Oil rig among platforms suggested for missile defense

September 23, 2020

The Defense Ministry is pushing the idea of deploying a missile-defense system on a floating platform that will use the radar and other equipment from the now-abandoned, land-based Aegis Ashore project.

Ministry officials have come up with three options for the platform: a destroyer, a large commercial ship, or an oil rig. The options will be presented to ruling coalition lawmakers as early as this week.

After the government in June decided against deploying the U.S.-made Aegis Ashore system, over safety and other concerns, ministry officials scrambled to find an alternative way to protect Japan from missiles fired by North Korea…

 

Read the full story here