.jpg) |
| Kawasaki P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (Image: JMSDF) |
By Paul Kallender-Umezu
TOKYO — Japan's defense budget for 2015 prioritizes intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) improvements as the Ministry of Defense attempts to bolster, in particular, its ability to protect Japan's far-flung southwestern island chain, Nansei Shoto.
New ISR programs — some announced, some in planning — show Japan is extending its ISR reach not only in air- and space-based systems, but also in new maritime applications.
"The focus on improved ISR is useful and reflects a few things — not least, Japan's current ISR capabilities don't provide a useful operating picture of what's going on in the region," said Grant Newsham, a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.
Japan's approach to ISR changed radically in 1998 when a North Korean Taepodong missile overflew the nation, shocking it and spurring leaders to develop a small constellation of information-gathering reconnaissance satellites.
But a 2007 direct-ascent Chinese anti-satellite test and the surge in probing and incursions into Japanese air and maritime domains have alarmed planners and the public alike. For example, from January to April, the Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighters 943 times against Russian and Chinese aircraft, the second highest on record since 944 times in 1984. Incidents steadily dropped through the 1990s and early 2000s, with totals typically in the 140s to 160s. By 2005 it was up to 229, in 2010 it was 386, surging to 943 five years later, according to MoD figures.
Read the full story at DefenseNews