Japan's Ministry of Defense said on October 28 that Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held talks in Cebu, Philippines, where they agreed to establish final assembly and inspection facilities in Japan for the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile AMRAAM.
Koizumi said after the meeting that AMRAAM is an important piece of equipment for the F-35 fighter jet, which is used by both Japan and the United States. A summary of the talks released by Japan's Ministry of Defense confirmed the arrangement to establish the relevant facilities but did not disclose details such as the specific location, construction progress or production capacity. The final assembly and inspection facilities also do not mean that all missile components will be produced in Japan.
The two sides also agreed during the talks to share the necessary technical information to expand production capacity for the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor missile. This cooperation covers air-to-air missile assembly and increased interceptor missile production, respectively, and is separate from the AMRAAM facility arrangement.
The United States and Japan have continued to promote defense-industry cooperation in recent years. The arrangement reached is intended to strengthen bilateral cooperation in missile production and supply capabilities. Further details on how the facilities will be built, when they will begin operating and their specific production scale remain to be announced by both sides.
