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Japan to boost air defences: report
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 27, 2008 Japan is to boost its defences against cruise missiles as China increases its air strike capabilities, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday. The defence ministry plans to increase the number of aircraft equipped with airborne warning and control systems and install state-of-the-art radar to allow early detection of precision-guided missiles heading for Japan, the daily said. It is also considering developing an advanced long-range surface-to-air missile, the report said, citing senior defence ministry sources. The government has so far mainly focused on developing a ballistic missile defence system, primarily in response to a perceived threat from North Korea. Meanwhile, China has equipped its fighter jets and submarines with domestically developed cruise missiles, which have a range in excess of 1,000 kilometers (625 miles), the newspaper said. Beijing is also believed to have started developing advanced precision-guided missiles with a range of about 3,000 kilometers -- similar to that of the US military's Tomahawk cruise missile, it said. Chinese fighter jets repeatedly approached Japan last year, coming close enough to launch a cruise missile before returning to Chinese air space, the newspaper said. "We believe these acts were unlikely to be part of information-gathering exercises, but rather drills to prepare for a possible cruise missile attack on Japan," a senior Japanese defence official told the Yomiuri. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Olmert Backs Iron Dome Of Layered Missile Defense For Israel
Washington (UPI) Jan 25, 2008 Olmert's government a year ago "decided to invest in the development of a multi-layered defensive system to protect Israel's skies from various types of conventional and non-conventional missiles that are liable to strike at population centers," the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or MFA, said in a statement Tuesday. Romania's pro-Western government wants U.S. ballistic missile defense systems in Europe to cover it and neighboring Bulgaria,. But it wants Russia included as a partner in the program too. |
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