On July 17, Japan’s Ministry of Defense issued a request for proposals to integrate the Mitsubishi Electric AAM-4B air-to-air missiles on its F-15J fighter fleet. Currently in service with Japan’s Mitsubishi F-2 multirole fighters, the AAM-4B medium-range missile is the first of its kind equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) seeker. The weapon is larger than the U.S.-made AIM-120C-7 missile and cannot be carried within an F-35’s weapons bay.