President Donald Trump announced that he had approved missiles for Japan's fleet of F-35s, and the first delivery of the munitions would occur this week.
Speaking aboard the USS George Washington in Japan, Trump said, "I'm delighted to report that I’ve just approved the first batch of missiles. They’ll arrive this week, so they’re ahead of schedule."
The sale is for AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder. President Joe Biden approved a $3.6 billion sale of AMRAAMs to Tokyo in January. Trump authorized Japan to buy $100 million in Sidewinder missiles last month.
Trump made the declaration as he toured Asia. During a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Takaichi Sanae, Trump signed an agreement to create a "new golden age" of the Washington-Tokyo alliance.
"The Agreement will help both countries to strengthen economic security, promote economic growth, and thereby continuously lead to global prosperity," a statement from the White House explained.
"The two leaders instructed relevant ministers and secretaries to take further steps for a NEW GOLDEN AGE of the ever-growing US-Japan Alliance," it added.
The Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X Sidewinder is the latest of the Sidewinder family of short-range air-to-air missiles. It features a high off-boresight focal-plane array seeker mounted on a highly maneuverable airframe with a greatly improved infrared counter-countermeasures feature. The AIM-9X incorporates many AIM-9M legacy components (rocket motor, warhead and active optical target detector), but its performance far exceeds the legacy Sidewinder. Unlike previous AIM-9 models, the AIM-9X can even be used against targets on the ground. —NAVAIR
After leaving Japan, Trump traveled to South Korea, where he met with Chinese President Xi on Thursday. "We’re going to have something that’s going to be very, very satisfactory to China and to us. I think we’re gonna have a - I think it’s going to be a very good meeting," Trump had said just ahead of the summit.
On multiple occasions during his trip to Asia, Trump has mentioned he would like to meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang has not responded to Trump’s offer.
North Korean officials have explained that Kim will only sit down with Trump if the US drops its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
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