A Navy spokesperson told Breaking Defense adding PAC-3 to the surface force's arsenal would not fill a capability gap, but supplement the current inventory of surface-to-air interceptors.
Washington and Tokyo hope to nail down co-funding details for the Glide Phase Interceptor by next year, according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
MDA Acting Director Rear Adm. Doug Williams said that the agency's plans include beginning tests of its Next-Generation Interceptor in 2027, "with the anticipation of operational testing of NGI at the end of 2029."
"Industry has told us that they they think they can go faster, and we're hopeful that we can accelerate the program," said Laura DeSimone, Missile Defense Agency executive director.