Japan to launch 50 military satellites in 2024: Reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Nov 2022 14:29

The optical satellites would be able to take high-quality photos and films of the Earth's surface in excellent weather, as per Japanese media outlets.

H-IIA No. 43 at Tanegashima space port hours ahead of launch of the JDRS-1 satellite. (MHI)

Japan aims to launch a unit of 50 satellites in two years to monitor military targets and their movements from a low altitude, as per the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.

According to the article, small optical and radar satellites would be launched beginning with the fiscal year 2024, which runs from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

The optical satellites would be able to take high-quality photos and films of the Earth's surface in excellent weather during the day, while the radar satellites would take radar images regardless of the time of day or weather conditions, according to the newspaper.

It went on to say that the Japanese Defense Ministry planned to build a network with planning blocks to detect Russia and China-developed hypersonic missiles, but that the first test item would not be launched until 2027 due to the time-consuming construction of an infrared sensor.

Japan's medium-term military budget spending currently stands at more than 27.47 trillion yen ($195 billion). The country's defense ministry has allegedly proposed increasing the program to roughly 48 trillion yen in order to boost the country's defense capability, while the finance ministry has offered a figure of 35 trillion yen as the most practical figure.