By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
Japan’s military marked the Fourth of July by further celebrating its independence from the post-World War II constitution that limited the armed forces to a strictly defensive role.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced it has acquired US-made cruise missiles that will turn the F-15J from a pure fighter jet into a fighter-bomber with deep-strike, stand-off capability. The move comes at a time when Japan faces new challenges from China.
Japan is buying 50 of Lockheed Martin’s AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER). According to Forbes, the MoD is spending $5.6 billion to upgrade 68 single-seat F-15s to carry the weapon. It’s possible that 34 of Japan’s two-seat F-15s – similar to the US F-15E Strike Eagles – could also be modified.
The missile sale also includes anti-jam global positioning systems, missile containers and training missiles.
With the new missiles, the Japanese planes will be able to carry out stand-off strikes outside the range of enemy air defenses. The JASSM-ER has a range of 575 miles and carries a 1,000-pound warhead. Its wings are folded to reduce its size while being carried, and deploy automatically after launch.
Both Poland and have acquired the extended-range version of the missile. In the US, it can be launched from a wide variety of platforms, ranging from the venerable B-52 to the F/A-18 to the C-17 transport.
Placing the weapon on the F-15J will be just the start for Japan. The Japanese air force’s F-35s and Mitsubishi F-2s will also eventually carry long-range missiles.
All this represents a sea change for Japan. The country demilitarized after World War II, and its constitution renounces war and forbids Japan from maintaining an army, navy or air force. Force is allowed for defensive purposes only, hence the creation of the Self Defense Forces (SDF).
But in December 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida okayed proposals that would give it the right to strike other countries. Kishida said that Japan must keep up with advances in missile technology. ‘In such a severe environment, counterstrike capability, which can deter an attack or force an enemy to stop one, is a capability which will become increasingly vital,” Kishida said.
And, in case Beijing didn’t get the message, the Japanese government released documents that called China’s military buildup and tensions with Taiwan primary threats.
Meanwhile, Japan pledged to boost its spending on defense to two percent of gross domestic product, after it had been capped at one percent of GDP for four decades. And it bought 400 US-made Tomahawk land-attack and anti-ship missiles for $2.4 billion.
For the first time, Japan also declared that some of the taxpayer money used for innovation will be dedicated to defense technology. Developing its own missiles will be a priority.
The change has been welcomed by the US, which for years has pushed Tokyo to assume more responsibility for its own defense. In March, Kishida visited Washington, where he and President Biden announced the two countries’ militaries would upgrade their command and control structures to ensure they could work together seamlessly.
