US missile shortages delay Tomahawk deliveries to Japan

U.S. officials have informed Japan that they will be unable to deliver 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles by March 2028 due to depleted stockpiles amid ongoing operations against Iran.

The United States is currently prioritising the Middle East, where hundreds of Tomahawk missiles have been fired at Iranian targets, Caliber.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.

In 2025, around 100 new missiles were produced, and roughly 240 were upgraded to modern standards.

Bloomberg sources note that missile expenditure in Iran has exceeded production and modernisation levels over the past two years.

In March, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed Tomahawk deliveries in a phone call. Koizumi also confirmed that the first batch of missiles has already arrived in Japan.

The supply agreement, signed in 2024 and valued at nearly $2.4 billion, represents one of the largest international orders for the manufacturer.

Earlier reports indicated that Japan’s first destroyer capable of launching Tomahawk missiles, the Chokai, was sent to the US in 2025 for modernisation and crew training.

Japan plans to equip all eight of its Aegis-equipped destroyers with the missiles.

At the end of March, The Washington Post reported that the US had fired more than 850 Tomahawk missiles at Iran during the first four weeks of the conflict.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov