Overview
- Russia lodged a formal protest on Tuesday, Sept. 1, telling the Japanese embassy that the planned use of U.S. Typhon ground‑based mid‑range missile launchers for the Sept. 8–24 Orient Shield drills is unacceptable and poses a threat to its security.
- The Orient Shield exercises are scheduled to run Sept. 8–24 in Japan and will include the Typhon systems capable of firing SM‑6 and Tomahawk missiles, with public estimates of participating personnel ranging from about 1,700 to 3,700.
- Officials and reporting say the Typhon systems have been temporarily rotated into Japan before (September 2025 and June 2026) and are expected to be returned to a U.S. base in Japan around mid‑October after the drills.
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Sept. 1 that Moscow would take compensatory or retaliatory measures, and her statement follows recent diplomatic friction after President Putin's visit to a disputed island that drew protests from Tokyo.
- The dispute highlights growing Japan‑U.S.‑Australia military cooperation and the risks of military signaling near the Kuril/Northeast islands, so observers should watch for further diplomatic protests, changes in deployments, and any Russian military moves near its Far Eastern borders.