World · East Asia & Pacific · 1 hr ago
Japan and US agree to build missile assembly facility in Japan
Japan and the United States agreed to build a missile-production facility in Japan for advanced air-to-air missiles.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the plan on Wednesday at a defence meeting in Cebu, Philippines.
The facility will assemble AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, but its location has not been disclosed.
Koizumi said the missiles would be essential for Japan’s US-made F-35 fighter jets.
The deal comes as the allies seek to strengthen their defence cooperation amid concern about security in the region, including China’s growing military activity.
The facility will be built through a joint effort, but the two countries have not given further details about the agreement.
Japan and the United States agreed to establish a facility in Japan to assemble or jointly produce advanced air-to-air missiles.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the agreement late Wednesday at a meeting in Cebu, Philippines.
The missiles are AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, known as AMRAAMs.
Koizumi said the missiles would be essential for Japan’s US-made F-35 fighter jets.
The facility’s location in Japan has not been disclosed.
- Who
- Japan and the United States.
- What
- They agreed to establish a facility in Japan for the assembly or joint production of advanced air-to-air missiles.
- When
- The agreement was announced late Wednesday.
- Where
- The facility will be in Japan. Koizumi announced the agreement in Cebu, Philippines.
- Why
- Koizumi said the missiles would be essential for Japan’s F-35 fighter jets.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Koizumi met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu on the sidelines of an annual meeting of defence chiefs.
Koizumi announced that Japan and the United States had agreed to establish a missile facility in Japan.
- Missile
- AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM)
- Facility
- Final assembly facility in Japan; location not disclosed
- Announcement
- Shinjiro Koizumi, Japanese defence minister
- Meeting location
- Cebu, Philippines
- Aircraft
- Japan’s US-made F-35 fighter jets
3 sources
What people are saying
essential for the F-35
shared a sense of crisis … regarding the increasingly severe regional situation and we agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance with greater speed and intensity than ever before.
The approach we’re taking, we describe as strong, quiet and clear