Japan is set to increase its spending on fifth-generation stealth fighters, long-range missiles and radars over the next five years to bolster US forces in the region, Reuters reported.
“The United States remains the most powerful nation in the world, but it faces rivals, and we recognize the importance of strategic rivalries with China and Russia, which are putting regional order to the test,” says the 10-year National Defense Plan, which was approved in mid-December 2018. Japanese government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Also, according to The Japan Times, as part of the plan being implemented, Japan is going to strengthen its defense capabilities in space and cyberspace.
In total, over the next five years, Japan is going to spend on weapons at most 27, 47 trillion yen (about 243 billion dollars), which is 6.4 percent more than the Land of the Rising Sun spent in the previous five years. At the same time, despite the impressive size of the amount planned for spending, it can be noted that Japan spends only 1 percent of the country's GDP on defense, which, given the size of the Japanese economy, still puts the country among the world leaders in terms of spending on the armed forces. By comparison, Russia spends about 3 percent of its GDP on its military; at the end of 2017, Vladimir Putin said that Russia's military budget for 2018 would be $ 46 billion.
For the first time, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have included the space and cyber spheres in the national defense plan for the next five years. Such measures should "fundamentally change the defense strategy," which previously focused on land, air and sea areas. It is noted that the strong concern of official Tokyo is caused by the build-up of the military power of the PRC in the South China and other seas, as well as in cyberspace and outer space. The goal of strengthening the cybersphere in Japan is called the ability to resist possible attacks from abroad. At the same time, international law today does not contain a clear definition of cyberattacks, so it is still quite difficult to understand how and under what circumstances the Japan Self-Defense Forces will be able to initiate retaliatory actions. In space, Tokyo expects to reduce the existing gap with other states. For the first time, a space unit will be created as part of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. At the same time, the Japanese government intends to invest in the development of underwater unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence technologies.
A serious strengthening of the Japanese armed forces is the increase in the number of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multifunctional fifth-generation fighter-bombers purchased from the United States. The plans of the Japanese command to increase the order to 142 vehicles were previously reported by several Japanese media outlets, including the Nikkei Asian Review, all of which referred to their own sources in the government and the defense department. According to Japanese journalists, the government's plans to increase purchases of new American aircraft are directly related to the measures taken by the PRC to strengthen its army. In addition, the Japanese authorities are giving their response to Donald Trump's demand to acquire more American weapons. It is assumed that in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the 5th generation F-35 Lightning II aircraft will replace the existing F-15 fighters. The Japanese Air Force is armed with about 200 F-15 fighters of both American and Japanese production, about half of this fleet cannot be modernized.
Initially, Japan's plans were limited to the purchase of 42 such aircraft, but later the government decided to increase the supply by 100 aircraft. At the same time, Japan acquires two types of 5th generation fighters: F-35A and F-35B with short takeoff and vertical landing. The cost of such a machine is about $ 88 million. For the purchase of additional fighter-bombers, Japan is ready to send about a trillion yen (about $ 9 billion). Japan should receive the first 42 fifth-generation fighters by 2023, their deliveries to the country have already begun, the first F-35A was delivered back in 2016.
All aircraft of the first contract are F-35A fighters, intended for use from conventional land airfields. Among the aircraft of the second batch there will be F-35B aircraft with short takeoff and vertical landing. These fighters of the 5th generation are planned to be used as rapid reaction forces, deploying even on small island airfields, including islands in the East China Sea. But the most interesting is the modernization of Izumo-class destroyers-helicopter carriers, which will be able to carry on board the fifth-generation F-35B fighter.
Fighter-bomber F-35
Today, Izumo-class helicopter carriers with a total displacement of about 27 thousand tons are the largest ships of the Japanese fleet since the Second World War. The transformation of these two helicopter carriers into two light aircraft carriers, and even equipped with the latest fifth-generation fighter-bomber, could seriously change the balance of power in the region. As they say in Odessa, the Izumo-class helicopter carrier and the Izumo-class aircraft carrier are two big differences. Currently, the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Forces have two such helicopter carriers: Izumo and Kaga. It is believed that their air group may consist of 14 SH-60K SeaHawk helicopters, while the maximum size of the air group, based on the size and displacement of ships, can be up to 28 aircraft (helicopters, converters and fighters).
The fact that Japan is ready for the first time since 1945 to hoist a plane on board a ship was recently reported by the South China Morning Post. According to the newspaper, on Tuesday, December 11, representatives of the ruling parties in Japan approved the proposal of the government of the country to allow the use of helicopter carriers for the transport of aircraft, as well as, if the need arises, to re-equip these ships. In particular, we are talking about the modernization of the Izumo-class destroyers-helicopter carriers. According to Reuters, the new five-year national defense plan provides for the purchase of 18 fighters to be deployed on modified Izumo helicopter carriers, as well as the purchase of two Aegis missile defense systems in the United States in order to effectively counter the threat from North Korea, and four Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft to expand the capabilities of Japanese aviation.
Leading aviation experts interviewed by the specialized publication defensenews.com agree that, first of all, the increase in the number of F-35 fighter-bombers is a strong signal to China and a response to its program to create its own fifth generation fighter. According to experts, Japan lives in a rather difficult situation, the Japanese cannot afford to conduct direct military operations, their only way is to build up their military potential, and the presence of 5th generation stealth fighters will help to more effectively contain the PRC. In addition, the presence of fifth-generation aircraft in Tokyo, which will be based on sea carriers, will create a big tangle of problems for Beijing. With this military capability, Japan will be able to pursue a more assertive and muscular foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region (APR).
Destroyer-helicopter carrier "Izumo", tail number DDH183
Among other things, the large Japanese program for the acquisition of F-35 fighter-bombers is extremely beneficial to the United States, which will receive not so much economic dividends as the opportunity to coordinate the actions of its Navy, the Marine Corps with the Japanese self-defense forces even more closely. And the presence of a large number of fifth generation fighters in this region will allow collecting more intelligence data in the APR.
The national defense plan for the next five years also talks about the commissioning of three new shipborne UAV systems, but no details on this matter were disclosed. Most likely, this refers to the UAS vertical take-off and landing systems designed for operations from the sides of 8 multipurpose destroyers of a new class currently under construction. It is only known that earlier, back in 2016, the Japanese military was interested in American-made Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout multipurpose drones (unmanned helicopter), but nothing is known about the existence of any contractual obligations in this regard. In addition to drones, the Japanese fleet should be replenished with new aircraft and helicopters. It is planned to acquire twelve Kawasaki P-1 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, three Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft and three CH-47JA Chinook heavy helicopters, which are assembled in Japan under license from Kawasaki.
