Japan is responding to North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs by adding air-launched cruise missiles to its arsenal. The country–which operates under a pacifist constitution since the end of the Second World War—is looking at buying Lockheed Martin’s stealthy 600+ nautical mile range AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) and the Norwegian-developed Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for its tactical fighter fleet. While the AGM-158B would be carried by Japan’s F-15 Eagles, the smaller 300+ nautical mile range JSM would be carried internally onboard Tokyo’s forthcoming fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. “We are planning to introduce the JSM that will be mounted on the F-35A as ‘stand-off’ missiles that can be fired beyond the range of enemy threats,” Japanese defense minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters.