This week, the U.S. and Japan signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of a hypersonic missile interceptor.
Following the inking of the agreement on May 15, 2024, the MDAA of the U.S. and Japanese Defence Ministry made a statement. It was revealed that both countries have been engaging in extensive discussions on joint development in counter-hypersonic for a considerable period, underscoring the depth of their collaboration.
The Pentagon and Japanese Defence Ministry decided to initiate a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) Cooperative Development program within the 2023 U.S.-Japan bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Projects (RDT&E).
Japan and the U.S. previously collaborated on the SM-3 Block IIA exo-atmospheric interceptor missile. Japan’s workshare includes folding fins, the second stage’s thrust vectoring nozzle, and the propellant.
The answer to “how to counter hypersonic glide vehicles or missiles?” remains uncertain. Countries working in the field have recently presented different ideas in this regard. For example, Israel’s Sky Sonic missile aims to achieve high speeds by having a very large booster section and a far smaller main missile; Diehl’s IRIS-T HYDEF is being developed with a thruster-controlled EO/IR-guided kill vehicle with a rocket or ramjet boost stage.
The U.S. and Japan Cooperate on Hypersonic Missile Defence
