Japan is planning on getting precision-air-launched missile with enough range to strike deep into North Korean and China according to newsnow report.
In the face of North Korea's aggression and ICBM test, Japan has planned to set aside funds in the defence budget starting April next year to study whether its F-15 fighters could launch longer-range missiles including Lockheed Martin Corp’s extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER), which can hit targets 1,000 km (620 miles) away.
Top Japanese military official also hinted that Japan may buy the 500km-range Joint Strike Missile designed by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Agency.
None of this two items are included in a 5.26 trillion yen ($46.76 billion) budget request that has already been tabled by Japan’s Ministry of Defence, but additional funds may be made available for the acquisition of this items according to newsnow.
Since the Second World War, Japanese Military has been purely a defensive force due to restrictions on strike weapons imposed by its war-renouncing constitution but the latest North Korea threat has made it a necessity for the Japanese military to improve its strike capabilities.
The decision to acquire this hardware may however still fall through as top government officials still perceive it as unnecessary and against japanese military defensive posture but proponents argue that the strike weapons can play a defensive role.
However, the Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera played down this acquisition plans. According to him at a regular press briefing "We are not looking at funding for this".
“We rely on the United States to strike enemy bases and are not looking at making any changes to how we share our roles,” he added.
Before his appointment as the Defence Minister in August, Onodera led a group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers that recommended Japan acquire strike weapons to deter Pyongyang from launching any attack on Japan.
North Korea fired a new ballistic missile (Hwasong-15) over Japan last week which reached an altitude above 4,000 km without splashing in the Sea of Japan
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