US, Japan cooperate to develop weapons to intercept hypersonic missiles

Japan and the United States will agree this week to cooperate on developing interceptor missiles capable of countering hypersonic missiles developed by China, Russia and North Korea.

Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported on August 12 that the agreement is expected to be reached during a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on August 18 on the sidelines of the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit at Camp David (Maryland).

In January 2023, at a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, Washington and Tokyo agreed to study plans to develop the above-mentioned interceptor missile.

The deal, expected to be approved on August 18, will be the second between the US and Japan in the field of missile defense technology.

Previously, Washington and Tokyo developed a longer-range missile to intercept warheads in space.

This long-range missile will be deployed by Tokyo on warships in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula to guard against missile attacks by Pyongyang.

Unlike ballistic missiles - which fly on predictable trajectories before re-entering the atmosphere and hitting their target - hypersonic missiles can change their flight paths, making them harder to intercept.

Previously, the British Telegraph reported that a joint venture between the UK and France is also developing an interceptor system capable of destroying Russia's hypersonic missiles, as the West is racing to counter new technology developed by Moscow.

According to Vietnam+