A U.S.-Japan AMRAAM missile production plant will be built in Japan under an agreement announced Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, by Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi after he met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu, Philippines. The facility will assemble AIM-120 air-to-air missiles that Koizumi called “essential for the F-35.”
What the AMRAAM missile production deal covers
The two governments agreed to set up a final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Japan for the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, made by RTX subsidiary Raytheon, Janes reported. Koizumi did not name a site, a start date, a cost or an annual output target.
“This is a groundbreaking agreement that will not only ensure the acquisition of equipment needed by both Japan and the United States, but will also strengthen Japan’s defence industry base,” Koizumi told reporters, according to Janes. He said the work falls under “Operation Supercharge,” a joint push to deepen cooperation on defense equipment and technology.
The AMRAAM is a radar-guided missile carried by U.S. and allied fighters, including the F-35 stealth jet flown by both the U.S. military and Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force.
Two years of co-production talks
Washington and Tokyo first discussed co-producing the AMRAAM in 2024. In April 2026, after a feasibility study supported by Mitsubishi Electric and Raytheon, the allies discussed placing the FACO line in Japan and adding circuit card assemblies to the work, Janes reported. Those talks ran through the Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment forum, known as DICAS, which Japan’s Ministry of Defense convened for a fourth round this spring.
The Japanese plant would add to U.S. output. In February, Raytheon and the Pentagon signed a framework deal to raise annual AMRAAM production to at least 1,900 missiles, according to Janes.
Koizumi and Hegseth on regional deterrence
The announcement came on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, an annual gathering of Southeast Asian defense chiefs and their partners. Koizumi said he “shared a sense of crisis” with Hegseth “regarding the increasingly severe regional situation,” and that they agreed to strengthen the alliance’s deterrence “with greater speed and intensity than ever before,” CNA reported. He said the talks were not aimed at any specific country.
In a separate meeting with ASEAN ministers hosted by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Hegseth described the U.S. approach as “strong, quiet and clear.” He said it was “strong enough to deter coercion and aggression, quiet enough to avoid needless escalation or public theatrics.” Neither Hegseth nor Koizumi named China in those remarks. The Boston Report previewed Hegseth’s trip to Cebu on Monday.
Why the Japan missile plant matters
Missile stocks have become a priority for the U.S. and its allies as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East draw down inventories; our Oct. 28 briefing tracked the latest Iran-related moves. Disputes in Asia add pressure. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims, and Beijing and Tokyo dispute Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, CNA noted. The United States has said it is obligated to defend the Philippines if its forces come under armed attack in the South China Sea.
The deal arrived on a day of fresh tension in the region. On Thursday, North Korea fired about a dozen short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area, South Korea’s military said.
Officials have not said when construction could begin or which Japanese company would run the line.
Sources
- Janes: US to establish AMRAAM facility in Japan, increase SM-3 production
- CNA: US and Japan agree to establish missile-production facility
- Japan Ministry of Defense: The 4th Japan-U.S. DICAS meeting
Additional sources
- AP: US and Japan to set up a Japanese facility for joint missile production
- Army Recognition: U.S. and Japan agree on AIM-120 AMRAAM assembly facility
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