Airmen with the 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron unload an AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile during training at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Oct. 30, 2020. (Stephany Johnson/U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. government has proposed selling 1,200 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles to Japan to help counter threats in the Indo-Pacific region.
The State Department approved the sale of up to 1,200 AIM-120 (D-3/C-8) advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, or AMRAAMs; up to 20 AIM-120D-3 guidance sections; and up to four AIM-120C-8 guidance sections, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced in a news release Thursday.
The proposed sale is worth an estimated $3.64 billion.
The AMRAAM is an improved version of the AIM-7 Sparrow missile and is capable of striking targets beyond visual range. All U.S. fighters, and those sold to its allies, may carry the AMRAAM, according to the Air Force. Pilots may fire several missiles simultaneously at several targets, then take evasive action while the missiles guide themselves to detonation.
The sale would include warheads, propulsion equipment, AIM-120 captive air training missiles, spare and repair parts, technical documentation and support, the release said.
The missiles will “improve Japan’s capability to meet current and future threats by defending its homeland and U.S. personnel stationed there,” according to the release.
The approval comes as Japan continues to beef up its defense spending. The government in 2022 set a target of spending 2% of Japan’s gross domestic product for defense, aiming to strengthen its deterrence capabilities in a security environment made uncertain by an assertive China.
The missiles would give Japan “a chance” in aerial combat against China, North Korea or Russia, but the sale is “just one step of many that Japan needs to take to prepare to fight a war,” retired Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, told Stars and Stripes via email Monday.
“This alone is not going to deter Japan’s enemies very much,” he wrote. “It will give them something to think about and it will make [Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force] more deadly, but by itself it isn’t a ‘game-changer.’”
The department notified Congress of the proposed sale on Thursday, the release said. Lawmakers will have 15 days to review the sale, according to the Arms Export Control Act.
State Department spokesman Andrew Strike in an email Monday declined to comment on the sale beyond the release.
Last month, Japan’s government approved the country’s largest-ever defense budget for this year at 8.7 trillion yen, or about $54.8 billion – a 9.7% increase from 2024’s budget of 7.95 trillion yen, or about $50.1 billion.
The increase marks the 13th consecutive year of increased military spending and is also on track with Japan’s defense buildup plan and its goal to gradually increase its defense budget to 8.9 trillion yen, or about $56.1 billion, by fiscal 2027.
Japan’s fiscal year begins in April.
The proposed sale also follows a plan between the two countries to increase production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors, or PAC-3 missiles, and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts committed to the plan during security talks in Tokyo in July.
In July, the defense ministry announced that the U.S. would purchase approximately $19.6 million worth of PAC-3 missiles from Japan to help replenish stocks depleted due to U.S. support for Ukraine.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to questions emailed on Monday.
Stars and Stripes reporter Keishi Koja contributed to this report.
