Last week, there was a flurry of activity involving long-range systems of the US Navy and Army in the Pacific and Europe. U.S. Naval Forces Europe in cooperation with Danish Defense Forces conducted convoy protection rehearsal operations with the US Navy’s MK 70 Mod 1 Payload Delivery System (PDS) with a Standard Missile 6 (SM-6). The rehearsal operations took place on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
While this was taking place in Europe, in the Pacific, USS Savannah (LCS-28) set sail from San Diego with a MK 70 PDS on its flight deck. USNI News was the first to inquire about the presence of the system on the ship and what the Navy’s plans were for the USS Savannah and the system on its flight deck.
“USS Savannah (LCS-28) will participate in a live-fire demonstration during the fourth quarter of 2023 that will include a containerized launching system. More information will be provided after the evolution is complete,” Naval Surface Forces spokesperson Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson said in a statement to USNI News.
The MK 70 PDS was also visible last year during the bi-annual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 22 Exercise. The launcher as well as what looks like a container likely holding command systems, a Lockheed Martin TPQ-53 Fire Finder radar and its associated hardware are visible on the flight deck of the USS Tulsa (LCS-16)
About the MK 70 Payload Delivery System
Washington has been moving fast to field ground-launched long-range missiles, most of these covering ranges that were previously prohibited under the now-dead Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The treaty prohibited the signatories from having ground-launched missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. Following the demise of the treaty in 2019, the US has been moving fast to re-introduce missiles that cover those ranges.
The MK 70 PDS is a launcher system for these missiles. The system has four strike-length MK.41 VLS cells housed in a 12 meter (40 ft) container. The MK 70 PDS is produced by Lockheed Martin and was first unveiled in September 2021 following the launch of an SM-6 by the USV Ranger using the system.
Although the system has been primarily tested with the SM-6s, it is compatible with every missile currently integrated into the MK.41 VLS, including the 1,200-mile (1,600 km) range Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and its variants.
US Army’s Typhon
The US Army’s Typhon launcher is a variant of the MK 70 PDS with some Army-specific modifications. The Army will deploy this system to fill its Mid-Range Capability requirements. The system will launch medium-range missiles such as the SM-6 and TLAM. The US Army plans to use these launchers in batteries, with each battery having four launchers. The plan is to field four batteries, each assigned to one of the five Multi-Domain Task Force units. The first unit was declared operational on the 27th of June following a launch of the TLAM from the system.
The presence of SM-6 on the MK 70 gives it a dual-role capability, as the missile can be used for both Surface-to-Surface and Surface-to-Air roles, something that the US Army has shown interest in utilizing in the future for its Typhon launcher.
It’s unclear whether or not there was broader coordination across the Navy and Army for these deployments involving ground-launched long-range systems. Such deployments might become commonplace in the near future as these systems are operationalized.
