MULTINATIONAL

The acquisition of advanced defense capabilities places such demands on national budgetary and technology resources that no country can maintain total autonomy in meeting critical requirements across all capabilities. This reality has been evident in an increasing reliance on international cooperation for the development and procurement of major defense systems in Western countries and their partners.

For many years political and institutional constraints limited the interaction of Japan’s defense industry with international partners. However, growing geopolitical tensions and requirements for more substantial capabilities, as well as a continued need to access critical technologies and ‘know-how’ experience, have all emphasized the need for Japan to engage allies and partners more substantially over a range of defense acquisition interests in the future.

Current dialogue on cooperation between the F-X and Tempest fighter projects, in Japan and Europe, is certain to set precedents for other major Japanese defense programs. To help meet this future on realistic and effective terms, Japan’s defense community can draw on lessons – successful and otherwise – from various international acquisition programs. This webinar will discuss three key examples drawn from previous Japan, US and third country experiences:

▪ US-German acquisition of the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM).
▪ Japan-US co-development of the SM-3 Block IIA missile defense interceptor.
▪ Eurofighter consortium development of the Typhoon fighter aircraft.

The relevance of these examples of Japan’s participation will be addressed by a Japanese expert in a closing commentary.