Japan is seeking to acquire the U.S.-made AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) under its fiscal year 2027 defense budget request to suppress enemy warship air defenses and enable long-range anti-ship strikes.
In a separate move outlined in the same budget request, Tokyo is also moving to add a new air-to-air role to its extended-range ASM-3 Kai supersonic anti-ship missile. Naval News previously reported on the JASDF’s plan to employ the ASM-3ER against high-value airborne targets, leveraging its supersonic speed and extended range to engage enemy AWACS and aerial refueling tankers.
Both procurement efforts were included among the new acquisition initiatives in the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) FY2027 budget request, released on August 31. For AARGM-ER, no quantity or cost was disclosed, with funding submitted as an unpriced “item request.”
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo on September 1, Gen. Takehiro Morita, Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), provided further details on the intended maritime role of AARGM-ER. Morita described AARGM-ER as a supersonic, air-launched anti-radiation missile that can be carried by both the F-35A and F-35B and is capable of degrading the air-defense capabilities of adversary warships. The missile would be “an asset that contributes to the effective conduct of anti-ship attacks,” Morita said.
His comments provide new insight into how the JASDF intends to employ AARGM-ER in maritime strike operations. While the weapon is not itself an anti-ship missile, it can attack elements of an adversary’s air-defense system—potentially degrading a warship’s ability to defend itself against follow-on anti-ship strikes.
AARGM-ER is being developed and produced by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Navy. It is an extended-range evolution of the AGM-88E AARGM and incorporates a new high-performance airframe, propulsion system, and advanced warhead. Northrop Grumman describes AARGM-ER as a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile designed to counter modern surface-to-air threats, capable of rapidly detecting and defeating distant land- or sea-based air-defense systems.
The Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) says AARGM-ER is intended to suppress or destroy enemy air defenses. The missile is designed to detect, track, and suppress or destroy radio-frequency-enabled surface-to-air missile systems that employ shutdown tactics.
At the September 1 press conference, Naval News asked Morita why the JASDF is seeking the missile and whether its acquisition signals a greater emphasis on SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) and DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses) capabilities in future air operations. Morita declined to elaborate on specific operational scenarios, citing security concerns regarding actual weapon employment.
The maritime relevance of AARGM-ER has already been demonstrated in U.S. testing. On November 30, 2022, an AARGM-ER launched from a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet successfully engaged an operationally representative moving maritime target at the Point Mugu Sea Range off Southern California. Capt. Alex Dutko, the U.S. Navy’s PMA-242 program manager, said at the time that the test demonstrated the missile’s ability to engage moving maritime targets, a capability he described as vital to the Navy’s ability to control sea lanes during conflict.
For Japan, Morita’s explicit reference to degrading warship air defenses comes as Tokyo rapidly expands its maritime strike posture. Japan is developing and acquiring a growing family of long-range stand-off weapons, including improved variants of the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, to engage hostile forces outside their threat envelopes.
In a maritime strike scenario, AARGM-ER could be deployed ahead of or alongside dedicated anti-ship missiles to neutralize enemy radars and defensive sensors, severely complicating an adversary warship’s ability to track and intercept incoming salvos.
Morita said at the same press conference that software modifications would allow the missile to retain its long-range characteristics while also being used in an air-to-air role.
Asked by Naval News whether the planned acquisition of AARGM-ER and the addition of an air-to-air capability to the ASM-3 Kai reflected a broader change in JASDF air operations, Morita said the service is examining various capabilities in light of what Japan calls “new ways of warfare,” but declined to discuss specific operational concepts.
In a maritime strike scenario, AARGM-ER could potentially be used to suppress or destroy radars and other elements of a warship’s air-defense system before or alongside attacks by dedicated anti-ship missiles. Such an approach could complicate an adversary warship’s ability to detect, track and intercept incoming weapons.
Japan’s planned acquisition comes as the U.S. Navy is planning a temporary “strategic pause” in its own AARGM-ER procurement. which Naval News reported in April is expected to resume in FY2028. Tokyo’s initiative highlights a broader push to acquire not only longer-range strike weapons, but also the specialized suppression assets needed to penetrate increasingly dense naval air-defense networks.
