US, Japan all set to develop hypersonic missile interceptor: Report
US Japan
Japan and US are set to join hands this week to develop a hypersonic missile interceptor together in order to counter hypersonic warheads that are being developed by China, Russia and North Korea. Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported this on Sunday (August 13).
According to the report, the agreement on hypersonic interceptors is expected when US President Joe Biden meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the US on Friday.
Reuters reported that there was no immediate comment from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Hypersonic projectiles can change course, unlike typical ballistic warheads which fly along a predictable trajectory as they fall from space to their targets. The ability of the hypersonic missiles to change course makes them difficult to target.
Biden and Kishida will meet on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol. The summit will take place at presidential retreat at Camp David, as reported by the Yomiuri.
US and Japan agreed to consider joint development of the interceptor missilein January. The decision was taken at a meeting of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin with their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada.
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An agreement would be the second such collaboration in missile defence technology.
Washington and Tokyo developed a longer-range missile designed to hit warheads in space, which Japan is deploying on warships in the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula to guard against North Korean missiles strikes.
(With inputs from agencies)
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