On May 17, the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of 94 SM-2 Block IIIB interceptors to South Korea. The deal, which also includes associated systems and technical assistance, is estimated at $313.9 million USD. On the same day, the State Department also announced its approval for the potential sale of 160 AIM-120C-7 Advanced...
On April 9, the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of 56 SM-3 Block IB interceptor missiles to Japan. As the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) news release further explains, “Also included are missile canisters, U.S. Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistical support services, and other related elements of logistics and...
On April 7, Japan’s Jiji Press reported that the country’s Aegis Ashore sites will not be equipped with Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). Japanese officials acknowledge that without CEC, the land-based Aegis systems will be limited to countering ballistic missiles, and ineffective against cruise missiles or aircraft. Japan’s Aegis destroyers and existing air defenses will defend...
On March 18, the Japanese Defense Ministry announced plans to develop its first domestically produced long-range standoff cruise missile with a range exceeding 400 km. This news comes less than a week after the Ministry signed a deal with a Norwegian company to procure an undisclosed number of Joint Strike Missiles, or JSM, which will...
On February 12, the U.S. Navy announced the completion of Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) forward deployment to Yokosuka, Japan. The destroyer, previously homeported in San Diego, California, first entered the U.S. 7th Fleet on May 14, 2018, joining the Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) in Japan to strengthen the fleet’s missile defenses....
On January 29, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan for two Aegis Weapon Systems (AWS) and related missile defense equipment, including two Multi-Mission Signal Processors (MMSP) and two Command and Control Processor (C2P) Refreshes. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the proposed sale and released a...
On November 19, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that the U.S. State Department approved three missile and precision-guided munitions sales, two to Japan and one to NATO, totaling $944 million. The first $561 million sale to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) will include eight SM-3 missiles and 13 SM-3 Block IIA missiles....
On October 30, a spokesperson for the Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed reports that the U.S. has established a new ballistic missile defense command in the country. The site began operations on October 16. The command falls under the direction of the U.S. Army’s 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense...
On October 26, the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) conducted a test of the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor off the west coast of Hawaii, successfully tracking and intercepting a medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) target. The SM-3 Block IIA was fired from the USS John Finn (DDG-113), which used the AN/SPY-1 radar and...
On October 1, the Missile Defense Agency released findings of its investigation into FTM-29’s failure. The joint U.S.-Japanese test took place on January 31, 2018, testing the co-developed Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA. MDA’s statement indicated that the missile’s “Hybrid Arm and Fire Device” (a sparkplug-like mechanism) failed to ignite the third-stage rocket motor responsible...
