US and Japan could develop hypersonic missile interceptors together

Louise Watt

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Joe Biden (right) and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese PM. Washington and Tokyo agreed in 2022 to work more closely in the research and development of defence technologies CREDIT: MANDEL NGAN/AFP

The United States and Japan are expected to announce an agreement this week to jointly develop missile interceptors capable of shooting down hypersonic weapons from China, Russia and North Korea.

Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, will meet in Washington DC on Friday, where a deal is likely to be discussed.

The pair will meet on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s president, at Camp David, according to a Sunday report in Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper.

Washington and Tokyo agreed in January 2022 to work more closely in the research and development of defence technologies, including ways to counter hypersonic missiles.

Hypersonic missiles have the advantages of fast flight – travelling at five times the speed of sound or more. But their key features are their increased manoeuvrability, and their ability to fly at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles, making it difficult to track and counter them. Interceptors would need to fly long distances at high speeds and be able to change direction to respond to changes in a hypersonic weapon’s flight path.

China is thought to be ahead of the US in developing hypersonics, while Russia has also demonstrated its arsenal in Ukraine, striking Kyiv just last week.

Russia has used hypersonic missiles in the war in Ukraine CREDIT: NATIONAL GUARD OF UKRAINE/REUTERS

The US Defence Intelligence Agency said in March that both China and Russia had conducted numerous successful tests of hypersonic weapons, and that China has the world’s leading hypersonic arsenal. It also said that China may have already fielded a hypersonic weapon capable of hitting US military forces in the western Pacific.

Japan has pledged its biggest military buildup since the Second World War – and plans to develop hypersonic weapons – under a new security strategy issued in December.

Hypersonic missiles have the advantages of fast flight CREDIT: KCNA/via REUTERS

Both Washington and Tokyo are increasingly worried about a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan, which could draw in both nations. In recent years, Beijing has been increasing military pressure on the democratic island, which it claims as part of its territory, and Taipei has strengthened relations with both the US and Japan.

On Sunday, China condemned a stopover by Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s vice president, in New York on his way to attend a presidential inauguration in Paraguay. Beijing sees such stopovers by Taiwanese officials as further US support for Taiwan.

China’s foreign ministry said Mr Lai’s trip “seriously undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and vowed unspecified “resolute and forceful measures”. Taiwanese officials expect Chinese military drills around the island in the coming days.