An F-35B Lightning II with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), prepares to land aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), while another F-35B Lightning II flies over on Dec. 4, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
THE PENTAGON – Officials in Tokyo have requested Marines deploy F-35B fighters aboard Japan’s largest warships, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday. Read More
President Donald J. Trump joined by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe arrive aboard the JS Kaga Tuesday, May 28, 2019, in Yokosuka, Japan. White House Photo
When President Donald Trump visited Japan this month, he was taken on board JS Kaga, one of a pair of new Izumo-class helicopter carriers built for the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) set to be retrofitted to fly the F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The carriers represent a new approach to maritime security that is shifting to a more forward defense posture. Read More
U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) successfully conducted a flight test Feb. 3 (Hawaii Standard Time), resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target using the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA off the west coast of Hawaii. For more information visit https://www.mda.mil. (U.S. Navy photo by Leah Garton/Released)
To counter immediate and growing North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile threats, three former Japanese ministers of defense said Tokyo needs to work with Washington to enhance ballistic missile defense capabilities to better defend itself and develop an effective counterstrike if attacked. Read More
Sailors aboard Japanese destroyer JS KONGO (DDG-173) watch pierside line handlers as the ship moors pierside Naval Station Pearl Harbor on Oct. 15, 2007. US Navy Photo
President Donald Trump’s message to Tokyo to pick up more of the burden in the defense alliance “should be a trigger for us” to examine “our own thoughts of security,” a founder of the Japan Innovation Party told an audience at a Washington, D.C., think tank Monday. Read More
KN-11 Launch. North Korean Central News Agency Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Operating under the assumption that North Korea can — or is close to — fielding a ballistic missile tipped with a nuclear warhead, the U.S. is working more and more closely with Japan and South Korea in the realm of ballistic missile defense (BMD). Read More
U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris on Feb. 25, 2016 addressing reporters in the Pentagon. DoD News Image
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific has not received any official word from Manila to change its defense relationship with the Philippines – despite months of statements to the contrary from firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte. Read More
DCNS Shortfin Barracuda Block 1A. DCNS Photo
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — France’s DCNS has won Australia’s keenly-watched, $38.5 billion Project SEA 1000 Future Submarine program to replace six Collins-class submarines currently in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Read More
Mitsubishi F-15J. Photo by Toshi Aoki via Wikipedia
The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has approved a record $42.1 billion 2016 defense budget largely seen as a response to China’s rapidly expanding military, particularly the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Read More
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, listens as Capt. Christopher Bolt, left, commanding officer of the U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on Oct. 18, 2015. US Navy Photo
Shinzo Abe became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit a U.S. aircraft carrier when his helicopter landed onboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) on Sunday. Read More
Undated photo of Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force submarine Soryu (SS-501)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Japan’s submarine bid team has outlined the details of its proposal for Australia’s SEA1000 Future Submarine program to replace the Royal Australian Navy’s existing Collins-class boats. Read More
