German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced yesterday in Washington that Germany has formally submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Defense to acquire the “Typhon” Strategic Mid-Range Fires System (SMRF). This ground-based launcher is capable of firing both Tomahawk Land-Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAMs) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) interceptors.

If approved, the acquisition would give Germany the capability to conduct long-range strikes deep into Russian territory—including as far as Moscow—should a large-scale conflict erupt in Europe.