Want China Times
Date: 2015-06-14
By: Tseng Fu-sheng

The United States and Japan have successfully conducted the first live-fire test of

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House, April 23. (File photo/Xinhua)

Raytheon’s new Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile that is being jointly developed by the two countries.

The United States contributed a little over US$2 billion to the program, which began in 2006 and is set to see the missile fully deployed in 2018, while Japan provided around US$1 billion. It marks the first successful case in which the US and Japan have shared the cost of developing and modifying ballistic missile defense technology.

During the Obama administration, the US has been actively developing a global ballistic missile defense system to protect its territory from missile attacks and building up its missile defense capabilities in regions to shield its overseas military bases and NATO allies, as well as its allies in East Asia and the Middle East.     [FULL  STORY]