South Korea, US, and North China-Russia Collaborate on Joint Development of Hypersonic Weapon Interceptor Missiles

Japan is expected to jointly develop interceptor missiles with the United States to counter the hypersonic weapons of North Korea, China, and Russia.

Russia's Hypersonic Missile 'Tsirkon' Test Launch [Image Source=Yonhap News]

According to major Japanese media reports on the 13th, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plan to hold a separate bilateral summit during the trilateral summit of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan scheduled for the 18th (local time) at Camp David near Washington, D.C. The two countries are coordinating to announce the joint development of interceptor missiles as one of the agreements from this summit. If a final agreement is reached, it will be the second case of joint interceptor missile development between the two countries, following the 'SM-3 Block 2A' developed in 2017. The governments of both countries are reportedly aiming to jointly develop a new interceptor missile within 10 years.

Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, and fly at low altitudes with erratic trajectories, making them difficult to detect with existing radar and challenging to intercept. However, China successfully conducted a launch test of hypersonic weapons in July 2021, and Russia is known to have used them in the Ukraine war. North Korea has also repeatedly conducted launch tests since September 2021, with analyses suggesting that the top speed reached approximately Mach 10 during a test in January last year.

In this regard, Japan's Ministry of Defense has been working to improve the performance of the Ground Self-Defense Force's medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM-4), but it is reported that interception is difficult unless at the final impact stage, indicating the need to secure more advanced interception capabilities.

The Japanese government is also considering linking with the small satellite network that the United States is promoting to build for early missile detection, which is indispensable for intercepting hypersonic weapons. At the end of last year, Japan declared the possession of "counterattack capability" (the ability to strike enemy bases) through revisions of three major security documents, including the National Security Strategy, and is also promoting the maintenance of long-range missiles to guarantee this capability.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.