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 Command. The new command will operate the Aomori Prefecture TPY-2 X-band radar and coordinate with one of the the 7th Fleet’s Aegis destroyers at Yokosuka. The new command may also work alongside Japanese Self-Defense forces to operate the country’s planned Aegis Ashore systems.