Defense News

The United States and Japan signed a cooperative agreement Wednesday to co-develop a hypersonic missile defense capability designed to neutralize hypersonic threats in the glide phase of flight, according to May 15 statements from both the Missile Defense Agency and Japan’s Defense Ministry.

The two countries have been in talks regarding the possibility for well over a year. The MDA is still early in the development process for the Glide Phase Interceptor, and the agency’s budget plan envisions a first fielding in the mid-2030s. Two companies are competing to design GPI – Raytheon Technologies and Northrop Grumman. Each contractor won contracts in June 2022.

During the Japan-U.S. summit meeting in August 2023, the governments announced they had begun working through a cooperative development agreement of GPI.

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