The government is considering the introduction of the U.S. Avenger unmanned combat aircraft to the Maritime Self-Defense Force with an eye on strengthening its surveillance of Chinese naval vessels in waters around Japan and North Korean smuggling activities, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Tokyo plans to stipulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the new National Defense Program Guidelines to be compiled at the year-end. It aims to deploy the Avenger in the late 2020s.
Equipped with a jet engine, the Avenger can fly at a maximum speed of 740 kph and operate 18 hours or longer per flight. It is said the aircraft can be equipped with antiship missiles and bombs, enabling it to counter enemy naval vessels and other units without endangering personnel should a contingency arise.
If the plan materializes, it will mark the Self-Defense Forces' first use of an unmanned aircraft intended for use in combat.
The MSDF plans to use the Avenger to monitor Chinese naval vessels sailing in waters around Japan, as well as North Korean smuggling of refined petroleum products and other goods through ship-to-ship transfers on international waters.
The SDF currently rely mainly on manned patrol planes such as the P-3C and P-1 to conduct surveillance and ensure security around Japan. From fiscal 2021, the SDF plan to begin using three unmanned Global Hawk patrol aircraft at high altitudes of at least 15,000 meters to monitor missile launch preparations, among other activities.
The SDF plan to operate the Avenger at altitudes higher than those of manned aircraft, but lower than those of the Global Hawk, to reinforce the nation's surveillance capabilities.
With the introduction of unmanned aircraft, which can be operated by small numbers of personnel, the SDF aim to streamline its surveillance activities, such as by dispatching more patrol planes to monitor submarines, which is the planes' primary mission.
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