US Pacific Fleet: No NMESIS missiles fired during Balikatan 2025 drills

MANILA, Philippines — The United States’ NMESIS missile system was used in battle drills during the recent Balikatan 2025 exercises, but no missiles were fired, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said.

A Pacific Fleet spokesperson said their commander, Adm. Steve Koehler, “imprecisely stated in his speech” during a military leadership event in Manila on Thursday, July 10, that the United States test-fired NMESIS missiles during the joint military exercises.

“The NMESIS was deployed during Balikatan and took part in battle drills, but no missiles were fired,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The clarification came after Koehler briefly mentioned during the closing ceremony of the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium that “we test-fired NMESIS missiles.” They also “operated amphibious vehicles and HIMARS, and trained with unmanned systems, and conducted full battle tests and real-world scenarios.”

NMESIS is a ground-based missile system with a range of around 100 nautical miles and is designed to strike hostile surface vessels from land-based positions. It is the second U.S. missile system to be deployed to the Philippines for training, following the Typhon missile system.

During the Balikatan exercises from April 21 to May 9, the U.S. deployed the system to strategic locations across Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands — the first time the “ship killer” missile system was staged for use in the Philippines.

The system was also used for training during the Kamandag Exercise from May 26 to June 6.

The NMESIS system remains in the Philippines and will be used by the Philippine Marine Corps for training, Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. John Alcos told reporters last month.