US to establish AMRAAM facility in Japan, increase SM-3 production

A Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM is carried on a weapons loader in front of an F-16 fighter aircraft. (US DoD)

The United States and Japan have agreed to establish a final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility for AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) in Japan.

The agreement followed discussions between Japanese Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on 28 October, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus in the Philippines.

“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 said during a press conference.

Koizumi added that the missiles are “essential for the F-35” and form part of Operation ‘Supercharge', a US-Japan initiative to strengthen co-operation on defence equipment and technology. However, he did not announce the location of the planned facility.

The proposed measure complements a framework agreement signed in February between RTX subsidiary Raytheon and the US Department of War (DoW) to increase annual AMRAAM production to at least 1,900 missiles.

The agreement follows more than two years of discussions on missile co-production.

A US-Japan plan to co-produce Raytheon's AIM-120 AMRAAMs was first discussed in 2024. An ATLA spokesperson told Janes at the time that, if the missile co-production plan “is realised”, the programme “would complement Japan's stocks of AIM-120s”.

In April, following a feasibility study supported by Mitsubishi Electric and Raytheon, the US and Japan discussed establishing the AMRAAM FACO facility in Japan and expanding the scope of co-production to include circuit card assemblies.