The US is considering deploying its advanced NMESIS anti-ship missile system during a high-profile joint military exercise with Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force next month, as tensions in the Pacific continue to escalate.
Set for September 11–25, the Resolute Dragon 2025 exercise will span key regions of Japan — from Okinawa and southern Kyushu to Hokkaido and the distant island of Iwo Jima — and will involve 12,000 Japanese and 1,900 US troops, according to NHK. The drill aims to reinforce the alliance’s ability to defend Japan’s outlying territories, with possible live-fire rocket artillery drills.
As part of the exercise, the US military may position the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) at Camp Ishigaki in Okinawa. The system, introduced in 2023, features two Naval Strike Missiles mounted on an unmanned JLTV chassis and is capable of striking sea targets up to 115 miles (185 kilometers) away. Its rapid deployability and autonomy make it integral to the US distributed maritime operations concept.
The proposed deployment follows NMESIS’s debut in the Philippines during a bilateral drill earlier this year — another step in the First Island Chain strategy meant to limit Chinese naval influence in the western Pacific.
In response, China and Russia conducted joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan in August, highlighting their deepening military partnership. The exercise involved guided-missile destroyers, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and submarine rescue operations, underscoring the broader contest for dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
