TOKYO (AP) -
Japan deployed its third advanced missile interceptor system
Wednesday, just south of Tokyo near a major naval base, a
defense official said.Air Self-Defense Forces personnel
installed the land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system at
the Takeyama base in Yokosuka, just southwest of Tokyo, a
Defense Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because
of ministry policy.
Yokosuka is the site of Japan’s largest naval base and the
homeport of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
The system includes an unspecified number of launchers, a
special vehicle equipped with radar and another that serves as a
control station. PAC-3 systems were installed at two other bases
near Tokyo last year.
Japan has been rapidly augmenting its missile defense amid
concerns over possible threats from North Korea. It plans to
deploy the PAC-3 defense system at eight more bases across the
country by March 2011.
The fourth PAC-3 system will be deployed at Kasumigaura in
Ibaraki by the end of March, the ministry official said. The
first four are mainly aimed at defending the capital region.
The Defense Ministry also conducted an initial study in the
Tokyo region this month to determine the best locations for the
deployment of anti-ballistic missiles to defend the capital.
The PAC-3 units are too remotely deployed to defend the
capital and will have to be brought into Tokyo in case of a
possible attack.
The surface-to-air Patriots would be used as a last defense
in case interceptors fired from U.S. or Japanese warships fail
to knock out incoming missiles.
To step up its naval defense capability, Japan also plans to
begin installing Standard Missile-3 interceptors on its
destroyers over the next few years. In December, Japan
successfully test-fired its first SM-3 from an Aegis
radar-equipped destroyer off Hawaii.
