US, Japan to ink deal for developing hypersonic missile interceptor during Kishida's visit

Japan and the US on Sunday, August 13 agreed to jointly develop an interceptor missile in an effort to counter hypersonic warheads developed by China, Russia and North Korea, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported. The jointly manufactured interceptor will help Japan target weapons, which are specifically designed to evade existing ballistic missile defences. An agreement for the deal will be signed this week on Friday when US President Joe Biden meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the latter's visit to Washington.

The hypersonic projectiles, unlike the ballistic warheads, do not fly on predictable trajectories when launched but instead, they can change the course of their path and are difficult to target. The anti-ballistic interceptor missile is capable of countering the intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from another country. The American aerospace company Lockheed Martin manufactures the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) in collaboration with the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Japan and US also plan to strengthen cooperation for their satellite constellation program in order to enhance the two countries' intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Plan under consideration since Blinken, Austin's meeting with their Japanese counterparts in Jan 

US and Japan agreed to develop the interceptor missile for Japan during the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's meeting with their Japanese counterparts Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on January 11 in Washington, DC. The US affirmed Japan's new national security concerns and defence strategies toward bolstering deterrence in an integrated manner. The officials laid down a vision of a modernized Alliance postured to prevail in a new era of strategic competition with neighbouring rivals such as North Korea, Russia and China.

Austin and Blinken reiterated the US commitment to champion a free and open Indo-Pacific region, adding that the US-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace, security, and prosperity. Japan, meanwhile, reiterated its resolve, under its new National Security Strategies and National Defense Strategies, to fundamentally reinforce its defence capabilities, including counterstrike, through a substantial increase of its defence budget and manufacturing missile systems. 

"United States expressed its determination to optimize its force posture in the Indo-Pacific, including in Japan, by forward-deploying more versatile, resilient, and mobile capabilities," according to a statement that was released by the US Department of Defense.