MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale of stealthy air-launched standoff cruise missiles to Japan.
Under the potential deal, the U.S. ally would buy 50 Lockheed Martin AGM-158B/B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Prolonged Range through the Foreign Military Sales program, in keeping with an Aug. 28 announcement by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The planned sale, which the DSCA said is value $104 million, may also include JASSM anti-jam GPS receivers, training missiles, in addition to other spares and support equipment.
“The proposed sale will improve Japan’s capability to fulfill current and future threats by providing stand-off capability via advanced, long-range strike systems for employment on Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) fighter aircraft including but not limited to the F-15J,” the agency added.
The proposed sale now goes before Congress, during which quantities and price tags can change.
Japan plans to upgrade 68 of its Mitsubishi-built F-15J Eagle interceptors with latest radars, mission computers and a standoff land-attack capability. The country had specifically planned for the JASSM weapon to offer the latter capability for its upgraded jets.
The Asian nation also plans to operate a future fleet of 147 F-35 jets that may employ the JASSM. Japan is currently on the right track to be the biggest non-U.S. operator of the fifth-generation stealth fighter.
The AGM-158B JASSM-ER can deliver a 1,000-pound warhead as much as 575 miles away, while the longer-range AGM-158B-2 has a warhead weighing 2,000 kilos with a variety of 1,200 miles.
Other Japanese media outlets have reported the country is considering fitting a standoff missile capability on its Kawasaki C-2 airlifters, with the JASSM and the U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Dragon system cited as a possible option.
Japan has sought to accumulate long-range land-attack capabilities lately because it seeks the potential to strike at potential threats in addition to counter North Korean ballistic missiles or attempts by an adversary to seize Japan’s southern islands.
It had previously avoided acquiring such capabilities, because it deemed them too aggressive and in violation of its pacifist post-war structure, which limited Japan’s self-defense forces to possessing capabilities required just for defending the Japanese mainland.
Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.