Nov 23 (The Diplomat) - Japan’s biggest defense company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has outlined plans for future growth through development investment in new major national defense projects, including standoff missiles and a joint next-generation fighter program with Britain and Italy.
In a rare move, on November 22, MHI held a defense business briefing session at its Tokyo headquarters, inviting dozens of market analysts and journalists as well as online participants.
At the briefing, the company announced that it now expects annual sales from its defense business to double from the current level of about 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion) to 1 trillion yen during the fiscal years (FY) 2024-2026, and then reach over 1 trillion yen during FY2027-2029.
This bullish outlook came after the Japanese government in December 2022 decided to boost its defense spending to a total budget of an unprecedented 43.5 trillion yen for FY2023-2027. That number is about 2.5 times the previous plan of 17.2 trillion yen in the 2019-2023 period. This whopping budget increase aims to fundamentally reinforce Japan’s defense capabilities, including counterstrike abilities, in the face of China’s increasing military strength, North Korea’s unstoppable nuclear and missile development, and Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. ...continue reading
