The US has told Japan to expect severe delays in the delivery of 400 Tomahawk missiles due to the US war against Iran, The Financial Times has reported.
Sources told the FT that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth informed Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi of the delay during a call earlier this month. Tokyo is purchasing 400 Tomahawk missiles under a $2.35 billion deal finalized in 2024, as part of a US-backed Japanese military buildup that breaks with the pacifism outlined in the constitution the US imposed on Japan after World War II.
Tomahawks would give Japan the ability to strike the Chinese mainland since the missiles have a range of more than 1,000 miles. One aspect of the US strategy and military buildup against China in the Asia-Pacific is to encourage its allies to build up their own military forces, and the US focus on the Middle East and its munitions expenditure against Iran is seen as a blow to that plan.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the US used more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles in its bombing campaign against Iran, nearly one-third of its estimated pre-war inventory of 3,100. The FT report said Japan had expected to receive two batches of 200 Tomahawk missiles by April 2028, and that the delay could push that timeline back by up to two years.
Tomahawk missiles were used in the February 28 US strike on an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, which killed at least 156 civilians, including 120 boys and girls. Despite the clear evidence that the US was responsible for the strike, the Trump administration claims it’s still under investigation.
