Japan and U.S. Join Forces to Collaborate on Hypersonic Missile Interceptor Development

According to government sources, Japan and the United States will work together to create a new type of missile to stop the development of hypersonic projectiles by nations like North Korea, China, and Russia.

The sources say that during their Friday bilateral talks at the Camp David retreat outside of Washington, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden are likely to come to an agreement on the strategy.

Following the Standard Missile-3 Block 2A, the replacement for the SM-3 Block 1A created purely by the United States, it will be the second interceptor missile to be developed jointly by the two countries.

In response to Pyongyang’s repeated ballistic missile tests, the rapid development of its missile technologies, and Beijing’s escalating military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including joint exercises with Moscow, Japan and the United States are working to strengthen the deterrence capabilities of their alliance.

Radar tracking and shooting down of hypersonic missiles, which have a top speed of over Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, are difficult.

Enhancing Defense Capabilities

japan-and-us-join-forces-to-collaborate-on-hypersonic-missile-interceptor-development — According to government sources, Japan and the United States will work together to create a new type of missile to stop the development of hypersonic projectiles by nations like North Korea, China, and Russia.

The new missiles will be developed to intercept hypersonic projectiles before they can make contact with the ground. According to the reports, some kinds of hypersonic missiles can fly on erratic trajectories right before landing to avoid interceptors.

Originally, Japan intended to counter the threat posed by hypersonic weapons by enhancing its Type-03 medium-range, surface-to-air guided missiles, which primarily target incoming aircraft, and by employing the Standard Missile-6 interceptors of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

But, the sources claim that because these SDF interceptors are designed to attack enemy weaponry during the landing phase, Japan must develop the capability to shoot them down while they are gliding.

According to the sources, the US has already begun to build Aegis destroyer-fired interceptors that shoot at hypersonic missiles while they are gliding. This might be connected to the proposed cross-border project.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed to expand their cooperation on the collaborative development of an interceptor to use against hypersonic technology during a meeting in Tokyo in June.

At Camp David on Friday, Kishida, Biden, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are also scheduled to meet in a trilateral summit.

Source: Kyodo News