on interoperability, or the ability of allied forces to operate each other’s equipment and coordinate firepower seamlessly. For the first time, U.S. Air Force pilots flew fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force during combat drills in Northern Australia.

“In a prolonged conflict, airplanes are capable of flying more hours a day than a pilot,” said Air Force Maj. Justin Lennon. “Having the added flexibility to put any pilot in any F-35 and generate combat airpower anywhere in the world adds to the F-35 coalition’s lethality.”

New capabilities debut in the Indo-Pacific

This year also saw significant missile milestones. The U.S. Army fired its Mid-Range Capability system—also known as Typhon—west of the International Date Line for the first time. Typhon is a land-based launcher that can fire both Tomahawk cruise missiles and Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptors, weapons typically found on Navy warships.

On July 15, a Typhon unit from the Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force launched an SM-6 from Northern Australia and hit a maritime target more than 100 miles offshore.

“This was emblematic of the requirement the joint forces levied on the Army to have a capability to hold maritime targets at risk from the land,” Lt. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, deputy commander of U.S. Army Pacific, said while speaking to media gathered at the event.

While the SM-6 is known for its versatility—it can target ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and now ships—the Tomahawk offers deep strike options with a range nearing 1,000 miles. Vowell stressed the distributed land-based forces capable of maritime and aerial strikes create an asymmetric advantage against China’s missile-heavy anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy. Vowell said China may have thousands of missiles pointed at known U.S. sites, but there’s no way Beijing’s network can fully account for so many distributed forces able to take out targets in multiple domains.

HIMARS hits the mark

Another major highlight came from a historic multinational firing of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. In a first-of-its-kind drill, forces from the U.S., Australia, and Singapore formed a composite HIMARS battery, coordinated targeting data, and simultaneously fired on a shared objective.

The Australians also marked a milestone by firing their first Precision Strike Missile (PrSM, pronounced “prism”) from a HIMARS launcher. PrSM is the U.S. Army’s next-generation missile, currently boasting a 300-mile range but expected to exceed 1,000 miles in future versions.

Singapore’s inaugural involvement in Talisman Sabre brought two HIMARS launchers and over 100 troops, demonstrating the country’s growing role in Indo-Pacific security. Brigadier-General Anand Sathi Kumar emphasized the importance of such exercises for enhancing mutual understanding and building regional defense ties.

“The exercise also allows participating armed forces to learn collectively through joint training,” Kumar said. “Such opportunities will further hone the SAF’s tactical competencies, demonstrate our soldiers’ professionalism, and build enduring friendships with partner nations.”

Rapid missile mobility with HIRAIN

Two HIMARS Rapid Insertion (HIRAIN) drills also took place, further expanding the flexibility of mobile missile forces. In one drill, a Canadian C-17 flew a HIMARS to Christmas Island. In another, Germany’s Luftwaffe moved one to a remote location from Rockhampton. According to reporting from Defense News, though the drills were dry-fire, they demonstrated the sensor-to-shooter network that allows quick response strikes from austere, temporary launch sites.

Such tactics allow allied forces to reposition missile units rapidly, complicating enemy targeting and enhancing survivability in a conflict.

From Australia to Taiwan: A network of firepower

The HIMARS platform is rapidly proliferating among U.S. allies. In addition to Australia and Singapore, Taiwan recently fired its HIMARS during its Han Kuang exercises. The U.S. also deployed systems to Japan and the Philippines. Though the Philippines does not yet operate HIMARS independently, American launchers based there can reach deep into the South China Sea and even southern China.

This growing network of mobile missile systems, distributed across allied territories, is key to a strategy aimed at boxing in China’s navy within the First Island Chain. Each launcher is mobile, which means Chinese forces may know the systems exist but not where they’ll be when the shooting starts.

It’s a pop, shoot, and scoot strategy. Launchers can fire, disappear, and reappear somewhere else. “Keep your ops guessing,” as the kids are saying today.

Japan joins the missile moment

Japan contributed to the firepower display as well, launching two Type 12 anti-ship missiles from a coastal range near Sydney. Both missiles struck a floating target nearly 20 miles offshore. Japanese commanders stressed the value of regional cooperation in maintaining peace amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the East China Sea.

Why it matters

The Indo-Pacific is increasingly seen as the flashpoint for a potential great-power war, particularly over Taiwan. Chinese military actions, including naval base construction, territorial encroachments, and threats to seize Taiwan by force, escalated tensions with the U.S. and its allies.

In response, Talisman Sabre and similar exercises are becoming more integrated, lethal, and mobile—designed not just to prepare for conflict, but to deter it.

“Our collective readiness provides what has to be inferred and interpreted as a deterrent effect,” said Lt. Gen. Vowell. “This is about signaling resolve, posture, and interoperability—to make sure war doesn’t happen. But if it does, we’ll be ready.”