July 7, 2009 :: News
One consequence of North Korea's increasing belligerence over the past decade has been the sustained and accelerated development of Japan's air defense resources, including a missile defense system.
Japan has recently decided to upgrade its missile detection capabilities as part of a broader upgrade of all of its air defenses. This follows the announcement in early June of plans to integrate a missile-launch satellite early warning system into their defense systems. Japan made the decision to develop an anti-ballistic missile defense system in 2003.
The satellite detection upgrade is part of the transition from the old Base Air Defense Ground Environment to the new Japan Aerospace Defense Ground Environment (JADGE), and is a response to calls for an improvement to what was considered to be an increasingly outdated defensive surveillance satellite capability.
According to government officials, JADGE will be a centralized and much more automated detection and defense system, headquartered in Yokota, Japan—also the site of a U.S. Air Force base housing the 374th Airlift Wing, a support center for all of the Defense Department's Pacific operations.
Furthermore, following the North Korean missile launches over 4th of July weekend, it was reported—with a Japanese government-authorized leak as the suspected source—that the Japanese are considering purchasing and deploying THAAD as an upgrade to their missile defense capabilities.
» Japan Upgrades Missile-Detection System
» Japan May Purchase THAAD missiles
» Japan to Develop Satellite Early Warning System
» Missile system details for: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
