Japan to introduce land-based missile defense systems to bolster capabilities

TOKYO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday formally decided to introduce two land-based Aegis missile defense systems to bolster Japan's defensive capabilities.

Under the government's plans, two Aegis Ashore systems will be deployed to cover the entire nation and will first become operational by fiscal 2023, according to defense ministry officials.

Each system, developed by Lockheed Martin Corp., costs around 100 billion yen (888 million U.S. dollars), the officials said.

They added that the new systems installed at stationary sites in Japan would add a new layer of defense along with current sea and ground-based systems.

In addition, they said the new systems would help take the burden off the current Maritime Self-Defense Force's (MSDF) Aegis-equipped destroyers, installed with Standard Missile-3 interceptors, and the Air Self-Defense Force's (ASDF) ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors (PAC-3).

The defense ministry decided against installing the U.S.Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THADD), owing to Aegis Ashore's cost effectiveness among other determining factors, defense ministry officials said. Enditem