WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - A U.S.-led defense

manufacturing partnership agreed to launch a new missile motor

production program with Japan, push forward a drone cooperation

effort across Asia and explore building a new ammunition

production line in the Philippines, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience,

known as PIPIR, is a group of nations working together to build

up their weapons and defense manufacturing capacity in the

Asia-Pacific region. The United States set it up in May 2024 to

reduce supply chain risks and help allies produce and maintain

military equipment closer to where it might be needed.

The Pentagon published a joint statement following a virtual

meeting on Wednesday, where the group welcomed two new members -

Thailand and the United Kingdom - bringing its total membership

to 16 countries spanning both the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

The group said it had agreed to set up a new program to

produce solid rocket motors - the propulsion systems used in

many guided weapons - with Japan taking the lead. The move is

seen as a way to boost production capacity outside the United

States for a key weapons component.

On drones, members agreed on a series of steps to develop

common standards and shared supply chains for small military

drones across the region, including work on batteries and small

motors that power them. The group also agreed to explore

building drones together across a range of military uses.

On ammunition, members said they would look into the

Philippines hosting a new facility to load, assemble, and

package 30mm cannon rounds - a type of ammunition widely used by

military aircraft and ground vehicles.