August 12, 2003 :: Sioux City Journal :: News
The Japanese Defense Agency is planning a budget request of $1.2 billion for the development of a dual-layered missile defense system, a sum up from the $132 million allocated last year for research. The spike of attention comes amidst increased stirrings from North Korea, which test launched their Taepo’ dong I missile over the main Japanese island in 1998, and have since been making noise about a miniaturized nuclear weapons program. A recent white paper by the Japanese Defense Agency called missile defense a “pressing need,” and identified North Korea as a major and growing threat.
The proposed Japanese system would combine state-of-the-art Aegis cruisiers, with a sea-based boost-phase or midcourse-phase component, with a newer version of the Patriot missile, designed to intercept missile warheads in their terminal phase as they reenter the atmosphere toward their target. Japan currently has around 27 batteries of the PAC-2 version of the Patriot, but these are limited to interceting missiles with a range and speed significantly less than the longer-reaching (and thus more quickly moving) Taepo’ Dongs.
(Article)» Japanese Defense Agency white paper cites need for missile defenses
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