Japan is stepping up its efforts to build "attack capability against enemy bases"
According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese government plans to purchase a 500-kilometer off-zone missile for the F-35 fighter aircraft by March 2022, in order to achieve the ability to attack enemy bases beyond the range of enemy radars or air defense systems. . Once the procurement plan is implemented, Japan will actually have long-range missile offensive capabilities. At that time, Japan's special defense and security policy that Japan cannot develop offensive weapons will exist in name only.
Include in the procurement plan
According to Japan's Jiji News Agency, the Japanese authorities have included procurement in the mid-term defense construction plan for fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2023. In March of this year, the Ministry of Defense of Japan and the Norwegian Kongsberg Defense and Space Company signed a contract to purchase joint strike missiles, completing the purchase of the first batch of off-zone missiles.
It is reported that the Joint Strike Missile is an off-zone precision guided missile jointly developed by Raytheon of the United States and Kongsberg Defense and Space Company of Norway. The maximum range is 555 kilometers. The warhead adopts a modular design. The type of warhead can be selected according to the target. , It is expected that the development and production will be completed in March 2022. This means that in the future, the F-35 fighters deployed by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in Chitose, Misawa, Komatsu, Chitose, and Naha will be able to fly over the Japanese sea and launch this type of missile in a very short time. It will effectively cover most of the western coast of the Pacific Ocean.
Aiming at "ability to attack enemy bases"
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force currently has 15 F-35 fighters, plus the signed order contract, Japan will have 147 F-35 fighters in the future, second only to the United States. In addition to the planned purchase of the Norwegian Joint Strike Missile, the Ministry of Defense of Japan also included the "Joint Air-to-Surface Out-of-Zone Missile" manufactured by the US Lockheed Martin and the "Long Range Anti-Ship Missile" being developed by the US military into the scope of procurement discussions. It is reported that the US military has used strategic bombers to conduct air-launch tests on the "Joint Air-to-Surface Outer Zone Missile", and the development of the "long-range anti-ship missile" is nearing completion. It is reported that Lockheed Martin is very active in the promotion of its "joint air-to-surface off-zone missile" and specially produced an animated demonstration of F-35 plus US-made missiles against important enemy targets.
The missile procurement plan is a practical measure taken by the Abe government to build an "attack capability against enemy bases." On September 11, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had announced his resignation, made a statement about the new security policy, saying that it will respond to North Korean missile and nuclear threats and will fully discuss changes in the current defense policy in the party before leaving office. Japan has always claimed that building an "attack capability against enemy bases" is only an active defense concept, but in fact it has seriously deviated from its defensive defense policy, and its ambitions have gradually revealed. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region should be sufficiently vigilant about this.