Japan, U.S. to Cooperate on Satellite Network for Detecting Hypersonic Glide Weapons

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:41 JST, April 8, 2024

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden are set to confirm their cooperation on developing a satellite network to detect and track hypersonic glide weapons at a Japan-U.S. summit on Wednesday, according to several government sources.

The two countries aim to strengthen their missile defenses and counter North Korea and China, which are developing the weapons.

It is difficult to detect and intercept hypersonic gliders, which fly at low altitudes and speeds faster than Mach 5 and are highly maneuverable. To track the gliders, the United States is constructing a satellite constellation, in which many small satellites are operated as a single system.

The two leaders will also confirm cooperation in space surveillance, in light of China and Russia developing “killer satellites” to attack other countries’ satellites.