US and Japan agree to build joint AMRAAM missile plant in Japan
Briefing by News4U · First published
The United States and Japan have agreed to establish a Japanese facility for joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. Speaking in Cebu, Philippines, after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of ASEAN defense talks, Koizumi said the "Operation Supercharge" plan includes a final assembly and inspection plant in Japan for the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, which he said is essential for F-35 fighter jets. He linked the move to what he called an increasingly severe regional security environment, including recent Chinese naval activity near southwestern Japan. [1]