Japan, US Agree on AMRAAM Assembly and Inspection Facility

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan and the United States agreed to establish a facility in Japan for final assembly and inspection of AMRAAM missiles. He also said the two countries agreed to share technical information to support higher production of the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor.

Key details

• Koizumi described the agreements as part of the joint U.S.-Japan initiative Operation Supercharge.
• The Japanese government has not named the AMRAAM assembly partner, set a facility opening date or specified planned output.
• The SM-3 arrangement concerns sharing technical information; the countries have not stated a production-rate target.
• Raytheon received a U.S. contract in September valued at more than $20 billion, under a five-year agreement with options for two additional years. The Pentagon expects the contract to nearly double AMRAAM production, subject to congressional funding.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan and the United States agreed to establish an AMRAAM final-assembly and inspection facility in Japan.

Why it matters

The arrangements link Japanese defense-industry capacity with U.S. missile production. A facility in Japan would add a local final-assembly and inspection step for AMRAAM, while technical information sharing targets higher output of the SM-3 Block IIA.

What happens next

The next milestones will be identifying the Japanese assembly partner and setting the facility schedule and output. How will the U.S.-Japan production arrangements develop?