US, Japan to Build New Weapon to Combat Advanced Hypersonic Missiles

The defense departments of the United States and Japan have agreed to develop a new weapon that can defeat advanced hypersonic threats during their glide phase of flight – the longest flight phase between the launch and the terminal phase.

Work will be performed under the Glide Phase Interceptor cooperative development program. According to a Pentagon spokesperson, a formal project arrangement is expected to be finalized by 2024.

The collaboration builds on a previous partnership through which the U.S. and Japan exchanged missile defense data and technologies, DefenseScoop reported.

The U.S. is doubling its efforts to field its own hypersonic missiles and develop defenses against the hypersonic weapons of its adversaries, including Russia and China.

Recently, Alexei Rakhmanov, the CEO of Russian state-owned shipbuilding conglomerate United Shipbuilding Corp., confirmed that USC will equip Russia’s Yasen-class nuclear-powered submarines with Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.

Russia previously said Zircon can travel at 7,000 mph, allowing it to overcome Western air defenses.

According to a report by The Hill, the United States has increased funding for the development of hypersonic missiles over the past few years but it has yet to field such weapons. Russia and China are currently leading the hypersonic development race, the report added.