The U.S. military will deploy a state-of-the-art short-range air defense system called the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, or MADIS, in next month's joint drill with Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, informed sources said.
The Resolute Dragon Japan-U.S. joint exercise will be held Sept. 11-25 in Okinawa Prefecture and other parts of Japan, focusing on the defense of remote islands. The drill will be the fifth of its kind.
This is believed to be the first deployment of MADIS in Okinawa.
The system is used to respond to low-altitude attacks by cruise missiles and drones.
With China's maritime ambitions in mind, the system is expected to be deployed in the Okinawa city of Ishigaki, which includes the Senkaku Islands. China claims the Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea, calling them Diaoyu in Chinese.
In April, the U.S. military deployed MADIS during a joint military drill with the Philippines, which has been involved in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea with Beijing.
In the upcoming drill in Japan, an unmanned surface-to-ship missile system called the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, is also expected to be deployed in Okinawa for the first time, the sources said.
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