Japan Defense Budget Request Includes Standoff Missiles
NHK has learned what defensive items will be funded under the Japanese Defense Ministry's demand for budgetary appropriations for the next fiscal year.
The Defense Ministry has compiled the budget request to drastically enhance Japan's defense capabilities over the next five years, without showing the total cost.
The ministry plans to start mass production of new long-range standoff missiles that can attack targets from outside enemy range and could be used for counterstrikes.
They include an improved version of the Ground Self-Defense Force's ground-to-ship missile and high-speed glide bombs to defend remote islands.
The ministry also plans to develop unmanned aircraft that can be used not only for surveillance and information gathering but also to launch an attack.
The ministry says it will construct vessels equipped with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system as an alternative to the scrapped plan to deploy the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system.
The vessels will have the capability to respond to ballistic missiles as well as to hypersonic glide weapons, which are said to be more difficult to intercept.
Besides the cost for such weapons and systems, the ministry plans to demand a budget for the next fiscal year that will cost a record amount of nearly 5.6 trillion yen, or about 40.8 billion dollars.