Japan sees cost for land-based missile defense doubling initial quote

Jul 24, 2018 | News On Japan

Jul 24, 2018 (Japan Times) - The Defense Ministry has newly estimated that the price tag of two land-based missile batteries Japan aims to deploy could cost around Â¥400 billion ($3.6 billion), double the initial quotation, according to a government source.

If the prices of interceptor missiles and other expenses are included, the total cost of the two Aegis Ashore units could rise to nearly Â¥600 billion, raising questions about the necessity for such an expensive system amid easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The government is pushing to install the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore system in Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures, aiming to bring them into operation in fiscal 2023. Two batteries are believed to be sufficient to cover Japanâ€™s entire territory.

The estimate has ballooned as the ministry mulls introducing Lockheed Martin Corp.â€™s cutting-edge SSR radar as a key component of the missile shield system, which turned out to be more expensive than the radar currently deployed on Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyers, the source said Monday.

Costs for building facilities at host sites for the Aegis Ashore system are also expected to rise, while the SM-3 Block 2A interceptor missiles co-developed by Japan and the United States are set to carry a price tag of around Â¥4 billion each, further pushing up the total expenses, the source said.

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