US anti-ship missile system 'NMESIS' in PH for Balikatan

A cutting-edge coastal anti-ship missile system from the United States Marine Corps has reached the Philippine shores and will be seeing action in the upcoming Balikatan Exercise 2025 next week, a ranking military official confirmed on Tuesday, April 15.

- By MARTIN SADONGDONG

Brig. Gen. Michael Logico, Balikatan assistant exercise director, said the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) arrived in the country on April 14. He, however, did not reveal where it is currently positioned for security purposes.

"The NMESIS, I will confirm that it’s already in the country. I will not say where, but it is going to participate. It’s going to be part of the exercises," Logico said in a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

According to the US Marine Corps, the NMESIS is a mountable, ground-based anti-ship missile launcher.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during his visit to Manila last March 28, revealed the deployment of the NMESIS to the Philippines.

He said the deployment will enable US forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "to train together on using advanced capabilities to defend the Philippines' sovereignty." This year's Balikatan is slated to kick off on April 21 and will run until May 9. Around 14,000 personnel will participate in the exercise: 5,000 from the AFP and 9,000 from the US armed forces.