The US initially approved a 'huge deal' to sell thousands of missiles to its Northeast Asian allies, and that's not all!

On January 2, the US State Department announced that it had approved a potential deal estimated to be worth $3.64 billion to provide advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and related equipment to Japan.

US Marines guard an AIM-120D Captive Air training missile at Misawa Air Base, Japan, on December 7. (Source: USMC)

According to the announcement, the deal includes the sale of up to 1,200 AIM-120D-3 and AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and related equipment, including AMRAAM boosters, warheads, AIM-120 air-to-air training missiles (CATM), control unit spare parts; test and support equipment, spare parts and repairs... to Northeast Asian allies.

The sale is part of an effort to “improve the security of a major ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The agreement is expected to enhance Japan's ability to respond to current and future threats, especially in protecting the country and US troops stationed in the Northeast Asian country.

The US State Department assured that “Japan will have no difficulty in adopting these items and services into its armed forces” and that Washington will not experience any negative impact on national defense readiness as a result of the sale.

The prime contractor for the sale is Tucson, Arizona-based RTX Corporation . The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency provided the necessary certification to notify Congress of the potential transaction on January 2, according to the UK Defense Journal .

Earlier the same day, Janes Magazine , a global open-source intelligence company of the same name, said that Tokyo and Washington are working together to conduct a study to assess the feasibility of co-producing AMRAAM in Japan.

Previously, Janes reported that discussions about opening a missile production line in Japan have been taking place since mid-2024 due to increasing demand for missiles in both the country and the US.

A spokesperson for Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) told Janes on 26 December 2024 that a feasibility study would look at various aspects of the production, including "the costs required, the preparation time, the content of the operation and the challenges that may arise.

However, ATLA could not specify when the research would begin. According to the spokesperson, the Japanese Ministry of Defense is currently “working closely” with the US Department of Defense to initiate the research.

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