Japan will help the United States produce AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. This was reported by Air and Space Forces, UNN.
Details
The main manufacturer of the AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles will be the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which already has many years of experience in the development and production of aviation weapons.
To reduce its dependence on U.S. components, the company acquired a license to carry out a full and independent missile production cycle .
The American missile will be produced in parallel with the Japanese Type 99B, as well as its improved version, which is planned to be procured under the 2025 order.
Addendum
The details of the terms of the sale of the production license are unknown, but according to Japanese media, the missile will potentially be exported to the United States to ensure the uninterrupted transfer of missiles of this type from the US Air Force to Ukraine.
In addition, Japan will begin using AIM-120C-7 missiles as part of a temporary solution on US F-35A/B aircraft, as the process of integrating Japanese weapons is somewhat delayed.
For reference
An American all-weather, medium-range, air-to-air guided missile of class . Missiles of this class are designed to engage air targets beyond line of sight. It is the main weapon of the F-15C, F-15E, F-16, F/A-18C/D, F/A-18E/F, F-22 fighters.
Recall
The United States and Japan have signed a contract to jointly develop a hypersonic missile interceptor over the next 10 years, with Japan allocating $480 million for the project in its 2024 budget.