At the recent NATO summit in Washington, the US and Germany have agreed on plans for the deployment of long-range US Fires, including hypersonic weapons, on German soil beginning in 2026.

This has generated a great deal of attention because the weapons involved will be SM-6 and TOMAHAWK missiles from TYPHON Mid-Range Capability batteries and hypersonic boost-glide strike weapons from DARK EAGLE batteries.

All of these systems, except probably the SM-6, have ranges that go well beyond the 500 km limit stipulated by the now long-defunct INF Treaty. In the recent past there were more than legitimate doubts about whether Berlin would enable the US to station INF-breaking systems on its soil, but the war in Ukraine has not only cancelled those reluctances but led Berlin to sign in, along with other European countries (France, Italy and Poland) to launch the development of its own long range, ground launched strike missiles.

Despite making the news now, the US deployments were to be expected: TYPHON and DARK EAGLE batteries represent the striking power of the new Multi Domain Task Forces the US Army is forming to adapt to the challenges of modern day combat, and the second of 5 planned MDTF was stood up in Germany already back in 2021.

Headquartered in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, the 2d MDTF has more than 400 personnel assigned to it and has stood up within the 56th Artillery Command. The Task Force currently fields its command and its support element (228th Brigade Support Company) as well as its “Multi-Domain Effects Battalion: the 2nd MDEB has its own Signal Company, Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) Company, Military Intelligence Company (MICO), Space Company, and an headquarters support company. What is still missing from the picture is the Strategic Fires Battalion, which each MDTF is eventually going to align and which is meant to field 1 TYPHON battery, 1 DARK EAGLE battery and 1 HIMARS battery with Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).

The MDTF in the interim will work alongside the resident 41st Field Artillery Brigade with its 2 battalions of M270 GMLRS systems. Both the 1st battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment (1-6) and the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment are being expanded to 3 batteries each and are among the first units to receive the fully upgraded M270 at A2 standard, with Extended Range rockets and PrSM capabilities.

The surprise in the announcement coming from the Summit is that the 2026 deployments of TYPHON and DARK EAGLE elements are described as “episodic”. They are going to be “part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future”, which means the timeline for basing a full Strategic Fires Battalion in Germany is still to be defined.