The United States and Japan have agreed to set up a facility in Japan for the joint production of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, used by F-35 fighter jets, NPR reports.
Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, announced the deal in Cebu in the Philippines after meeting US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of a regional defence ministers' meeting. The plant will handle final assembly and inspection as part of a joint effort the two sides call Operation Supercharge.
Mr Koizumi also voiced concern about Chinese naval activity, saying three Chinese destroyers and a coastguard vessel had sailed together through the Osumi Strait south of Kyushu this week, the first time his ministry had seen that combination. Japan has been strengthening its forces in its south-western islands.
Source: NPR
