Jul 24 (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 ¥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 ¥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 Japan’s entire territory.
The estimate has ballooned as the ministry mulls introducing Lockheed Martin Corp.’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 ¥4 billion each, further pushing up the total expenses, the source said.
