The Defense Ministry is considering three sea-based alternatives to the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system that was scrapped earlier this year.
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi disclosed the three alternatives at meetings Thursday of lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling coalition partner Komeito. Kishi indicated the ministry will carefully examine the three proposals, which feature radars and missile launch equipment on a ship or floating structure. A fit-for-purpose ship dedicated to ballistic missile defense is expected to be at the forefront of these considerations.
The ministry's three concrete options are a Self-Defense Forces destroyer; a converted commercial merchant ship; and building a floating offshore structure similar to an oil rig. It is expected all three options would involve two units operating radar and missile launch equipment used in the Aegis Ashore system. The government has signed a contract with the United States for this equipment.
Increasing the number of Aegis-equipped vessels would fall under option one. However, this alternative would involve hefty construction costs, and radar for Aegis Ashore differs from that used on an Aegis ship. Because of these and other reasons, "This option is becoming more unlikely," a senior Defense Ministry official said.
Another option that has been ruled out featured a land-based radar system and missiles launched from a sea-based platform. This plan was scrapped because of concerns over possible communication delays between the two components.
The ministry will compare and examine the cost, functions, technical feasibility and other factors of the three sea-based alternatives. It plans to reach a conclusion by the end of this year.
The ministry considered introducing the Aegis Ashore system because it could intercept incoming attacks around the clock throughout the year and it would reduce the workload of Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel. The sea-based alternatives cannot accomplish these objectives, and they highly likely will be restricted to ballistic missile defense.
These developments prompted some pointed questions from LDP and Komeito lawmakers at the meetings. "Won't this place an unreasonable burden on the MSDF?" asked one, while another said, "Won't a separate destroyer be needed to protect the commercial trading ship?"
The ministry has since indicated the Ground Self-Defense Force could be used in the sea-based alternative.
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