The United States is weighing the deployment of its Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) for the upcoming Resolute Dragon exercise with Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. The annual training event is designed to boost joint defense capabilities, with a focus on defending Japan’s outlying islands.
Taking place between September 11 and 25, the drills will be conducted across various regions, including Okinawa Prefecture in Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Iwo Jima, some 760 miles from Japan’s mainland. NHK reports that roughly 12,000 Japanese soldiers and 1,900 US troops will take part, with potential live-fire demonstrations involving rocket artillery. Deployment of NMESIS to Camp Ishigaki is under consideration.
Operational since 2023, NMESIS mounts two Naval Strike Missiles on an unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, enabling rapid air transport and engagement of sea targets up to 115 miles away. The platform is central to America’s distributed maritime operations doctrine, integrating manned and unmanned assets for flexible force projection.
Its possible use in Japan follows a similar deployment in the Philippines earlier this year under the US First Island Chain maritime containment strategy against China. Meanwhile, China and Russia recently conducted Sea of Japan naval drills, involving destroyers, submarine rescue missions, and joint air defense operations aimed at enhancing bilateral military cooperation.
