US and Japan Agree to Build Joint Missile-Production Facility
Japan's defense chief and US Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed in Cebu to build a Japanese plant for air-to-air missiles used on the F-35, citing concern over China's regional moves.
The United States and Japan have agreed to build a Japanese facility for the joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said late Wednesday, the latest step in a defense buildup both governments tie directly to China’s regional conduct, according to AP News.
Koizumi made the announcement at a news conference in Cebu, Philippines, where he met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of an annual gathering of Southeast Asian defense ministers and their Asian and Western counterparts.
What was agreed
The two governments will establish a plant in Japan to jointly produce the missiles, which Koizumi said “are essential for the F-35,” the US-made fighter jet flown by both militaries. He gave no further technical detail on the missile variant, output targets, or a construction timeline.
The joint effort carries the name “Operation Supercharge,” according to the AP report. It follows a string of earlier steps by the two allies to deepen defense-industrial cooperation, including prior agreements expanding co-production of Patriot interceptor components amid strained US munitions stockpiles.
The China framing
Koizumi and Hegseth tied the agreement explicitly to China. The defense minister said he “shared a sense of crisis … regarding the increasingly severe regional situation” with Hegseth, and that the two “agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance with greater speed and intensity than ever before.”
Koizumi added that the discussion was “not directed at any specific country” — a standard diplomatic hedge Tokyo and Washington have used before when announcing moves widely read as responses to Beijing.
The announcement came against the backdrop of overlapping territorial disputes: China’s assertions in the South China Sea against the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, and its dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea. Both governments have repeatedly cited those disputes when describing the need for expanded deterrence capacity.
Why it matters
A Japan-based production line for air-to-air missiles tied to the F-35 program would mark a further step in distributing US alliance munitions manufacturing outside the continental United States — a goal the Pentagon has pursued as it manages demand from simultaneous conflicts and tension points in the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. Washington’s defense-industrial base has faced strain supplying both Ukraine and Indo-Pacific partners with interceptors and precision munitions; a Japanese plant would give the alliance a second production node for missiles used on a jet already fielded by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force.
The deal was struck on the sidelines of the Southeast Asian defense ministers’ meeting, a venue that has increasingly become a forum for US officials to coordinate regional deterrence posture. Hegseth has used the same trip to push a broader defense framework with Asian partners as China expands its military footprint in the region.
No cost figures, groundbreaking date, or specific missile designation beyond “F-35”-linked air-to-air munitions were disclosed in Wednesday’s announcement.
Related coverage
America Strikes has tracked the parallel buildup of US missile-defense posture and regional flashpoints this week: the deployment of US Patriot batteries tied to Texas training alongside the Israel-Iran strike response, continued fallout from Iran’s claim that it has not repaired damaged nuclear sites, and the broader diplomatic track around Qatar’s role awaiting Iran’s response on a nuclear proposal.
This is a developing story. America Strikes will update as further details on the facility’s location, timeline, and cost are confirmed.
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