U.S. Greenlights $39M Air-to-Surface Missile Sale to Japan

• The U.S. has approved a $39M missile sale to Japan, in response to escalating security challenges.
• The missiles will be mounted on Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force F-15 and other fighter jets.
• This is not the first time the U.S. has approved the sale of advanced weaponry to Japan, with previous sales amounting to billions.
• This move is part of a broader trend of the U.S. bolstering the defense capabilities of its allies through the sale of advanced weaponry.

The U.S. government has recently approved the sale of additional air-to-surface missiles and related equipment to Japan, a deal estimated to be worth $39 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) made the announcement to Congress, outlining the plan for the extended-range standoff missiles, also known as JASSM-ER. This decision comes in response to Japan’s request to purchase up to 16 of these missiles, which are capable of targeting adversaries from outside their strike range.

This is a crucial development in the face of escalating security challenges posed by North Korea and China. Japan has been progressively enhancing its defense capabilities, and the acquisition of these missiles marks a significant step in this direction. In late 2022, Japan revised its key defense documents to acquire counterstrike capabilities, marking a major policy shift under the country’s war-renouncing Constitution.

The missiles will be mounted on Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force F-15 and other fighter jets, further bolstering the country’s defense infrastructure. The U.S. government has stated that this proposed sale aligns with the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States. It aims to improve the security of Japan, a major ally that contributes to political stability and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific region.

U.S. Arms Sales to Japan: A Historical Perspective

This is not the first time the U.S. has approved the sale of advanced weaponry to Japan. In recent years, Japan has been approved for a $5.6 billion missile sale, which included the most advanced export variant of the AMRAAM, developed by Raytheon. The package included up to 1,200 missiles split between two variants.

Moreover, the U.S. has also approved a $3.6 billion advanced missile sale to Japan, a move sparked by China’s increasingly assertive presence around disputed territories in the Pacific. This has led to heightened tensions, with incidents such as a Chinese military plane entering Japanese airspace and a Chinese survey vessel sailing into Japan’s territorial waters.

The U.S. State Department has also approved a $3.64 billion sale of advanced air-to-air missiles to Japan, with RTX Corporation, located in Tucson, AZ, being the principal contractor for the potential sale.

U.S. Arms Sales to Allies: A Broader Trend

These developments are part of a broader trend of the U.S. approving arms sales to its allies. For instance, the Netherlands has been approved to purchase hundreds of AMRAAM missiles, a deal estimated to be worth up to $807 million. Similarly, South Korea has been approved for a $6.2 billion upgrade for its F-15 ‘Air Superiority’ Fighters amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

In the past, the U.S. has also approved the sale of 34 F-16s to Argentina for $941 million, marking the first time in two decades that the Latin American country has received such funding from Washington. Lockheed Martin was the principal contractor for the deal and oversaw the modernization of the fighters.