Japan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Japan’s defense minister has downplayed media reports that the country is seeking to acquire standoff air-launched ground-attack missiles to give it the capability to strike North Korean missiles before they are launched.

Speaking at a media conference at Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Itsunori Onodera told reporters that Japan has “not yet decided to introduce a missile and allocate related funds under the fiscal 2018 budget as was reported,” according to a transcript released by the ministry.

Onodera also reiterated that the government is “not considering revising the basic division of roles between Japan and the United States,” which, according to the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries, states that the U.S. military is responsible for any counter strikes against an adversary in the event of an attack on Japan.

Various media outlets had earlier reported that Japan plans to set aside money in its budget for the next fiscal year starting in April 2018 to study whether its Mitsubishi-built F-15J Eagle fighters are able to launch longer-range missiles such as the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range.

It was also reported that the ministry is expected to request the budget support an acquisition of the Joint Strike Missile, or JSM, from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, with Nikkei Asian Review reporting that the JSM “would be deployed as early as fiscal 2019” on Japan’s Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.

However, the timeline reported by Nikkei would likely be impossible to attain even if Japan were to acquire the JSM, given than integration of the missile onboard the F-35 is currently scheduled to take place in the 2020s with the introduction of the Block 4.1 software that is currently in development.

While Onodera is correct in saying that standoff land-attack missiles were not included in the recent Japanese MoD budget request, Tokyo-based defense analyst James Simpson has said it is possible the missiles will appear in the actual budget bill schedule for release next year. Simpson pointed out to Defense News that similar occurrences have happened in the past.

Click to expand...

ILikeChina said:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Any one has original speach by Liu Yazhou or a context ?
I believe it is a sarcasm. Or is he one of the troll commentators?

Click to expand...

Jura said:

according to DefenseNews Japan reacts to reports it wants ability to destroy North Korean missiles prelaunch
source:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

In a remarkable turnaround, Japan’s defense minister has now said the country is looking to acquire air-launched standoff missiles, just three days after telling reporters at a news conference that such a step was only under consideration.

Speaking at another news conference Friday, Itsunori Onodera confirmed that the Japanese Ministry of Defense will submit an additional budget request to acquire the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile, or JSM, for its 2018 budget, which is due to be released in April.

The JSM will be acquired for Japan’s fleet of 42 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets, which is due to be integrated onto the F-35 around 2021 and is the only missile of its class currently capable of being carried in the jet’s internal weapons bays.

Onodera also said the ministry will request funding to study the feasibility of integrating the Lockheed Martin AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range, or JASSM-ER, and its close derivative AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, onto its fleet of Mitsubishi-built F-15J Eagle interceptors.

The JASSM-ER is currently integrated on the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, and although Japan’s F-15Js are older aircraft used almost exclusively as an air defense interceptor, there should be little issue integrating the missile on the aircraft.

This confirmation was in sharp contrast to what the minister said three days before on Dec. 5, where he told reporters that at a previous news conference that Japan has “not yet decided to introduce a missile and allocate related funds under the fiscal 2018 budget as was reported.”

In his latest remarks, the minister did not disclose the amount of funding requested to acquire the JSM or that for the integration studies of the JASSM-ER/LRASM onto Japan’s F-15Js, instead telling reporters that the ministry will be carrying out a separate briefing to disclose more details at a later time.

Despite reports that Japan may use the standoff missiles for possible strikes against North Korean targets should the latter launch its ballistic missiles against Japan, Onodera insisted that Japan’s stance toward attacking land-based targets on foreign soil had not changed. The U.S. military is responsible for any counter-strikes against an adversary in the event of an attack on Japan in line with the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.

Instead, the missiles “will be introduced exclusively for the purpose of defending Japan,” including what Onodera called Japan’s “remote islands,” which is often used as a euphemism for the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea that is also claimed by China and has seen several confrontations between the coast guards of both countries.

However, as Defense News previously reported, Japan’s Defense Ministry was looking at the possibility of acquiring a long-range counter-strike capability as part of the country’s upcoming Mid-Term Defense Program and new National Defense Program Guidelines.

Although such a move is within the country’s pacifist constitution, which limits Japan’s involvement in a conflict to self-defense in response to being attacked, its wartime past and current public attitudes mean that any move to acquire capabilities that could be used in an offensive capacity is deeply unpopular and would be politically sensitive.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was recently re-elected to office, has also flagged possible changes to the war-renouncing Article 9 of the constitution, although details of the possible changes have not been made public.

Click to expand...

Gloire_bb said:

"The JASSM-ER is currently integrated on the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, and although Japan’s F-15Js are older aircraft used almost exclusively as an air defense interceptor, there should be little issue integrating the missile on the aircraft."

Seriously?

Click to expand...

First Japanese-built F-35A lands at Misawa AB

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --

A Defense Contract Management Agency government flight representative landed the first Japanese-made F-35A on Misawa AB's runway, Nov. 2.

Maj. Elijah Supper piloted the brand-new aircraft from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Komaki South F-35 Final Assembly and Check Out facility, and was quickly joined by two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin National Guard, there to escort the new jet across the Pacific.

“This F-35 is one of the most clean and well-built aircraft I have ever seen,” Supper said. “The Japanese take great pride in this aircraft and have ensured it’s made to the highest standard."

Although the aircraft is a Japan Air Self-Dense Force-owned jet, it is required to go through final function tests in the United States to ensure all future F-35A's produced in Japan are up to standard.

To ensure the jet arrives securely in the United States, Supper stopped here to undergo safety checks on the F-35A before flying across the ocean.

"After our final inspections, the JASDF will roll out the F-35 in their fleet," explained Supper. "This will only further enhance our strong bilateral ties, allowing us to win future wars.”

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

TerraN_EmpirE said:

That has to be a Fan CGI
Compare The Force awakens

now the pick Forbin just posted

Click to expand...