Exercise Balikatan 2026 featured a landmark maritime-strike live-fire with Japan firing Type 88 anti-ship missiles from Luzon at a sea target, alongside US/Philippine systems (HIMARS live fire; NMESIS present and simulated). The novelty is the operational rehearsal of a distributed, multi-national coastal defense/sea-denial concept (incl. moving HIMARS/NMESIS by landing craft/C-130 to remote islands) aimed at sealing chokepoints like the Luzon Strait.
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doctrineside: natofirst seen 2025-01-01
Balikatan 2026 rehearses multi-nation coastal anti-ship kill chain in Philippines
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- Naval News RSS · https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/05/japan-fires-type-88-anti-ship-missile-in-philippine-exercise/Japan fires Type 88 anti-ship missile in Philippine exercise