Naval News

On August 4, 2020, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the recommendations report of the “Missile Defense Study Team” of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which is Japan’s ruling party.

First, with regard to enhancing IAMD, the report considers alternative plans to the suspension of Aegis Ashore deployment, as well as the operation of low-orbit satellite constellations and UAVs, which are essential for detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons. In particular, with regard to alternatives to Aegis Ashore, proposals to mount the Aegis system on mega-floats, to place the launcher near the coastline, and to build additional Aegis destroyers have been considered, but the report does not provide a specific solution and only urges the government to take action.

Another major issue is how and where to use the radar initially contracted for Aegis Ashore. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) had decided to procure the SPY-7, a state-of-the-art Lockheed Martin radar for Japan’s Aegis Ashore. While the deployment of Aegis Ashore has been suspended, the contract for the radar has not been cancelled. So the question remains about the use of the SPY-7 radar and it has been raised by Japanese politicians.

On August 3, the day before the proposal was handed to the Japanese government, the deputy head of the study team, LDP lawmaker Gen Nakatani, a former defense minister, appeared on Fuji Television’s news program “Prime News”. At the time, he said that the SPY-7 “should be deployed on the Pacific side as an early warning radar”. His comments were probably made with China (not North Korea) in mind. Currently, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has increased its activity from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, if a land attack missile is launched from a PLAN vessel or aircraft in the Pacific, its detection could be delayed by the currently deployed Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) radar sites.

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