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The Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), an external bureau of the Defense Ministry, plans to develop a new model of radar to improve interception capabilities against hypersonic missiles, which are more difficult to shoot down than conventional ballistic missiles.
With many countries enhancing their missile capabilities, the agency judged it necessary to secure a next-generation radar system and interceptor missiles based on domestically developed technology.
ATLA aims to establish the core technology of the new radar system by fiscal 2029 at a cost of about ¥3 billion.
Hypersonic missiles are weapons that can fly at speeds of exceeding Mach 5 — at least five time faster than the speed of sound — and are roughly divided into two categories. Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) travel along an irregular trajectory at an altitude of tens of kilometers after separating from a rocket. Hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs) use a jet engine or other types of propelling system.
Hypersonic missiles can fly on trajectories different from those of conventional ballistic missiles, which fall along predictable parabolic paths. It is therefore difficult to intercept them.
Many countries, including the United States, are competing to put hypersonic missiles into practical use, but China and Russia have a lead and North Korea is also developing them.
Russia has used HCMs in its aggression against Ukraine.
If a missile flies at Mach 5, even if a radar detects it 500 kilometers before it reaches its target, there is only about five minutes left to perform the interception.
The new radar system that ATLA plans to establish will have enhanced data-processing capability using the latest semiconductor chips and will be capable of detecting targets at a greater distance than existing domestically produced systems. This would allow interceptor missiles to be guided toward targets more accurately.
The system is also planned to be better able to respond to a large number of missiles simultaneously during a so-called saturation attack.
From last fiscal year, ATLA has been conducting research into interceptor missiles for shooting down HGVs and plans for the new radar system to be able to operate in tandem with them.
Japan and the United States have decided to jointly develop a new type of interceptor missile to be installed on Aegis-equipped ships with U.S.-made high-performance radar systems. This will be conducted separately from ATLA’s plan, which instead aims to utilize domestically developed technologies.
To put the plan into action, technological hurdles need to be cleared. An estimated cost in tens of billions of yen is another hurdle.
ATLA will earmark ¥2.1 billion in its initial budget request for next fiscal year to finance costs related to the plan. “We aim for operations to start in about 10 years,” an ATLA official said.
It is difficult to perfectly defend against missile attacks in the event of a military contingency. In 2022, the government decided as a deterrence measure to possess counterattack capabilities to attack enemy bases.
