The draft budget is set to rise by 16.5 percent, or $7.93 billion (1.13 trillion yen), compared to the current fiscal year. This is another record high for the tenth consecutive year in the history of Japan’s national defense budget.
The draft budget, which is expected to be approved by Japan’s bicameral legislature in the coming months, calls for strengthening the country’s integrated air and missile defense system and defense capabilities to counter growing military threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia. .
Officials at Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed at a press conference on December 21 that despite the rapid depreciation of the yen and rising prices, there was no decline in the number of weapons and major equipment for fiscal year 2024, based on the defense report. The enhancement program is over the five-year period from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2027, which was established in December last year.
Budget requests related to the maritime domain are as follows:
Construction of two ships equipped with Aegis – ASEVs ($2.6 billion)
As reported Marine News On December 19th, the Defense Ministry secured $2.6 billion (373.1 billion yen) for fiscal year 2024 to build two Aegis-equipped ships (ASEV) as a replacement for the two ground-based Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems, which were canceled in June. 2020 during the Shinzo Abe administration due to concerns that falling components from interceptor missiles might hit densely populated areas over Japan.
In addition to the $2.6 billion acquisition cost, the Defense Ministry also received $572 million (81.5 billion yen) for related expenses such as various test preparations and operational support equipment such as test sites. This means that a total of $3.2 billion (454.6 billion yen) has been allocated in the ASEV-related budget for fiscal year 2024 alone.
Building two new mechanisms for fact-finding missions ($1.2 billion)
The Ministry of Defense said it would acquire 12 aircraft New fact-finding mission It will succeed the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Mogami-class fact-finding mission. It has allocated $1.2 billion (174 billion yen) in next year’s budget to build the first two new machines, which are scheduled to be deployed in fiscal 2028.
The Ministry of Defense said that the new class of FFM will be equipped with long-range missiles, enhanced anti-submarine capabilities, and enhanced capabilities for various maritime operations.
Specifically, the improved version of the Type 12 SSM was launched The new ship-to-air guided missile (or simply A-SAM) will be equipped with a new class of FFM, defense officials said.
The new FFM class has a record displacement of 4,800 tons, up from 4,500 tons, which was stated in the defense budget request on August 31, said MoD documents, released by the Ministry of Defense on 22 December.
Meanwhile, according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) proposal for the new class of FFM, which was officially released by Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) on August 25, the new warship class will feature a heavier standard displacement of about 4,880 tons, its total length is about 142 meters, and its total width is about 17 meters. Thus, it appears that the actual structure size is closer to the MHI proposal.
The MHI proposal also said the new ships would have a top speed of more than 30 knots.
Despite the fact that the new class will be larger than the Mogami class, defense officials said the crew of the new class will only be 90 people, the same number as the Mogami class. To achieve this, Japanese naval planners will likely integrate the new class with a higher level of automation and deploy extensive lean crew concepts throughout the ship.
Modifications to Izumo-class helicopter carriers ($298 million)
JMSDF awarded $298 million (42.4 billion yen) to continue modification of two Izumo-class helicopter carriers – JS Izumo And JS From you – To aircraft carriers capable of enabling Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft operations.
The JMSDF said $287.3 million (40.9 billion yen) will be used to modify the forward portion of JS Izumo’s trapezoidal flight deck to a square shape during fiscal year 2024, following the same modifications made by JS Kaga during the current fiscal year 2023. It also obtained $4.2 million (600 million yen) to provide Izumo with a landing navigation system for the F-35B, which is slated to be Raytheon’s Joint Precision Landing and Landing System (JPALS). Meanwhile, JS Kaga has been allocated $2.1 million (300 million yen) to receive modifications to its satellite communications device after it undergoes major upgrades in fiscal 2023.
Both ships will complete all upgrades to become an F-35B-powered light aircraft carrier in fiscal year 2027, the JMSDF said.
Development of electronic warfare aircraft ($99 million)
The Defense Ministry said it will develop an electronic warfare aircraft by allocating $99 million (14.1 billion yen) in order to respond to the increasingly complex electronic warfare environment and enhance capabilities in the electromagnetic field needed for cross-domain operations.
The new aircraft will be developed on the basis of the Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).
Joint development of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) with the United States ($532 million)
Defense officials in Tokyo explained that the two countries plan to complete this development in the early 2030s.
The Japanese side will be mainly responsible for the rocket engine and propulsion system of the kill vehicle.
Japan and the United States have agreed to begin joint development of a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI). The announcement was made on August 18 by both the Japanese Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense (DoD) while US President Biden was hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yeon Suk-yul at Camp David.
Development of a surface-to-surface/ground-to-surface precision guided missile ($227 million)
The ministry plans to develop a surface-to-surface/surface-to-surface precision-guided missile by fiscal year 2030, which will likely have a much longer range than existing missiles.
The DSEI Japan 2023, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has unveiled a new type of stealth anti-ship missile It is called “Island Defense Anti-Ship Missile (New Anti-Ship Island Defense Guided Missile in Japanese)”. This missile is linked.
Purchase of maneuvering boats ($121.5 million)
In order to secure the capabilities needed to quickly and reliably transport units needed to defeat island invasions in the Southwest region, the Department of Defense will purchase three maneuverable boats during the next fiscal year. The ministry said that the length of the boats will be 35 meters.
The Ministry of Defense plans to conduct competitive bidding after securing the budget. In order to operate these new boats, the “Self-Defense Forces Sea Transport Fleet” (provisional name) will be established at JMSDF Kure Base as a combined army, naval and air force in March 2025. Number of members The fleet will consist of approximately 100 from the three services , according to the Ministry of Defense.
The DSEI Japan 2023, BMT was displaying a model of its CAIMAN-90 aircraft for this program.
Construction of a new replenishment ship ($583 million)
The Ministry of Defense has secured $583 million (83 billion yen) to build a 14,500-ton replenishment ship, which will enhance the at-sea logistics support capabilities of other JMSDF ships in any situation. It is scheduled to be delivered in fiscal year 2028. The new ship will be the successor to JS Towada (AOE-422), according to the Ministry of Defense.
USV Multi-Purpose Combat Support Research ($174 million)
Selectively equipped with functions such as warning, surveillance, launching anti-ship missiles, and searching for USV stealth vehicles supporting manned ships.
Development of an unmanned amphibious vehicle ($145 million)
Landing is possible from all fronts on the islands, allowing troops to land near the sea. Development of an unmanned amphibious vehicle that can carry out tasks such as transporting supplies has begun.
Trial commissioning of USV (test equipment) ($114 million)
In order to quickly gain knowledge about USV operation and promote the development of domestically produced USVs, Japan’s defense budget calls for the purchase of USVs that have been used in different countries as test equipment.
Research and development in ultraviolet radiation for ocean monitoring ($1.4 million)
In order to improve the efficiency of ocean observation:
Conduct research and research on ultraviolet radiation (for observing underwater terrain and investigating acoustic properties), the introduction of which is currently being considered.
Performance tests were conducted using UUV test equipment (to monitor water temperature structure, etc.) purchased in FY2023.
