On July 17, Japan and Germany signed a cooperation agreement for the joint development of new defense technologies. German media outlet Deutsche Welle reports that Germany wishes to integrate Japan’s AAM-4 air-to-air missile’s advanced seeker technology into MBDA’s air-to-air Meteor missile. The Meteor project is currently being led by the United Kingdom’s defense sector with, “significant input from German companies.” The Meteor is expected to have a 100 km range, and will be fitted on the Eurofigher Typhoons, which are flown by both the UK’s Royal Air Force and Germany’s Luftwaffe.

Japanese media has reported the Japanese Defense Ministry hopes the deal will enable the country to develop faster tanks to function as troop carriers for forces in Japan’s outlying islands. This is the eighth defense deal Japan has signed since revising its legal restrictions on defense technology sharing in 2015.