It cannot be avoided to attach importance to cost-effectiveness and review defense equipment. It is necessary to swiftly consider alternative measures for enhancing response capabilities against missiles.
The Defense Ministry has announced the suspension of a procedure to introduce the Aegis Ashore ground-based missile interception system. It is effectively the abandonment of the plan.
The plan was to deploy Aegis Ashore in Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures in fiscal 2025 to intercept North Korean and other missiles, covering the entirety of Japan's territory with the two units of the system. The plan was aimed at preparing for simultaneous attacks by multiple missiles.
Defense Minister Taro Kono explained that the possibility could not be ruled out that the boosting equipment of an interceptor missile would land outside a Self-Defense Forces training area. It would cost several hundred billion yen to revamp the system in order to ensure its safety.
The costs of Aegis Ashore -- two units of the main body, plus missiles -- would reach about 700 billion yen, which has been criticized as too expensive. The suspension of the plan was decided based on a judgment that it would be difficult to spend more for that purpose.
There has been strong opposition to the deployment in the two prefectures. According to a survey by the ministry last year, it is largely due to repeated blunders, such as the use of the wrong scales in sketching topographical features of the locations.
The government has already spent a budget of more than 170 billion yen to develop high-performance radars and other equipment. It is unavoidable to say that the plan was an optimistic projection. The ministry should seriously reflect on the issue.
What is important is to come up with convincing measures against security threats and steadily enhance relevant capabilities.
The government plans to increase the number of Aegis destroyers to eight next year as a defense against ballistic missile attacks. It is indispensable to keep them constantly deployed in the Sea of Japan and enhance preparedness for quick responses.
The U.S. military also deploys Aegis ships in the Sea of Japan and has further taken on the mission of detecting missile launches with early-warning satellites. It is hoped that the U.S. military and the SDF will strengthen their joint response capabilities.
It is said that North Korea has deployed 1,000 missiles that have Japan within their range. Last year, it launched a new type of missile that flew on an irregular trajectory. China is developing unmanned aircraft with artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons that fly at more than five times the speed of sound.
For now, the SDF will deal with the issue of intercepting new types of missiles by revamping existing surface-to-air guided missiles. It also intends to make unmanned aircraft vulnerable with lasers. Further research is needed.
The purchase of the latest equipment through the U.S. government under that country's Foreign Military Sales program tends to be expensive because the United States dominates the setting of prices. The Japanese government needs to persistently negotiate with the United States and aim to reduce the costs of such procurement.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on June 17, 2020.
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