Japan, with its current missile defense capabilities, has difficulty intercepting hypersonic weapons.
Japan aims to adapt its guided surface-to-air missiles to intercept hypersonic weapons being developed by China and Russia. This was reported by Kyodo News in connection with the Japanese government.
It was noted that it is planned to start mass production of remanufactured Type-03 medium-range guided missiles before FY2029 after updating the software for their launchers until FY2026.
As a senior Self-Defense Forces official noted, Japan, with its current missile defense capabilities, would struggle to intercept hypersonic weapons designed to travel on unpredictable trajectories at five times the speed of sound.
According to him, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyers, equipped with Standard Missile-3 interceptors, are tasked with hitting incoming missiles in the outer environment. If they fail to intercept, the Air Self-Defense Force’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 ground interceptor will counter the attack at a lower level.
It is reported that Type-03 missiles with a range of tens of kilometers were adopted by the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 2003 to intercept aircraft. These missiles were first redesigned in 2017 to deal with cruise missiles flying at low altitudes at high speeds.
The new upgrade is expected to improve the Type-03 missiles’ ability to predict the flight path of hypersonic weapons, as well as their detection and tracking using radars.
It can be remembered that in Japan, because of the DPRK missile, they gave an alarm signal.
It was also reported that a Japanese rocket failed to launch.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.