{"id":24543,"date":"2019-04-12T15:33:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T15:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/12\/us-clears-japan-for-12b-missile-package-to-defend-against-ballistic-threats\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:04:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:04:41","slug":"us-clears-japan-for-12b-missile-package-to-defend-against-ballistic-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/asia-pacific\/2019\/04\/12\/us-clears-japan-for-12b-missile-package-to-defend-against-ballistic-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"US clears Japan for $1.2B missile package to defend against ballistic threats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MELBOURNE, Australia \u2014 The U.S. State Department has cleared a further sale of missiles used for ballistic missile defense<\/a> to Japan, marking the third and largest batch of such missiles to the U.S. ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approval for the potential sale in response to a request by Japan<\/a>, announced by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, includes a package of 56 SM-3 Block IB missiles for an estimated cost of $1.15 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The request will now move to Congress, where members of the Senate have 30 days to raise concerns about the potential sale, although it is unlikely to meet any objections. Total quantities and dollar totals can change during the congressional approval process.<\/p>\n\n\n\t