US anti-ship missile system arrives in Phl

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday confirmed the arrival of the United States (US)-made anti-ship missile system in the Philippines.

The NMESIS (Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System) missile system, which arrived at an undisclosed location, will be used in the upcoming bilateral Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) Exercises between the Philippines and the US on 21 April.

“The NMESIS—I will confirm that it's already in the country. I will not say where but it is going to participate, it is going to be a part of the exercises,” AFP’s Balikatan Exercise Director BGen. Michael Logico told reporters in a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Logico noted that more assets with integrated capabilities are set to be brought into the joint military exercises.

“So the new events that we have is the integrated air and missile defense. So that's a new event and we are going to be utilizing our air defense capabilities, together with the United States,” he said.

It was US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who announced last month that the anti-ship missile system would be deployed in the country for the Balikatan war games.

Citing his previous meeting with Philippine officials, Hegseth said both Manila and Washington had agreed to strengthen posture deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

“First, we agreed that the United States will deploy additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines. This includes using the NMESIS, anti-ship missile system, and highly-capable unmanned surface vehicles in exercise Balikatan this April,” Hegseth said.

“These systems will enable US Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to train together on using advanced capabilities to defend the Philippines' sovereignty,” he added.

NMESIS is a cutting-edge coastal anti-ship missile system designed to deliver mobile, land-based strikes against enemy maritime targets.

Ground-based launchers such as the NMESIS are hard to detect and track in complex, cluttered environments, enhancing survivability while extending the reach and resilience of current anti-ship operations.

This capability significantly boosts force projection, particularly in highly contested areas.