The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Japan of equipment and services in support of its indigenous Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) programme, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 10 March 2025.
The FMS package, which covers an estimated USD 200 million (EUR 183 million) worth of equipment and services to be provided by the US government, has been passed to the US Congress for final approval.
The proposed sale “will improve Japan’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing defense for remote islands”, the DSCA stated.
The HVGP, which is being produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is a hypersonic weapon intended to defend remote Japanese islands from attack by invading enemy forces. The system is being developed in two blocks: Block 1 is based on existing technology, has a range that has been variously reported as both 500 km and 900 km, and is intended to be deployed in the fiscal year 2026; Block 2A and Block 2B, which will introduce hypersonic waverider technology and reportedly extend the system’s range out to 2,000 km and 3,000 km respectively, is intended to be completed in the fiscal years 2027 and 2030 respectively and deployed in the 2030s.
The Japanese Ministry of Defence’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has conducted four successful test launches of the HVGP from a site in California: one in August 2024, two in November 2024 and one in January 2025.
