Japan, United States Seek to Develop Hypersonic Missile Interceptor Capability

The United States and Japan are expected to agree to develop a missile that can intercept Chinese, Russian and North Korean hypersonic projectiles.

According to a report by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will assent to the deal during a trilateral summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Aug. 18 in Camp David, Maryland.

The news follows a statement in March by former Missile Defense Agency Director Jon Hill that his organization is seeking a partnership with Japan to build an interceptor system that catches hypersonics in the glide phase.

In January, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed with their Japanese counterparts to consider such a system.

Hypersonics tend to be more challenging targets because they can change course mid-flight unlike ballistic missiles, whose paths are more predictable.

The U.S. and Japan have worked together on a long-range missile that can hit North Korean warheads in space. The capability is being deployed on Japanese warships in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, U.S. News reported Saturday.