Mitsubishi will supply Patriots to the US

On Sunday, July 28, the Japanese Defense Ministry signed the first contract to supply the United States with missiles for the American-developed Patriot PAC-3 missile defense systems.

This is reportedly intended to replenish the US Army’s stockpiles, which are seriously depleted due to the transfer of such weapons to Ukraine.

According to the press, the contract amount is about 3 billion yen (approximately 20 million dollars at the current exchange rate). The number of missiles transferred to the United States is not specified. Apparently, this is the first, but not the last contract of this kind.

Patriot PAC-3 missile defense systems and missiles for them are manufactured in Japan by the heavy engineering corporation Mitsubishi Heavy Industries under an American license. The Japanese government in December last year authorized their sale to the United States on the condition that these weapons would not be directly transferred to Ukraine without Tokyo’s approval.

The joint document following the July 28 meeting of the heads of the US and Japanese foreign and military departments under the “2+2” formula said that the two countries would study the issue of joint production of military equipment. Specifically, the AMRAAM air-to-air missiles with a range of 105 to 180 km depending on the modification, as well as for the Patriot PAC-3 missile defense systems, were named.