Nikkei Asian Review

Japan and the U.S. plan to deploy a network of small satellites in low-Earth orbit to detect and track next-generation missiles being developed to evade current defense systems, Nikkei has learned.

The project is expected to cost over $9 billion under a U.S. plan and be operational by the mid-2020s. The two sides will hammer out the details of the arrangement.

The move is in response to the mounting breadth and sophistication of the missile arsenals being developed by China, Russia and North Korea. It also comes as nations begin to look at space as a final frontier for warfare.

China lifted this year’s defense budget 6.6% to around $180 billion. It possesses about 2,000 medium-range missiles that are capable of striking Japan. Beijing has hundreds of nuclear warheads under its belt, and experts say the number will more than double over the next decade.

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