The State Department on Friday approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of hundreds of RTX [RTX] Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2B tactical missiles and related equipment for Japan.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the sale on Oct. 18.
Japan requested to buy up to 200 RAM Block 2B, RIM-116E along with non-major defense equipment like RAM Guided Missiles Round Pack (GMRP); Tri-Pack shipping and storage containers; training equipment; manuals and documentation and other elements of logistics and program support.
DSCA said the missiles would help Japan improve its security and meet current and future threats by “providing significantly enhanced area defense capabilities over critical East Asian and Western Pacific air and sea lines of communication.”
RAMs are used in naval warships to defend against anti-ship weapons.
The fiscal year 2024 defense authorization act expanded the kinds of weapons eligible for multi-year contracts to include RAM alongside Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Army’s new Precision Strike Missiles, Mark 48 Torpedoes, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles and Small Diameter Bombs (Defense Daily, Dec. 14, 2023).
Despite that authorization, the Pentagon’s FY ‘25 budget request did not include multi-year munitions contracts with RAMs (Defense Daily, March 14).