Aegis Ashore against Cruising Missiles

Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera announced on Thursday that new missile defense system Japanese government was introducing would deal not only the ballistic missiles from North Korea, but the cruising missiles from China. It was made after his visiting ground-based anti-ballistic missile system, Aegis Ashore, in Hawaii, United States. However, no technological breakthrough endorses reliability of the system to block possible all-out missile attacks.

Onodera visited experimental facilities for Aegis Ashore in Kauai Island of Hawaii with his staffs. Having been lectured by Director of US Missile Defense Agency, Samuel Greaves, Onodera stressed that the radar did not affect human health or other communication devices. “I would like to develop the system eventually into a comprehensive basic infrastructure for missile defense including that against cruising missiles,” told Onodera to the reporters.

In addition to Aegis system already deployed on the vessels of Maritime Self-defense Force, the government of Japan decided to introduce ground-based Aegis Ashore at the end of last year. The government has explained that the system was aimed at ballistic missiles accumulated in North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un. It is obvious that Onodera was expanding the mission of Aegis Ashore to deal with cruising missile from China, which has been developing various long-range missiles.

Current missile defense system in Japan consists of SM-3 Block IA on the vessels and ground based PAC-3. Aegis Ashore in Japan assumes installing SM-3 Block IIA in two places, Akita and Yamaguchi, which cover whole territory of Japan. However, it is highly difficult for the system to block all the missiles launched from North Korea in a saturation attack. There is no such missile defense system in the world that can block a saturation attack. One survival among those missiles with nuclear warhead can bring unbearable damage on Japan.

MoD also faces financial difficulty. Although the government has been pouring ¥1.85 trillion into missile defense system from 2004. The ministry counts on ¥100 billion each for two of those Aegis Ashore systems. It is possible for the price of the whole system to be raised. New radar called SPY-6, necessary for SM-3 Block IIA, is still in the development. Japanese government has not gotten a clear vision that the system will be in operation scheduled in FY 2023.

Japan’s active attitude toward missile defense system stimulates neighbor countries. “While Japan explains that the missile system will be controlled by Japan and US will not be involved in, we still have firm doubt on it,” told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. As seen in the protest against South Korea’s decision to deploy Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, China will definitely oppose Japan’s Aegis Ashore that nullifies the effectiveness of their cruising missiles.